Round 2 of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season will have another rising star leading the starting lineup to the green flag Sunday in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete (noon ET, NBC).
Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta, 21, captured his fifth career pole position Saturday as his No. 26 Dallara-Honda nipped the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of Jack Harvey.
The second row is all Team Penske with the Dallara Chevrolets of Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud. Sebastien Bourdais and Pato O’Ward, the 21-year-old pole-sitter for the season opener last week at Barber Motorsports Park, will make up the third row among drivers who reached the final round in qualifying.
BLACKS OR REDS? Starting lineup with tire designations for today’s race
GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETE: Details and how to watch Sunday on NBC
Starting unusually deep in the field is Penske’s Will Power, who qualified a career-worst 20th at St. Petersburg. Power had nine poles and had qualified on the front row in 10 of the past 12 races on the 1.8-mile street course, and his previous worst starting spot at St. Pete was a sixth in 2009.
Scott Dixon (eighth), Alexander Rossi (11th) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (13th) are among the big names who will be starting from midpack.
Here’s the pole lap courtesy of @IndyCaronNBC. What an effort from everyone @GainbridgeLife @FollowAndretti role on tomorrow! #Gainbridge // #AllAndretti pic.twitter.com/NapjqKcPfp
— Colton Herta (@ColtonHerta) April 24, 2021
In his debut on an IndyCar street course, NASCAR seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will start 23rd (outqualifying Dalton Kellett for the second consecutive week to avoid being last).
Johnson said he picked up a second from practice on his best qualifying lap but struggled during the mad scramble to get a clean lap on the tight 14-turn layout.
“Trying to find a gap was much more difficult than I anticipated, and I really only got one good lap out of the two outings I made,” Johnson said. “It was just really kind of a mess out there. A second faster than what I did in practice. Big step for me, and I’m just chipping away at it.”
My fun meter is at 11. pic.twitter.com/A6xykSYK5y
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) April 24, 2021
Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup Sunday in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete (Position, car number, driver, manufacturer, time):
ROW 1
1. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:00.3210 (107.425 mph)
2. (60) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:00.5709 (106.982)
ROW 2
3. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:00.6078 (106.917)
4. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 01:00.6353 (106.868)
ROW 3
5. (14) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 01:01.0017 (106.227)
6. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:01.0799 (106.091)
ROW 4
7. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:00.4858 (107.133)
8. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:00.4997 (107.108)
ROW 5
9. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:00.5678 (106.988)
10. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:00.6220 (106.892)
ROW 6
11. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 01:00.6476 (106.847)
12. (29) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 01:00.8671 (106.461)
ROW 7
13. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 01:00.8524 (106.487)
14. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:00.7044 (106.747)
ROW 8
15. (30) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:00.9167 (106.375)
16. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:00.7058 (106.744)
ROW 9
17. (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 01:00.9569 (106.305)
18. (51) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 01:00.8127 (106.557)
ROW 10
19. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 01:01.4220 (105.500)
20. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:01.1140 (106.031)
ROW 11
21. (18) Ed Jones, Honda, 01:01.4453 (105.460)
22. (59) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 01:01.5065 (105.355)
ROW 12
23. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 01:01.8364 (104.793)
24. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 01:02.3396 (103.947)
QUALIFYING RESULTS: Click here for the full rundown