Team Penske Verizon IndyCar Series Qualifying Report
May 20, 2018
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race: Indianapolis 500
Date: May 20, 2018
No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden
Position: 4th
Total Time: 2:37.6151 seconds
Average Speed: 228.405 four-lap mph average
No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet – Helio Castroneves
Position: 8th
Total Time: 2:37.9924 seconds
Average Speed: 227.859 four-lap mph average
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power
Position: 3rd
Total Time: 2:37.4757 seconds
Average Speed: 228.607 four-lap mph average
No. 22 Menards Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet – Simon Pagenaud
Position: 2nd
Total Time: 2:37.3696 seconds
Average Speed: 228.761 four-lap mph average
Fastest Average Speed: 229.618 mph (No. 20 –Ed Carpenter)
Notes: After earning spots in the 33-driver field during the Saturday qualifying session, Sunday was all about positioning for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500. All four Team Penske drivers qualified for the Fast Nine, meaning they would be able to compete for the Verizon P1 Pole Award in a separate session that followed the time trials for positions 10-33. In the end it was Simon Pagenaud leading the way for Team Penske by securing the second starting position, and his second-career, front-row starting spot for the Indianapolis 500. Alongside in the third spot is Will Power with his fourth front-row starting position. Josef Newgarden showed a nice bump in speed to end up fourth on the chart after being the third driver to take time as qualifying positions were set based on speeds slowest to fastest from Saturday. Unfortunately for Helio Castroneves he did not have the run he was hoping for to secure his fifth Indianapolis 500 pole position. The three-time winner will start eighth, but in two of his three Indy 500 wins he started from outside the top 10 and found the way to Victory Lane.
Quotes:
"We gave our best. It was an incredible run. The No. 22 Menards team did a phenomenal job on the car yesterday and today. Ed (Carpenter) was just a little faster. It is what it is. It's qualifying, and you try everything you have. I hate the waiting part of qualifying. Waiting is the worst because you don't know what the others have. But we gave everything we had. It's going to be a front row for us, and I thank the team and Chevrolet for an incredible job. Chevrolet, man, it's incredible what they gave us. Team Penske did an excellent job preparing for this event. I'm super excited."
- Simon Pagenaud
"We weren't going to beat a 230 mph lap. That's very impressive. I don't know how he (Ed Carpenter) did it in these conditions. I'm kind of happy with my run. If I could stay on the front row, too, that would be awesome. We'll see what happens now. I feel good about the Verizon Chevy. I've had a very positive month, so we'll see what we can do."
- Will Power
Coverage: The final practice for the Indianapolis 500 – known as Carb Day – can be seen live on NBCSN beginning at 11:00 am ET on Friday, May 25. The 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 will be televised live on ABC beginning at 11:00 am ET on Sunday, May 27.