By David Morgan, Associate Editor
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Josef Newgarden will be starting the year with the best seat in the house after capturing the pole for Sunday’s 20th annual Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
With a lap of 59.571 seconds, the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet jumped to the top of the board in the final round of qualifying and was able to hold off all comers to score his first St. Petersburg pole position and 17th overall in his NTT IndyCar Series career.
The pole also gives him his best start on a road/street course since winning the pole on the Detroit Belle Isle course in June 2022.
“Gosh, I get jacked up every time I show up for an IndyCar race,” Newgarden said. “Like it’s an elevated level when you start out the year, because you just don’t know. You have no idea if you’re going to keep coming back and producing results. It’s very difficult.
“You saw how tight it was and I didn’t know this would come today. I just thought, look, let’s get through Round 1, let’s get through Round 2, and then see what we can make happen in the Fast Six.
“So, just really proud of this team. This is a rock star team. I love everybody on it. So, I’m happy to be back. 2024 we start right with Team Chevy and PPG and we’re here to go after it every weekend.”
He will be joined on the front row by Felix Rosenqvist, who set the new track record in the second round of qualifying with a scorching lap of 59.2706 seconds. The Swede has been fast all weekend long, leading practice on Friday afternoon in his new ride with Meyer Shank Racing.
“Did we get it?” Rosenqvist asked inquisitively when told he had the new track record. “Okay, cool. That’s awesome.”
“It’s been a really solid start so far. Big thanks to SiriusXM, AutoNation, Meyer Shank Racing. It’s been an incredible start. Honestly, we’re still kind of biding ourselves a little bit. We don’t want to get carried away. Obviously, the race is a different challenge.
“We had a feeling from practice rolling off the truck and that’s great. It’s not often that you have that feeling the first weekend with a new team. Big thanks to everyone. We’ll see what we can do here.”
Pato O’Ward will roll off from third on Sunday, along with Colton Herta in fourth, Romain Grosjean in fifth, and Marcus Ericsson rounding out the Firestone Fast Six.
For Grosjean, it’s a continuation of the thrill…
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