Rosenqvist Brings Meyer Shank Its First INDYCAR Pole at Long Beach

Momentum continues to hit its stride for Felix Rosenqvist after scoring the pole at Long Beach. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Meyer Shank Racing’s goal since joining INDYCAR in 2017 has been to be among the best organizations in the paddock. Trials and tribulations have been aplenty for the two-car organization, but on a cloudy Saturday afternoon, MSR stood on top of the mountain with Felix Rosenqvist scoring their first NTT P1 Pole Award for tomorrow’s 49th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

With a pole time of 66.0172 seconds, Rosenqvist bested none other than INDYCAR’s most decorated pole winner, Will Power, who has not started on the front row since the second race at Iowa Speedway last July. The gap between them a slim 0.0039 seconds, the closest margin of pole victory on an INDYCAR street course.

It was nothing but pure gratitude for Rosenqvist to score an unexpected pole in his third race with MSR. Now, he will look to make Sunday’s 85-lap contest his finest hour as the Swede has not scored an INDYCAR victory in 59 races.

“I didn’t think I had it. I mean, I know everyone is so on it here, especially considering Q2, I had to nail it,” said Rosenqvist. “I had a big moment out of (turn) five. I don’t think I lost a lot of time but I was still worried. We finished quite early as well. We were sitting in the car forever waiting.

“So excited to get it. Just a couple of thousandths in front of Will. Means a lot to beat this guy for pole. He’s got a couple under his belt. It’s tight out there. You got to be your best self every lap out there.”

For the organization, Helio Castroneves’ fourth Indianapolis 500 win three years ago remains its only INDYCAR win to date. Rosenqvist hopes to make Sunday career win No. 2 for both himself and the race team.

“I think it’s awesome. The team has just been behind me. I feel like they believe that I can do it. That makes me believe that I can do it in a way,” Rosenqvist said on scoring MSR’s first INDYCAR pole.

“Everyone’s just on the same page. No, I’m really proud of them. I think they’ve been close a couple times in the past. Obviously, we still have that win to get, both for me and the team. They won the 500 in ’21. My last win was in 2020. We still have that to get that done again.”

The calm before the storm en route to Rosenqvist’s sixth career INDYCAR pole (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)

Power had a chaotic go-around at the 1.968-mile street course on Saturday, highlighted by two unforgiving incidents entering the fast backstretch heading into Turn 9 during the morning practice session. First, Power’s No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet hit the outside wall, which resulted in his Penske machine crabbing around the circuit with damage sustained on the left rear. Later, Power lost it again, which brought out a late red flag in the session.

Fortunately for the two-time Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach winner, Power bounced back tremendously as he too was eager to end a lengthy winless streak. His last INDYCAR victory goes back to his championship campaign in 2022 when he took the twin checkered flag in Belle Isle.

If there were questions as to the possibility of cutting the tight margin of Rosenqvist’s pole win, the answer was non-existent according to Power.

“There was not much left on the table. The only thing I could say is a bit into (turn) 10 and the hairpin,” said Power. “You’re in the going to see a chunk anywhere. It’s going to be hundredths. That just shows how good of a lap Felix did, how tight it is in this series.”

Will Power came up a spot short of scoring his 71st INDYCAR Pole (Photo: Owen Jackson | The Podium Finish)

Power’s comments ring true in many facets in which drivers have different ways of learning how to improve on their cars and simply better themselves on a street course like Long Beach.

Rosenqvist watched onboards of fellow competitors like Power and Scott Dixon and explained that even those guys have found ways to step up their game as INDYCAR continues to be more competitive and any discovery of how to get faster makes a big difference. For instance, in Saturday’s Firestone Fast Six, drivers such as Pato O’Ward, who was fastest in Friday’s practice, and defending race winner Kyle Kirkwood, missed the cut.

“I feel like it’s just an ever-changing game out there,” said Rosenqvist. “When you see guys like Will and Scott, I feel like those guys just had to adapt every year because the level just gets higher and higher. If you do a 9-out-of-10 lap, you don’t even make it.

“It’s just a lot of pressure and a lot of focus to do that lap every time. Yeah, I think you have to be hard on yourself and just be better every time. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Two drivers will be making their INDYCAR debut this weekend, Theo Pourchaire and Nolan Siegel, as they will roll off 22nd and 27th on the grid respectively.

It will come down to a 30-minute morning warmup before the 27-car grid looks to conquer Southern California with a strong points day. More importantly, every driver wants to be the man on the top step of the podium. Live coverage of Round 2 of the INDYCAR season begins at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Felix Rosenqvist navigating around the hairpin during qualifying (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)

49th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Starting Lineup