Honda Racing Report
Saturday, April 18, 2015

Grand Prix of Long Beach Qualifying Report
Circuit: Grand Prix of Long Beach (1.968-mile temporary street circuit), Long Beach, CA
2014 winner: Mike Conway [Ed Carpenter Racing] 82.362 mph average
Weather: Sunny, mild, 72 degrees F.

Ps. Driver Team Manufacturer Best Time Notes
1. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 01:06.63 106.331 mph average
2. Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Chevrolet 01:06.66 +0.0293 seconds
3. Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 01:06.79 Fast six shootout
4. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 01:07.05 Fast six shootout
5. Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 01:07.14 Fast six shootout
6. Josef Newgarden Carpenter Fisher Hartman Chevrolet 01:07.17 Fast six shootout
7. Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 01:07.11 Second round qualifier
8. Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda 01:07.13 Second round qualifier
9. Sebastien Bourdais KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 01:07.24 Second round qualifier
10 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda 01:07.32 Second round qualifier
11 Sebastian Saavedra Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 01:07.39 Second round qualifier
12 Carlos Munoz Andretti Autosport Honda 01:07.40 Second round qualifier

Other Honda Powered Results:

13 James Hinchcliffe Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 01:07.40 First round, Group 1
16 Jack Hawksworth A.J. Foyt Racing Honda 01:08.63 First round, Group 2
17 Gabby Chaves-R Bryan Herta Autosport Honda 01:07.47 First round, Group 1
19 James Jakes Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 01:07.77 First round, Group 1
20 Takuma Sato A.J. Foyt Racing Honda 01:08.87 First round, Group 2
21 Conor Daly-R Dale Coyne Racing Honda 01:08.78 First round, Group 1
22 Francesco Dracone-R Dale Coyne Racing Honda 01:10.46 First round, Group 2

Hunter-Reay to start fourth for Honda at Long Beach
Rahal posts seventh-quickest time in afternoon practice session
Graham Rahal continues strong weekend with eighth-place qualifying run
Andretti Autosport places all three drivers in the top 12

Ryan Hunter-Reay led the Honda field in “Firestone Fast Six” Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying Saturday in Long Beach, California, posting the fourth-quickest time in the final “knockout” elimination round that set the field for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach. Hunter-Reay, the defending Indianapolis 500 champion, won in Long Beach in 201

Graham Rahal will start tomorrow’s 80-lap race from eighth, driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, while Hunter-Reay’s Andretti Autosport teammates, Marco Andretti and Carlos Munoz, will start from 10th and 12th, respectivel

Sunday’s third round of the 16-race 2015 season starts at 4 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.

Ryan Hunter-Reay (#28 Andretti Autosport Honda) qualified 4th:  “That was pressure-packed. We definitely put the goal out today to make the Firestone Fast Six – that, for us, was a pole today. We got in there and we got well within [the top six], so we’re pretty happy about that. Tomorrow, for warmup, we’re going to have to see how the No. 28 DHL Honda is with race trim, but this is another step forward with this new Honda [aero] package, and I think it’s obvious. Congrats to Helio [Castroneves] on the pole. I think he won the pole here back in ’86 or something like that! No, no, like 13 years ago, but that’s a testament to how talented he is. We’re making steps with this Honda package, and I think we just keep chipping away at it like this and we’ll be able to close that gap.”