Team Penske NTT INDYCAR Series Qualifying Report

Track:                  Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

Race:                   Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix

Date:                   August 13, 2021

No. 2 XPEL Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden

Practice 1

Position:                            5th

Time / Speed:                   1:11.0850 seconds / 123.520 mph

Qualifying

Position:                            14th – will start 20th due to six-position grid penalty

Time / Speed:                   1:11.3623 seconds (Round 1) / 123.040 mph

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No. 3 CarShop Dallara/Chevrolet – Scott McLaughlin

Practice 1           

Position:                            20th

Time / Speed:                   1:11.7720 seconds / 122.337 mph

Qualifying

Position:                            21st

Time/ Speed:                    1:11.6676 seconds (Round 1) / 122.516 mph

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No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power

Practice 1           

Position:                            6th

Time / Speed:                   1:11.1113 seconds / 123.474 mph

Qualifying

Position:                            2nd

Time / Speed:                   1:10.7214 seconds (Round 2) / 124.155 mph

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No. 22 Menards Dallara/Chevrolet – Simon Pagenaud

Practice 1           

Position:                            12th

Time / Speed:                   1:11.3710 seconds / 123.025 mph

Qualifying

Position:                            12th

Time / Speed:                   1:11.1346 seconds (Round 2) / 123.434 mph

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Best Practice 1 Time:     1:10.8839 seconds (No. 10 – Alex Palou)

Best Qualifying Time:     1:10.7147 seconds (No. 5 – Pato O’Ward)

Recap:

  • This weekend marks the only time on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule when the teams that make up the premier American open-wheel racing series make a return visit to a circuit on which they already competed in 2021. For the first time in history, the INDYCAR SERIES will share the weekend with the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Road Course.
  • Team Penske has dominated the events contested on the picturesque, 2.439-mile circuit carved throughout the infield of the hallowed IMS grounds. The team has captured seven wins in the nine races run at the track since 2014.
  • INDYCAR SERIES competitors took to the track first with a mid-afternoon practice session as Josef Newgarden – one of the two winners of the 2020 doubleheader version of this race – led the way for Team Penske with the fifth-fastest lap in the No. 2 XPEL Chevrolet.
  • When it came time for the evening qualifying session, the other winner of the 2020 IMS Road Course doubleheader – Will Power – nearly captured another NTT P1 Pole Award as he just missed out on the top spot by .067 seconds to qualify second.
  • The 30-minute morning warmup for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will begin Saturday at 8:45 am before giving way to NXS qualifying and NCS practice that will take fans up to the start of the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix.

Coverage: The Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix will air on NBCSN and the INDYCAR Radio Network beginning at 12:30 pm ET on Saturday, August 14.