Newgarden snatched the top position in qualifying with an impressive final lap. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
The NTT IndyCar Series made its way to the streets of St. Petersburg on Saturday afternoon, and in a thrilling qualifying session, Josef Newgarden narrowly secured the coveted pole position.
The final order was only determined in the last moments, as Newgarden’s lap time came in just 0.006 seconds faster than Felix Rosenqvist’s previous time.
As the reigning Indy 500 champion, Newgarden clocked in at 59.571 seconds, earning himself a pole position for the first race of 2024, a feat he did not achieve in the previous season.
Rosenqvist’s performance was exceptional, coming incredibly close to giving his new team, Meyer Shank Racing, their first pole position in multiple seasons.
Furthermore, Rosenqvist now holds the track record at St. Pete, with his lap time of 59.2706 seconds in the second round of qualifying being the fastest any driver has ever achieved on this seaside course.
Surprisingly, Juncos Hollinger Racing joined MSR in the Firestone Fast Six, securing their spots in the top positions.
In his first race with the team, Romain Grosjean impressed by placing his JHR Chevy in the top six, starting the race from the fifth position.
Sandwiched between these unexpected top qualifiers were two consistently strong performers. Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta will take the second row, starting in third and fourth place respectively.
Completing the top six is Marcus Ericsson, who, like Grosjean, is also with a new team and contributed to Andretti Global’s two cars making it to the final round.
Only two hundredths of a second away from advancing to the Fast Six, Rinus VeeKay will still be satisfied with his seventh place start.
Starting in eighth and ninth positions will be Team Penske teammates Will Power and Scott McLaughlin. Marcus Armstrong rounds out the top ten in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Scott Dixon and Christian Lundgaard will share the sixth row when the race begins on Sunday afternoon.
Unfortunately, Alex Palou narrowly missed out on advancing from the first round, and his new DHL livery will start from the 13th position.
Tom Blomqvist held the top position on the charts with just a couple of minutes remaining in the opening session. However, he dropped down the order as other drivers set better times, and he also received a penalty. Consequently, he will start from the 17th spot.
In addition to Blomqvist, none of the race’s four other rookies were able to progress past the first round, highlighting the difficulty of the St. Pete street course.
Drivers and teams will regroup and prepare for the race on Sunday, where they will face the additional challenge of shifting winds of nearly 180 degrees, further intensifying the already demanding circuit.