The race weekend following the Indianapolis 500 is often a blur. It is a tough turnaround for teams and drivers as they try to focus on an entirely different circuit. This one will be a little easier because there is just one race on Sunday, as opposed to the doubleheader weekends that have usually taken place on the week after the 500.
For the 30th and final time, IndyCar will be racing on the scenic little island of Belle Isle. Next year the race will move to a new street circuit in downtown Detroit. That means that today was the final qualifying session at Belle Isle, which was full of surprises from start to finish.
Josef Newgarden earned his first pole of the season with a blistering lap of 1 minute, 15.2153 seconds around the 14-turn, 2.35-mile temporary street circuit on his final lap. The Team Penske driver will be aiming for his third victory of the season tomorrow, and his second at Belle Isle Park.
“I was loose. I was about hitting the wall every corner,” Newgarden said. “I think we needed two laps to get temperature in the Firestone tires. I was just struggling to build temp. I knew the track was grippier. That was a good pole. Sometimes the car is just so good that it’s hooked up. I was loose today, and we put it together. I’m really proud of the team.”
In 17 starts at Belle Isle, Newgarden has five top-five finishes and he has now earned pole position in three of the last four races here. He finished 2nd in the second race last year after leading 67 of the 70 laps. After a hot start to the season, the last three races have not gone well for Newgarden, with finishes of 14th, 25th, and 13th.
Joining Newgarden on the front row tomorrow is Takuma Sato, who also has five top-five finishes in 17 starts at Belle Isle. Lining up behind them in Row 2 are the two Meyer Shank Racing drivers, Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves. It is the best qualifying effort for the team, who just might finally break through on race day tomorrow.
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