Team Penske's Josef Newgarden claims pole position for the second race of the 'Dual in Detroit' in an interrupted qualifying session around the Belle Isle circuit.
Newgarden put in a superb lap of a 1:14.860 to beat Rossi's time from the first group of the morning session, the pair were on the front row for Saturday's race but will start Sunday's event in reverse order.
Rossi had to wait to see if he could hold onto the provisional pole-position as the second group had to also wait to take their turn after the T6 outside barrier burst with water onto the circuit. The track marshals spent around 30 minutes clearing up the fluid on the track and inside the barriers to prevent it happening again.
Much to Rossi's disappointment, he would lose out to Newgarden and have to start on the outside of the front row and try to seek redemption for the first race of the weekend.
Andretti Autosport team-mate Zach Veach snuck under the radar and put in a stunning performance in the #26 Gainbridge-Honda to grab third on the grid with his fastest time only a tenth slower than Rossi's from the first group. The third place is also his best in the NTT IndyCar Series to date.
Harding Steinbrenner Racing's Colton Herta pushed hard to set himself up for the afternoon's race and will start on the outside of the second row in fourth, however, his fastest time was four tenths slower than that of Veach.
James Hinchcliffe looked very comfortable on the Belle Isle circuit after a tricky first race on Saturday, the Canadian was able to work his #5 Arrow SPM machine into fifth place on the grid.
Reigning series champion Scott Dixon mentioned his steering rack was still not fully repaired after clattering into the inside wall of Turn 6 during Saturday's race. But his years of experience paid off and put in a good enough time to start alongside Hinchcliffe on the third row in sixth.
Ganassi team-mate Felix Rosenqvist will take the inside of the fourth row in seventh, the Swede looked like he could challenge towards the front but appeared to catch traffic on his fastest run.
Carlin's Patricio O'Ward made a solid effort for eighth on the grid, Sebastien Bourdais and Spencer Pigot respectively round out the top 10.
Race two of the 'Dual in Detroit' is set to get underway at 3:45 pm local time.
Discussion about this post