Romain Grosjean, who is a “rookie” in the NTT IndyCar Series but also an accomplished Formula One veteran, will lead the field to the green Saturday in the starting lineup of the GMR GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
It’s only the third start for the Dale Coyne Racing Rick Ware Racing driver, who line up alongside two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden for the first rolling start of his pro racing career.
Grosjean is barely six months removed from suffering burns in a fiery crash in Bahrain that ended his F1 career.
STARTING LINEUP: Click here for tire choices for the grid
“Amazing,” Grosjean said Friday after winning the pole position. “When I saw the (first qualifying) group I was in, I was like, ‘Oh, dear, if we can get out of the first group, we’re going to be OK,’ and we did. That last few laps, we were on it. What a day for us.
“I’m happier than I have been in a very long time.”
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Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup Saturday in the GMR GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (Position, car number, driver, manufacturer):
ROW 1
1. (51) Romain Grosjean, Honda
2. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet
ROW 2
3. (60) Jack Harvey, Honda
4. (10) Alex Palou, Honda
ROW 3
5. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet
6. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet
ROW 4
7. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet
8. (26) Colton Herta, Honda
ROW 5
9. (18) Ed Jones, Honda
10. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet
ROW 6
11. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda
12. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet
ROW 7
13. (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet
14. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda
ROW 8
15. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda
16. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda
ROW 9
17. (30) Takuma Sato, Honda
18. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet
ROW 10
19. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda
20. (14) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet
ROW 11
21. (11) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet
22. (29) James Hinchcliffe, Honda
ROW 12
23. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda
24. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet
ROW 13
25. (86) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet