INDYCAR Qualifying Recap.
DETROIT – Following Saturday’s action-packed Race 1 at the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans, the 22-car Verizon IndyCar Series field got back at it this morning to qualify for Race 2 on the streets of Belle Isle Park.
It was a familiar name atop the speed charts when the checkered flag fell as Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud captured the Verizon P1 Award for the second straight day in the doubleheader weekend.
In split-group sessions, Pagenaud led the first half of the field in the No. 22 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevrolet, posting a fast lap of 1 minute, 14.0739 seconds (113.462 mph). The lap beat the track record set in Saturday’s race by Scott Dixon by more than six-tenths of a second.
The ensuing Group 2 session was filled with drama. Will Power, Pagenaud’s teammate in the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, posted a lap quicker than Pagenaud’s but was penalized mid-session for qualifying interference. By rule, he forfeited his two fastest laps of the session and wound up fourth in his group, meaning he will start this afternoon’s race from the eighth starting spot.
The penalty elevated Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 DHL Honda) to fastest in Group 2 at 1:14.5621, which puts the American from Andretti Autosport on the outside of Row 1 for the race.
Pagenaud collected the sixth pole position of his Verizon IndyCar Series career and fourth this season. He finished 13th in Saturday’s race, running out of fuel on the last lap.
Teams will now return to the paddock and have little time to turn their cars around from qualifying setup to prepare for today’s 70-lap race on the 2.35-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit. Race coverage can be found on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network at 3 p.m. ET and on ABC at 3:30 p.m.
At the completion of the race, the 2016 season will reach its midpoint of the 16-race schedule.
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