IndyCar Road America lineup: ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Josef Newgarden insists this season hasn’t been overly frustrating for Team Penske even without a victory to show for it yet.
Perhaps this is the week Newgarden or another Team Penske driver finally breaks through. This is the longest Team Penske has gone without a win to start a season since 1999 (when it finished winless.
“We’ve been well within striking distance,” said Newgarden, who earned the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series race at Road America.
“We’re in the hunt every weekend, so I’m not dissatisfied with where we’re at,” Newgarden said. “We just need to pick it up here and hopefully have some of these results turn our way. That’s really what we need here for this second half, just to get a couple of things turning our way. I think other than that it’s been a really good year for the most part.”
"I think I've got the best of the best."
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 19, 2021
Today @josefnewgarden and @Team_Penske won their second NTT P1 Award in a row, and he talks about getting ready for tomorrow at @roadamerica.#INDYCAR // #REVGroupGP pic.twitter.com/HBBgbZ67Mk
Newgarden, who had won the pole for the previous race at Detroit Belle Isle Raceway, qualified first Saturday for the REV Group Grand Prix by posting a lap of 1 minute, 46.0186 seconds on a road course that extends just over 4 miles and features 14 turns.
STARTING LINEUP: Where everyone will start
QUALIFYING: Click here for Road America qualifying results | Round 1, Group 1 | Round 1, Group 2 | Round 2 l Round 3
He will be joined on the front row by Colton Herta. Jack Harvey will start third.
Three of the top six qualifiers were Team Penske drivers, with Will Power fourth and Simon Pagenaud sixth.
STARTING LINEUP, QUALIFYING RESULTS FOR THE REV GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA
(Qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed)
ROW 1
1. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 1 minute, 46.0186 seconds (136.301 mph)
2. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 1:46.2616 (135.989)
ROW 2
3. (60) Jack Harvey, Honda, 1:46.7206 (135.404)
4. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 1:46.8237 (135.273)
ROW 3
5. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 1:46.8633 (135.223)
6. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 1:47.1274 (134.890)
ROW 4
7. (51) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 1:45.9015 (136.451)
8. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 1:45.9514 (136.387)
ROW 5
9. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 1:46.1037 (136.191)
10. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 1:46.1069 (136.187)
ROW 6
11. (14) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 1:46.2225 (136.039)
12. (18) Ed Jones, Honda, 1:46.2270 (136.033)
ROW 7
13. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 1:46.3427 (135.885)
14. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 1:46.2779 (135.968)
ROW 8
15. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 1:46.3976 (135.815)
16. (21) Oliver Askew, Chevrolet, 1:46.2902 (135.952)
ROW 9
17. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 1:46.8624 (135.224)
18. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 1:46.4069 (135.803)
ROW 10
19. (29) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 1:47.0294 (135.013)
20. (30) Takuma Sato, Honda, 1:46.5130 (135.668)
ROW 11
21. (7) Kevin Magnussen, Chevrolet, 1:47.3776 (134.576)
22. (59) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 1:46.5551 (135.614)
ROW 12
23. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 1:47.7886 (134.062)
24. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 1:46.9786 (135.077)
ROW 13
25. (52) Cody Ware, Honda, 1:47.7324 (134.132)