QUALIFYING REPORT: Java House Grand Prix of Arlington
Qualifying Notes
- The NTT INDYCAR SERIES took on the Streets of Arlington this afternoon for qualifying ahead of tomorrow’s inaugural race on the Texas street circuit.
- In a career first, Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson snagged his first career INDYCAR pole on the new street course.
- Today’s result marks Andretti’s 62nd INDYCAR pole position and the team’s 23rd on a street course.
- Teammates Will Power and Kyle Kirkwood also produced strong results, securing starting spots in the top seven.
- Today’s session debuted a new Firestone Fast Six qualifying format that gave each of the final six drivers the chance at the pole in an individual, single-timed lap. Ericsson and Power were two of the six drivers to ever use the new qualifying format.
- Tomorrow’s 70-lap race on the Streets of Arlington will air live on FOX at 11:30 AM ET.
Qualifying Results
Will Power
No. 26 TWG AI Honda
P4
- Power’s day started with contact with the No. 9 car in the morning practice session. Despite the No. 26 needing a new front wing from the contact, Power was able to secure a fourth-place finish in Practice 2.
- Shifting focus to qualifying, Power joined teammate Kirkwood in Group 2 and was able to maintain strong pace throughout each round of qualifying to earn his spot in the Firestone Fast Six.
- Taking on the new single-lap qualifying format for the first time, Power was the third driver to hit the track, ultimately locking in a second-row starting position for tomorrow’s inaugural race.
“I’m really happy to have gotten to have a go at the single-lap qualifying, being in the Firestone Fast Six. Some might say the start of the season has been a rough start from the outside looking in, but really, it’s just a lot of potential. The cars are really good, and we feel very comfortable with where we are with the TWG AI Honda.”
Kyle Kirkwood
No. 27 JM Bullion / Gold.com Honda
P7
- Following a strong morning practice that saw him top the leaderboard, Kirkwood came into this afternoon’s qualifying session in Group 2.
- He continued his pace by leading Group 2, easily advancing to Round 2. While the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda again paced the field in the Fast 12, a timing miscalculation on his final flying lap resulted in a narrow miss for the Firestone Fast Six.
- Kirkwood will start tomorrow’s race from the fourth row.
“Between brushing the wall and a little hiccup on pit lane, I just forgot when we needed to do our lap. For some reason, I had embedded in my mind that it was the second lap, but we had three laps of fuel in the car. I also had a big mistake down in Turn 10 and still pit for some reason. It was just bit of a messy run, no doubt. But man, this JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda is fast. I have to say, our prime tire pace is incredible, which is a very good sign for tomorrow’s race. If I had new primes right now in qualifying, I probably would have used those. It’s never easy getting a pole in qualifying in INDYCAR racing, but I thought this was going to be one of the easier ones. Quite honestly, I just made a massive mental error. I’m just very disappointed. That one’s on me.”
Marcus Ericsson
No. 28 InPwr Honda
P1
- Debuting the InPwr colors, Ericsson was the lone Andretti Global driver in Group 1 after a strong top-five showing in the afternoon practice.
- Utilizing his strong pace throughout the session on the Streets of Arlington, Ericsson advanced through each segment of qualifying and was the first car to roll out in the new Firestone Fast Six format.
- As the checkered flag waved to end the session, the Swede’s solid lap time remained at the top of the leaderboard, allowing him to secure his first career INDYCAR pole position and the 62nd for the Andretti Global INDYCAR team.
“I’ve waited long enough for this, I can tell you that. I think 2013 was the last pole I had. This is a giant moment for me because of that. I’ve been second in qualifying, I think, four times in INDYCAR. I was two hundredths of a second away from the pole in St. Pete, so to finally get the pole means a ton. I want to shout out my crew on the No. 28 InPwr Honda. They’ve done a tremendous job. We were all over the place in Q1 then in Q2 and Q3 we just improved the car, and it feels amazing. This qualifying format is a lot of pressure, but I love the pressure, and I showed that today. I said to the INDYCAR race director, Kyle Novak, before today that we should be doing the single-car qualifying style every weekend, and I will definitely double down on that after this. Huge thanks to the Andretti Global team, InPwr and Honda, they’ve all done an amazing job. My pit crew is also P1 in the Firestone Pit Stop Performance Championship, so we have to keep that rolling and have a great day tomorrow.
Ron Ruzewski
INDYCAR Team Principal
“It was a really good day today for all of Andretti. Marcus getting his first pole is monumental and a great start to the season, building off the strength he had at St. Pete and the good run the team had at Phoenix. It was a great day with all three cars in the top seven. I think we had potential for more, and that’s great, but I think we’re in a good spot for tomorrow. Hopefully, we can win this inaugural race with one of our cars.”
