ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin -- Alexander Rossi won his first pole in three years and will lead the starting lineup Sunday to the green flag at Road America, trying to snap an NTT IndyCar Series winless streak that dates nearly as long.
Rossi will start first in the Sonsio Grand Prix on the 14-turn, 4.048.-mile road course where he scored his last IndyCar Series victory 44 races ago on June 23, 2019.
“It’s pretty crazy to just think it’s been so long,” Rossi said.
TIRE DESIGNATIONS: Click here to see the starting lineup’s compound selection for the green flag
QUALIFYING RESULTS: Click here for the full report from Road America l Round 1, Group 1 l Round 1, Group 2 l Round 2 l Fast Six
INDYCAR AT ROAD AMERICA: How to watch Sunday’s race, schedules, entry list
Rossi turned a lap in Saturday qualifying of 1 minute, 44.8656 seconds, putting the Andretti Autosport driver on pole for the first time since Belle Isle in 2019, three weeks before his last win.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been in this position,” Rossi said. “It’s amazing. It’s cool. We’ll enjoy it, but we’ve got a job to do.”
The American became the eighth different pole winner through eight qualifying sessions, the most parity since 1961 for IndyCar. There were nine different pole winners that season.
Starting first? Great. Getting a sticker? Even better.@AlexanderRossi is pumped to secure the NTT P1 Award for the #SonsioGP, and especially the sticker that comes with it.#INDYCAR // @roadamerica pic.twitter.com/BLareub7uR
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 11, 2022
Josef Newgarden of Team Penske qualified second and was followed by Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Alex Palou, the reigning series champion, and Marcus Ericsson, the Indianapolis 500 winner.
Colton Herta of Andretti qualified fifth but will start 11th instead because he received a six-position penalty for making an unapproved engine change before the Indianapolis 500. Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP moves into the fifth spot and Romain Grosjean of Andretti will start sixth.
IndyCar points leader Will Power, who cycled back to the top following his win last weekend in Detroit, failed to advance out of the first group and qualified 15th. IndyCar has never had a winner come from farther back than 13th, done by Alex Tagliani in 2004.
Simona de Silvestro, making her first start of the season, qualified 27th and last in the field as she adapts to her first IndyCar road course race since 2015. She and Tatiana Calderon give IndyCar a pair of women in the same race for the first time since the 2013 season finale.
Rossi, meanwhile, has been on a roll the last three weeks.
He finished fifth in the Indianapolis 500 and was runner-up to Power last week in Detroit. He also confirmed last week he’s leaving Andretti Autosport at the end of his seventh season to drive for McLaren next year.
“I don’t think there’s any revelation. We’re not doing anything different,” Rossi said. “Mistakes are minimized, chaotic events, minus a clutch blowing up this morning, have been relatively under control.”
Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup for Sunday’s Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America on the 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course (qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time, speed):
ROW 1
1. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 01:44.8656 (137.799 mph)
2. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:44.9371 (137.705)
ROW 2
3. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:45.3822 (137.124)
4. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:45.4240 (137.069)
ROW 3
5. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:45.6826 (136.734)
6. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 01:45.1543 (137.421)
ROW 4
7. (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 01:45.2307 (137.321)
8. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:45.2412 (137.307)
ROW 5
9. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:45.2446 (137.303)
10. (60) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 01:45.2759 (137.262)
ROW 6
11. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:45.5388 (136.920)**
12. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, No Time (No Speed)
ROW 7
13. (30) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:45.4024 (137.097)
14. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 01:45.6017 (136.839)
ROW 8
15. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:45.4227 (137.071)
16. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 01:45.6217 (136.813)
ROW 9
17. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:45.5581 (136.895)
18. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 01:45.7234 (136.681)
ROW 10
19. (51) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:45.7045 (136.706)
20. (45) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:45.9420 (136.399)
ROW 11
21. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 01:46.0785 (136.224)
22. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:45.9951 (136.331)
ROW 12
23. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 01:46.9755 (135.081)
24. (14) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevrolet, 01:46.6130 (135.541)
ROW 13
25. (11) Tatiana Calderon, Chevrolet, 01:47.5661 (134.340)
26. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 01:47.3134 (134.656)
ROW 14
27. (16) Simona De Silvestro, Chevrolet, 01:48.1033 (133.672)
**--Qualified fifth but serving a grid penalty of six positions