Qualifying Report: NTT IndyCar Series

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG

QUALIFYING REPORT
03.09.2019

Qualifying for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series season opener is in the books with two Andretti drivers earning their way to the Firestone Fast Six.

All 110-laps of street racing can be seen on NBC Sports Network starting at 12:30 p.m. ET.

No. 28 DHL HONDA

STARTING POSITION: 5th
QUALIFYING TIME: 01:01.0784
OF NOTE: Led the final two practice sessions and sat second in the first, showing the DHL machine has the speed to beat his best-ever finish of second at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

“We had the fastest lap of qualifying and unfortunately it was in the wrong session. It was in Q1, a 1:00:15, super fast. That was on new (Firestone) Reds. In the (Firestone) Fast Six, we had used reds. I think we just beat up our reds too much in the prior sessions – there was no grip in the car in the Fast Six. We are struggling with some balance stuff right now, but hopefully we can sort that out for tomorrow, but it’s going to be tough. It seems like it is either going to be loose or understeer, we can’t find the middle. But we’re starting from fifth – and we can do something from there.”

No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS HONDA

STARTING POSITION: 6th
QUALIFYING TIME: 01:01.7739
OF NOTE: Made his first Firestone Fast Six appearance on the streets of St. Petersburg, recording his best start on the temporary street circuit

“We have been struggling for two days now with some issues on the front of the car. I think (the qualifying result) was really the best we could hope for. It is unfortunate that we were aiming for sixth. At the end of the day, it was good to be able to advance to the Firestone Fast Six and at least give us a good starting spot for tomorrow, and we all know in this race how many things can happen. We will make sure we resolve our issues overnight and have a good car for tomorrow. I think we know what the issue is, but we don’t know quite how to fix it yet. We have a lot of very smart people here at Andretti Autosport, so the 27 NAPA guys will work and figure it out.”

No. 26 GAINBRIDGE HONDA

STARTING POSITION: 14th
QUALIFYING TIME/SPEED: 01:00.9061

“First off, I’m just happy being here. Thankful for all the fans coming out, but I think we have something to look at. The data didn’t come out just right as far as speed for us. We think that we have a lot better car than we are showing right now, but we have an issue holding us back. We just have to figure out what that is overnight. It is a long race, this is the longest street course we have of the entire year. A lot of laps and a lot of things can happen tomorrow and at the end of the day I am just happy to be here.”

No. 98 U.S. CONCRETE HONDA

STARTING POSITION: 17th
QUALIFYING TIME/SPEED: No Time Posted
OF NOTE: The No. 98 car suffered a fuel pick up problem, costing Andretti the chance at recording a qualifying attempt. The team has resolved the issue heading into Sunday’s 110-lap race.

“It was unfortunate today, the U.S. Concrete car is fast, we just didn’t get a chance. It ruined the show for the fans, too. There should have never been a red (flag). I was sitting on pit lane, I wasn’t blocking anyone but that’s the way the cards fell today. I will be driving and seeing red tomorrow. That’s the plan. So far we have had the pace and possibly had the pace to do a lap.”