Front-Row Start for Rossi, Honda in INDYCAR finale
- Alexander Rossi qualifies second in St. Petersburg for final INDYCAR race of 2020
- Honda’s Colton Herta, Jack Harvey and James Hinchcliffe also advance to the “Fast Six” final qualifying round
- Championship leader Scott Dixon to start 11th
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Oct. 24, 2020) – Alexander Rossi and Andretti Autosport led the way for Honda today in qualifying for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, final race in the 14-round 2020 NTT INDYCAR Series season.
Rossi’s fast lap was just over a tenth of a second off the pole-winning time of Will Power, while his Andretti Autosport teammate, Colton Herta, will start third. Meyer Shank Racing’s Jack Harvey qualified fourth, with James Hinchcliffe making it four Hondas in the top five in his Andretti Autosport machine.
Championship leader Scott Dixon, who can clinch his sixth INDYCAR title tomorrow, will start 11th, as Honda also seeks its ninth, and third consecutive, Manufacturers’ Championship. Sunday’s championship-determining, 100-lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT, with live network television coverage on NBC.
Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport Honda) second-fastest qualifier: “I think we got better in every round of qualifying. We started the weekend strong in practice, so I think that’s a huge difference maker on these weekends when you only have the one practice session. It’s a really good effort for the team to do the ‘off-line’ [pre-race setup] development – we haven’t been to a street course yet this year, so for Honda and Andretti Autosport to have three cars in the top six is a testament to that. I think we just have to keep chipping away at it and we’re in a good position to go and get that first win [of 2020] tomorrow.”
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Circuit: Bayfront Park/Albert Whitted Airport (1.8-mile temporary street circuit) St. Petersburg, FL
Weather: Sunny, warm, humid, 85 degrees F
Top 12 Qualifying Results:
| Ps. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Best Time | Notes |
| 1. | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 1:01.0368 | 125.116 mph average |
| 2. | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 1:01.1730 | Fast Six final qualifying |
| 3. | Colton Herta | Andretti Harding Autosport | Honda | 1:01.1815 | Fast Six final qualifying |
| 4. | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 1:01.3626 | Fast Six final qualifying |
| 5. | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 1:01.3675 | Fast Six final qualifying |
| 6. | Pato O’Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 1:01.7725 | Fast Six final qualifying |
| 7. | Sebastien Bourdais | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet | 1:00.8102 | 2nd round qualifying |
| 8. | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 1:00.8676 | 2nd round qualifying |
| 9. | Rinus VeeKay-R | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 1:00.8837 | 2nd round qualifying |
| 10. | Oliver Askew-R | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 1:00.9772 | 2nd round qualifying |
| 11. | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 1:01.0283 | 2nd round qualifying |
| 12. | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 1:01.2298 | 2nd round qualifying |
Other Honda Results
| 13. | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Honda | 1:00.9423 | Round 1, Group 1 |
| 15. | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 1:00.9619 | Round 1, Group 1 |
| 16. | Alex Palou-R | DCR with Team Goh | Honda | 1:01.1630 | Round 1, Group 2 |
| 17. | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Honda | 1:01.1458 | Round 1, Group 1 |
| 18. | Santino Ferrucci | DCR with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | 1:01.1797 | Round 1, Group 2 |
| 19. | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 1:01.1732 | Round 1, Group 1 |
| 22. | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 1:01.5224 | Round 1, Group 2 |
| 23. | Marco Andretti | Andretti Herta Autosport | Honda | 1:01.6833 | Round 1, Group 1 |