INDYCAR QUALIFYING REPORT: XPEL Grand Prix at Road America

Will Power

No. 26 TWG AI Honda

• Building on an eighth-place result in this morning’s practice session, Will Power advanced to Round 2 after finishing second in Group 2.
• Running as high as second in Round 2, Power continued to show strong pace throughout the session, but unfortunately was unable to put together a clean lap in the closing moments and missed advancing to the Firestone Fast Six.
• A two-time winner at Road America, Power will look to secure his 19th career road course victory when the green flag waves for tomorrow’s 55-lap race. 

“Massive turnaround from Practice 1. We definitely made great changes to our car. It was for sure a top-six car. As you saw with the speed in the first round, I just messed up the second round. I blew a lap and then went again, and it just was a messy lap. Certainly could’ve done better, but happy to get in the top 12. Long race tomorrow. I think we continue to make improvements here.”

Kyle Kirkwood

No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda

• Joining teammate Power in the second group of the opening round of qualifying, Kyle Kirkwood took to the track this afternoon for his fifth qualifying appearance at Road America.
• Kirkwood showed speed early in the session, running as high as fourth in his group. Unfortunately, the Florida driver narrowly missed advancing to Round 2 by just 0.0178 seconds.
• After recording top-five finishes in each of his last two appearances at Road America, Kirkwood will look to secure his first road course victory tomorrow.

“It has been a little bit of a struggle for us. It’s not really balance related, which is what makes it a bit frustrating. So, it’s back to the drawing board, I guess. Marcus and Will are pretty good though, so hopefully we can learn from them overnight. We had a great test here a week ago. We were really fast and happy with everything. Then we got here and just haven’t been able to get it under control. That said, I’m still super happy with our performance all year long. I know if we get this sorted out, we’ll be right where we need to be tomorrow and be able to drive through the field.”

No. 28 Delaware Life Honda

• After clocking the ninth-fastest lap in Practice 1 and recording a top-12 finish in this morning’s practice, Marcus Ericsson opened qualifying in Group 1, advancing to Round 2 with a fifth-place finish.
• Once the green flag waved for Round 2, the Swede took the checkered in fifth once again to advance to the Firestone Fast Six for the second time at Road America.
• Ericsson fought to put the Delaware Life Honda on the pole throughout the eight-minute qualifying session, ultimately securing a fifth-place starting position for tomorrow’s race. 
• Today’s result marks the Swede’s second-best start on the Wisconsin circuit. 
• With 28 career top-10 finishes on road courses and a career-best finish of second at Road America, Ericsson will look to chase the top step of the podium in tomorrow.

“The No. 28 Delaware Life Honda has been good all weekend. Very solid session for us. We were in the window pretty much all session and small adjustments with good results. Of course we want a bit more as we were close to P2, but it’s a good place to start from. I think all year we’ve been trending up and being very consistent at the front of the field. We continued that today, so it has  been really positive. We have good form now, and the No. 28 group is doing a great job giving me a car that I can trust, feel and drive on the limit. That gives me a lot of confidence to go out and qualify like this, and also to go out and race tomorrow.”

“Good progress today. Great job by the No. 28 car to get into the top six. You know, I think we made some progress from yesterday. We had cars that were capable of getting there, and unfortunately, as tight as INDYCAR is these days, you’ve got to hit everything perfectly. So I think all the gains we made will be good, and we’ll look forward to racing tomorrow.”