Josef Newgarden snatched pole position from Scott Dixon in the final run of qualifying for the season-opening Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Temperatures continued to rise in Texas ahead of qualifying as the NTT IndyCar Series pushed through its intense one-day schedule for the opening race of the delayed season.
On ovals, drivers get a single attempt to qualify for the race taking to the track by themselves. Drivers ran at full speed for two laps with the average speed taken across both laps to set their place on the grid.
Newgarden was the final driver of the session to take to the 1.5-mile oval in the No.1. Penske entry, the reigning series champion was able to prise the pole position away from Dixon by just 0.102mph.
The Kiwi will line-up on the front row for the second successive year, carrying over the strong pace he showed in practice in his No.9. Chip Ganassi Racing car.
2016 series champion Simon Pagenaud qualified third, meaning Dixon is trapped in a Team Penske sandwich at the front of the field. The Frenchman was the only other driver able to set a pace in the 215mph bracket.
Despite curtailed running from practice after a crash, Ryan Hunter-Reay was able to come back and ramp up his speed to qualify alongside Pagenaud on the second row.
Zach Veach had a tough 2019 season, but has kicked off the 2020 with renewed form. After showing good speed in practice he was able to carry the pace into qualifying and take fifth on the grid with Team Penske’s Will Power for company on the third row.
Graham Rahal was another driver who was able to carry over his strong form from practice, putting his No.15 Rahal Letterman Laningan Racing entry in seventh position.
Alexander Rossi will begin his 2020 title charge in eighth for Andretti Autosport with Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist just behind in ninth for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Tony Kanaan kicked off his final season in IndyCar in style, putting his No.14 A.J.Foyt Enterprises car 10th on the grid, carrying the nostalgic 7-Eleven victory.
Among the less fortunate is Takuma Sato who will have to start from the back of the grid after smashing up his No.30 RLL car on his opening lap of qualifying.
The 2019 pole-sitter took a wide line into Turn 1 and slipped out of the groove, the back end of the car swung round, sending the Japansese driver into the outside wall.
Dale Coyne Racing’s Santino Ferrucci also failed to set a time, citing unhappiness with the car, dedicating time to set up the car for the race.
The 200-lap Genesys 300 is scheduled to get underway at 20:00 local time.
| # | Driver | Time | Gap | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josef Newgarden | 24.023 | Team Penske | |
| 2 | Scott Dixon | 24.039 | 0.0228 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 3 | Simon Pagenaud | 24.051 | 0.0615 | Team Penske |
| 4 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 24.134 | 0.3205 | Andretti Autosport |
| 5 | Zach Veach | 24.159 | 0.3952 | Andretti Autosport |
| 6 | Will Power | 24.194 | 0.4067 | Team Penske |
| 7 | Graham Rahal | 24.203 | 0.4185 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 8 | Alexander Rossi | 24.234 | 0.4613 | Andretti Autosport |
| 9 | Felix Rosenqvist | 24.238 | 0.4906 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 10 | Tony Kanaan | 24.192 | 0.5298 | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
| 11 | Marco Andretti | 24.288 | 0.5748 | Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb-Agajanian |
| 12 | Charlie Kimball | 24.292 | 0.6686 | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
| 13 | Ed Carpenter | 24.326 | 0.6836 | Ed Carpenter Racing |
| 14 | Colton Herta | 24.365 | 0.6877 | Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport |
| 15 | James Hinchcliffe | 24.356 | 0.7091 | Andretti Autosport |
| 16 | Alex Palou | 24.244 | 0.7318 | Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh |
| 17 | Marcus Ericsson | 24.423 | 0.8387 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 18 | Pato O’Ward | 24.407 | 0.8449 | Arrow McLaren SP |
| 19 | Conor Daly | 24.493 | 0.9808 | Carlin |
| 20 | Oliver Askew | 24.466 | 1.1171 | Arrow McLaren SP |
| 21 | Jack Harvey | 25.150 | 2.3586 | Meyer Shank Racing |
| 22 | Santino Ferrucci | No Time | — | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan |
| 23 | Takuma Sato | No Time | — | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 24 | Rinus VeeKay | No Time | — | Ed Carpenter Racing |
