(Image: Stephen Conley / The Podium Finish)
Josef Newgarden will lead the Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to green on Sunday afternoon after edging 2020 winner Colton Herta by three-hundredths of a second.
After qualifying, Herta was asked if he could describe what that time is like and if there is anything he could have done differently, he responded, “Nope and…nope.”
As for Newgarden, “That was a little closer than I would want.” Newgarden will start on pole for the third straight race, becoming the first Indycar Series driver to do this since 2015.
However, Newgarden hopes this is the pole that will put him, and Penske Racing, back in victory lane. The team has been shut out so far this season. Penske Racing has only gone this far into the season without a win seven times since the 1970s.
The driver of the No. 2 XPEL Chevrolet said on his radio after claiming the pole, “I’m out of breath!” Newgarden said afterward that he hasn’t had to push it so hard in some time.
This is Newgarden’s 14th career pole and first at Mid-Ohio. This is especially important as they both come with a championship point.
The Stats Don’t Lie
But at Mid-Ohio, statistics show the value of the pole even more. Fifteen of the 37 previous INDYCAR races – 40.5 percent – have been won by the fastest qualifier. Both of last year’s races were won from the pole and three of the past four at the 13-turn, 2.258-mile permanent road course have been.
Both Newgarden and Herta agree that winning tomorrow will require avoiding late-race yellows. Newgarden knows all too well the feelings of losing races to late-race cautions, noting, “I lost at least 4 last year due to them.” Some may say he has also lost the last two in a row due to situations at the end of the race in which he sat on the pole.
The local favorite, Meyer-Shank Racing, had its qualifying session come to a strange end after being second fastest. Jack Harvey was coming to the line on his final lap and spun. The car would not refire and would be forced to be pushed to the garage.
Fastest in Today’s Qualifying Session
1. Josef Newgarden
1:06.6739
2. Colton Herta
1:06.6770
3. Marcus Ericsson
1:07.0723
4. Will Power
1:07.1161
5. Scott Dixon
1:07.1358
1:07.2181
7. Alex Palou
1:06.4883
8. Graham Rahal
1:06.5946
9. James Hinchcliffe
1:06.6134
10. Ryan Hunter-Reay
1:06.7517
11. Rinus VeeKay
1:06.7671
12. Sebastien Bourdais
1:06.9232
13. Felix Rosenqvist
1:06.7898
14. Scott McLaughlin
1:06.7313
15. Simon Pagenaud
1:06.8437
16. Ed Jones
1:06.7882
17. Max Chilton
1:06.8473
18. Romain Grosjean
1:06.8642
19. Takuma Sato
1:07.0951
20. Pato O’Ward
1:06.8679
21. Dalton Kellett
1:07.5866
22. Santino Ferrucci
1:06.9254
23. Jack Harvey
1:07.6740
24. Conor Daly
1:07.0704
25. Jimmie Johnson
1:08.4077
26. Ryan Norman
1:07.4714
