IndyCar Road America: O’Ward takes pole for Race 2

The 2018 Indy Lights champion Pato O’Ward earned the first pole position of his IndyCar career at Road America this morning when his fastest time in his Group edged the best effort of former Lights teammate Colton Herta who topped Group 1.

The Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet driver’s margin over the Andretti Harding Steinbrenner-Honda driver was just 0.0279sec but that was enough to push last year’s polesitter Herta to the outside of the front row.

In fact, Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh’s Alex Palou, third place finisher in yesterday’s round, was closer to O’Ward – 0.0221sec – but being in the same group, he will start from the odd-numbered positions, and therefore third on the grid, alongside Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport.

The third row will consist of Graham Rahal’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan-Honda alongside the as-yet-unbeatable Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing who earned his third straight win yesterday.

The field ran in the same groups as yesterday, but this time with Group 2 going out first and tackling the track at its ‘greenest’.

In this group, Team Penske-Chevrolet drivers Will Power and Simon Pagenaud, as well as Arrow McLaren-SP Chevy’s Oliver Askew, all hurt their chances by speeding in pitlane, thereby incurring a drive-through penalty and consigning themselves to just one flying lap on the Firestone alternate tires. Power did well, therefore, to grab P4 in the session to edge his teammates, even if he did trail Herta, Hunter-Reay and Dixon, but he’s consigned to eighth, alongside Dixon’s Ganassi teammate Felix Rosenqvist.

Jack Harvey, who started his Meyer Shank Racing-Honda from the front row yesterday, will start from the fifth row on this occasion alongside semi-teammate Alexander Rossi.

With Penske finally dropping the ball in qualifying, yesterday’s polesitter Josef Newgarden will start only 14th, while Pagenaud is 22nd.

The race begins at 12.08pm ET.

GROUP 2

ClaDriverTeamTimeGapMph
1 Patricio O’WardArrow McLaren SP 1’44.897  137.758
2 Alex PalouDale Coyne Racing with Team Goh 1’44.919 0.022 137.729
3 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 1’45.032 0.135 137.580
4 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi Racing 1’45.148 0.251 137.428
5 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing 1’45.509 0.612 136.958
6 Santino FerrucciDale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan 1’45.567 0.670 136.883
7 Charlie Kimball A.J. Foyt Enterprises 1’45.834 0.937 136.538
8 Rinus van Kalmthout Ed Carpenter Racing 1’46.033 1.135 136.282
9 Zach Veach Andretti Autosport 1’46.181 1.284 136.091
10 Marco AndrettiAndretti Herta Autosport with Marco & Curb-Agajani 1’46.221 1.324 136.041
11 Max Chilton Carlin 1’46.609 1.712 135.546

GROUP 1

ClaDriverTeamTimeGapMph
1 Colton HertaAndretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport 1’44.925  137.721
2 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport 1’45.153 0.228 137.422
3 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 1’45.267 0.342 137.273
4 Will Power Team Penske 1’45.299 0.374 137.231
5 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport 1’45.372 0.447 137.137
6 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 1’45.432 0.507 137.059
7 Josef Newgarden Team Penske 1’45.460 0.535 137.022
8 Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing 1’45.785 0.860 136.601
9 Oliver AskewArrow McLaren SP 1’46.073 1.148 136.230
10 Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing 1’46.485 1.560 135.704
11 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske 1’46.573 1.648 135.591
12 Dalton Kellett A.J. Foyt Enterprises 1’47.313 2.388 134.657

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