Honda Drivers, Teams Complete Indianapolis 500 Qualifying
Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayHonda's efforts to secure a fifth consecutive pole for the Indianapolis 500 came up short today, as Felix Roseqvist led the way for the manufacturer in second round qualifying, and will start next weekend's Indianapolis 500 from the outside of the third row, ninth.
Two-time winner Takuma Sato and Kyle Kirkwood also advanced to today's "Fast 12" qualifying session. Sato will start on the inside of the fourth row, 10th; with Kirkwood alongside in 11th.
The 11th and last row of the starting grid was completed with Last Chance Qualifying, with four drivers competing for the final three starting positions. Katherine Legge, Marcus Ericsson and Graham Rahal made the cut, and will start 31st through 33rd, respectively. Rookie and IndyNXT race winner Nolan Siegel crashed without injury making his final qualifying attempt, and will not make this year's race.
P9, so we did not make the Fast Six [qualifying session for the pole], but I don't think we would have made it, even with how good that run was. We definitely think we had more, that the track came back on us a bit, so we could have trimmed a bit more. But we're super stoked to start in the top 10, hopefully we can get a top-10 finish. We're in the game, the car has been good in race trim in practice. The AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda is ready and we are looking forward to race day.
I wouldn't call it a fantastic run. We made small adjustments. The [higher] temperature caught us out. We had a little bit of understeer. We figured we'd be on bubble for Fast Six. Had I finished the last lap better, we'd have been around Felix [Rosenqvist, qualified 9th]. I wasn't doing the team any justice. But there's a little ways to go for pole or Fast Six. We have a good race car and a good starting position for next weekend.
We had a significant hook snap on every lap. I managed to stay in it a couple of times, but then I had to lift quite a lot on the fourth lap. I was afraid that was going to hurt us more than it did, and I'm quite happy about that! Now we need to work on our race car. I'm confident the DCR guys will come at it next week, and we'll with a good race car. I'm especially glad to make it in the show with e.l.f. Seeing what a difference it makes to all these girls at the race track and feeling represented has truly been an honor. I'm thrilled we get to bring that to the Indy 500.
It has been a tough few days since my crash. The team has done a fantastic job and Honda really stepped it up today as well. Having to do double runs here in the last chance shootout is really tough on the engines, especially on a day like today where it's soaring hot outside. I'm really thankful for the team and Honda for giving me the power I needed to make the race. We're in it, and anything can happen. I know we're going to be strong for the race.
Once again the Indy 500 and the amazing spectacle of qualifying tells amazing tales. It's the place where you have your highest of highs and lowest of lows. Racing at this level mimics life. We've been here and we've crushed it. And we've been here and not done so well. None of it is through lack of trying. We take risks, we try things and we push hard. It didn't really pay off this weekend. What is extremely important is the efforts of our women and men at HRC and the heroic efforts of our teams. And most of all, the drivers. It is spellbinding to watch their heroics and pure skill. Arguably the most impressive four laps in motorsport. We had a big upgrade package we introduced for the Indy road course and that seemed to go well. But for some reason, which we need to investigate, it just didn't perform well this weekend. We need to understand why. On to the race. We'll regroup this week and we'll do our best as always.
