Pocono Qualifying Cancelled Due to Weather
Pocono Qualifying Cancelled Due to Weather
- Rain, low ceiling result in cancellation of IndyCar Series qualifying
- ABC Supply 500 field set by team-owner points
- Championship contenders Alexander Rossi to start second, Scott Dixon fourth
LONG POND, Penn. (August 17, 2019) – Low cloud cover, followed by rain showers, forced race officials to cancel qualifying Saturday at Pocono Raceway for Sunday’s ABC Supply Co., Inc. 500.
A scheduled one-hour morning practice session was scrubbed when overcast skies and a low ceiling prevented the required medical helicopter from flying to Pocono. A brief but heavy rain shower then soaked the 2.5-mile Pocono tri-oval, leading to the cancellation of qualifying.
As a result, the starting order for the 22-car NTT IndyCar Series field will be set by owner points, with last year’s race winner, Alexander Rossi, starting second to points leader Josef Newgarden. Defending series champion Scott Dixon will start fourth.
Later in the afternoon, the track dried sufficiently for the series to run a two-hour practice session, with Honda drivers claiming three of the top four positions, led by Dixon in second at 215.761 mph, with rookie Santino Ferrucci third at 215.377 mph and Rossi fourth at 215.373 mph.
Television coverage of Sunday’s 200-lap race, the second and final 500-mile race of the 2019 NTT IndyCar Series season, starts at 2 p.m. EDT on the NBC Sports Network.
NTT IndyCar Series ABC Supply 500
Circuit: Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile oval) Long Pond, PA
2018 Winner: Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport Honda) 191.314 mph average
Weather: Overcast, late-morning showers, 72 degrees F
Top-10, Honda Starting Lineup:
| Ps. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Speed mph | Notes |
| 1. | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | N/A | Qualifying cancelled; |
| 2. | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | field set by owner | |
| 3. | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Chevrolet | championship points | |
| 4. | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | ||
| 5. | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | ||
| 6. | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda | ||
| 7. | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Honda | ||
| 8. | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Honda | ||
| 9. | Felix Rosenqvist-R | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | ||
| 10. | James Hinchcliffe | Arrow Schmidt Peterson | Honda |
Other Honda Results
| 11. | Sebastien Bourdais | DCR with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | ||
| 13. | Santino Ferrucci-R | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | ||
| 14. | Colton Herta | Harding Steinbrenner Racing | Honda | ||
| 16. | Marcus Ericsson-R | Arrow Schmidt Peterson | Honda | ||
| 17. | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | Honda | ||
| 18. | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | Honda |