Courtesy of TMS Media Relations
FORT WORTH, Texas – Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion and defending Texas Motor Speedway winner Josef Newgarden picked up exactly where he left off last year at No Limits, Texas by taking the pole position for tonight’s Genesys 300.
Despite the temperature nearing triple digits, the driver of the No. 1 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet lapped the 1.5-mile high-banked tri-oval for a two-lap average of 24.0289 seconds at a speed of 215.740 mph.
For his efforts, the Hendersonville, Tenn., native was presented with the traditional pole winner award at Texas Motor Speedway, a Henry Texas Tribute edition rifle.
“I don’t want to say I was surprised,” Newgarden said. “It felt like the car was quick. I didn’t know if we had enough to beat [Scott] Dixon; he looked really good in his qual trim. I felt the XPEL car was great. I just tried to do the best I could to stay flat. That’s just all I had to do was keep it pinned around the track. The car was perfect.”
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Honda) was second with a two-lap average of 24.0403 at 215.638 and Newgarden’s Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 DXC Technology Chevrolet) was third at 24.0596 at 215.464.
Last year’s No. 1 qualifier, Takuma Sato, crashed in Turn 1 on his warmup lap. Sato was seen and released from the Wise Health System infield media center despite extensive damage to the No. 30 Abeam Consulting Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.
The Genesys 300 will be broadcast live on NBC tonight beginning at 7 p.m. CT, with the green flag to wave at 7:10 p.m.
Genesys 300 Qualifying Results
Driver Time MPH
Josef Newgarden 24.0289 215.740
Scott Dixon 24.0403 215.638
Simon Pagenaud 24.0596 215.464
Ryan Hunter-Reay 24.1891 214.311
Zach Veach 24.2265 213.981
Will Power 24.2323 213.930
Graham Rahal 24.2381 213.878
Alexander Rossi 24.2595 213.689
Felix Rosenqvist 24.2742 213.560
Tony Kanaan 24.2938 213.388
Marco Andretti 24.3163 213.190
Charlie Kimball 24.3632 212.780
Ed Carpenter 24.3707 212.714
Colton Herta 24.3727 212.697
James Hinchcliffe 24.3834 212.603
Alex Palou 24.3948 212.504
Marcus Ericsson 24.4482 212.040
Pato O’Ward 24.4513 212.013
Conor Daly 24.5193 211.425
Oliver Askew 24.5874 210.839
Jack Harvey 25.2082 205.647
Rinus VeeKay NO TIME
Takuma Sato NO TIME
Santino Ferrucci NO TIME
