ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Josef Newgarden started off 2024 by shoring up what hampered him last year, capturing the pole position for the NTT IndyCar Series season opener.
The Team Penske star outqualified Felix Rosenqvist by 0.0058 seconds in the tightest front row of an IndyCar street race since the 2012 Detroit Grand Prix, and the two-time series champion then exploded from the cockpit of his No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet for possibly his most enthusiastic celebration since winning last year’s Indy 500.
“Gosh, I get jacked up every time I show up for an IndyCar race,” Newgarden told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider after his 17th IndyCar pole position. “It’s an elevated level when you start out the year because you just don’t know if you’re going to keep coming back and producing results. It’s very difficult.
QUALIFYING RESULTS: Click here for Grand Prix of St. Pete qualifying speeds | Round 1, Group 1 | Round 1, Group 2 | Round 2 l Round 3
“You saw how tight it was. I thought let’s get through R1, R2 and see what we can make happen in the Fast Six. This is a rock star team. I love everybody on it. We’re here to go after it every weekend.”
Qualifying second in his Meyer Shank Racing debut, Rosenqvist will have an actual rock star aboard his No. 60 Dallara-Honda that is sporting a paint scheme with Jon Bon Jovi Radio. (The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer also will lead the field to the green flag Sunday and voice a feature during the NBC prerace show.)
“It’s been a really solid start so far, incredible start,” Rosenqvist, who was the quickest by a half-second of the 27 drivers in Friday’s practice, told NBC Sports’ Georgia Henneberry. “Honestly, we’re still biting ourselves a little bit. We don’t want to get carried away. The race is a different challenge. We had the feeling from practice. It’s not often you have that, especially the first weekend with a new team.”
IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Pete on NBC: How to watch, start times, schedules, streaming
The season opener has become a favorite for drivers who enjoy the atmosphere on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Romain Grosjean also had an impressive qualifying debut for Juncos Hollinger Racing and will start fifth alongside defending race winner Marcus Ericsson, who is making his debut for Andretti Global.
Pato O’Ward qualified third alongisde Colton Herta to round out the Fast Six.
Newgarden won four times on ovals last year but finished fifth in the points standings (his worst showing in six years) because of only one podium in 12 starts on street and road courses. Saturday marked his pole since since June 5, 2022 on the Detroit street course (he started first at World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway last year because teammate Scott McLaughlin won the pole but suffered a grid penalty).
“It’s what we need,” Newgarden said. “We haven’t gotten on an oval yet, so I hope we still have that form. Just because we were strong on ovals last year doesn’t guarantee that we will be strong on ovals again this year. I’ve made that mistake many times where you think you can just go with the same recipe that worked the year before, and it doesn’t always transfer.
“I think we’ve made the necessary steps to be better on a street course. I think we can get there in a road course too. We just have to make sure we preserve that excellent oval package that we’ve had, but if we can get all of them, then that’s what we were lacking last year. We just did not have the consistency across the board. I think today is very encouraging. It definitely makes me feel more positive about what we can bring for the entire championship.”
Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the 14-turn 1.8-mile temporary street course (qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed):
ROW 1
1. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 59.5714 (108.777 mph)
2. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 59.5772 (108.766)
ROW 2
3. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 59.6540 (108.626)
4. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 59.8189 (108.327)
ROW 3
5. (77) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 01:00.0642 (107.885)
6. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:03.5583 (101.954)
ROW 4
7. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 59.5501 (108.816)
8. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 59.5594 (108.799)
ROW 5
9. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 59.5741 (108.772)
10. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 59.6127 (108.702)
ROW 6
11. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 59.8483 (108.274)
12. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:00.0172 (107.969)
ROW 7
13. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 59.7897 (108.380)
14. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 59.8182 (108.328)
ROW 8
15. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 59.8164 (108.331)
16. (6) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 59.8911 (108.196)
ROW 9
17. (66) Tom Blomqvist, Honda, 59.9968 (108.006)
18. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 59.9102 (108.162)
ROW 10
19. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 01:00.0034 (107.994)
20. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 59.9308 (108.125)
ROW 11
21. (20) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 01:00.2021 (107.637)
22. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:00.0953 (107.829)
ROW 12
23. (4) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 01:00.2956 (107.471)
24. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 01:00.4125 (107.263)
ROW 13
25. (51) Colin Braun, Honda, 01:01.3044 (105.702)
26. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 01:00.5336 (107.048)
ROW 14
27. (18) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:00.5712 (106.982)
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email [email protected] Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
