Josef Newgarden has stormed to pole position for the second race of the ‘Dual in Detroit’ doubleheader at the Belle Isle Circuit, setting a new track record in the process.
Qualifying was once again run in the revised format with the removal of the Firestone Fast Six to set the top half of the field.
Two-time series champion Newgarden kept trading fastest times throughout the session with Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta who will line up alongside him on the front row.
Thanks to the rubber laid down by the first day of IndyCar action and the IMSA event on Saturday, coupled with the cooler temperatures allowed teams to try and run on both compounds with an eye for different race strategies.
Two young drivers who took their first wins earlier this season, Rinus VeeKay and Alex Palou, will line-up on the second row.
Romain Grosjean continues to show his strong pace around the twisty streets of Belle Isle by heading up the third row in the No.51 Nurtec-Honda.
Scott Dixon looked set to claim pole position despite running on the harder black Firestone tyres, a mistake in the fountain section saw the Kiwi narrowly miss out and will start sixth.
Close friends Alexander Rossi and Conor Daly will share the fourth row ahead of Graham Rahal and Simon Pagenaud with Ed Jones in 11th place.
Santino Ferrucci showed strong pace early in the Fast 12, however, he crashed on his final run at the final corner causing a red flag to end the session.
There was considerable damage on the No.45 HyVee-Honda and it is currently unknown if the car will be able to start the race at 12:40 local time.
Race one podium finisher Pato O’Ward was not able to make the final part of qualifying after breaking a toe link on the left rear of his No.5 Arrow McLaren SP.
Joining the Mexican on the bottom half of the field will be other front runners from Saturday’s race including Will Power and race-winner Marcus Ericsson.
| # | Driver | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josef Newgarden | 01:14.1094 | – |
| 2 | Colton Herta | 01:14.4300 | 0.3206 |
| 3 | Rinus VeeKay | 01:14.8180 | 0.7086 |
| 4 | Alex Palou | 01:14.8432 | 0.7338 |
| 5 | Romain Grosjean | 01:14.9060 | 0.7966 |
| 6 | Scott Dixon | 01:14.9231 | 0.8137 |
| 7 | Alexander Rossi | 01:15.3524 | 1.2430 |
| 8 | Conor Daly | 01:15.4162 | 1.3068 |
| 9 | Graham Rahal | 01:15.4187 | 1.3093 |
| 10 | Simon Pagenaud | 01:15.5294 | 1.4200 |
| 11 | Ed Jones | 01:15.9478 | 1.8384 |
| 12 | Santino Ferrucci | 01:16.1146 | 2.0052 |
| 13 | Sebastien Bourdais | 01:16.5387 | – |
| 14 | James Hinchcliffe | 01:15.9533 | – |
| 15 | Max Chilton | 01:16.6085 | – |
| 16 | Pato O’Ward | 01:16.0805 | – |
| 17 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 01:16.6456 | – |
| 18 | Jack Harvey | 01:16.1356 | – |
| 19 | Takuma Sato | 01:16.8947 | – |
| 20 | Will Power | 01:16.4386 | – |
| 21 | Scott McLaughlin | 01:17.1815 | – |
| 22 | Marcus Ericsson | 01:16.5514 | – |
| 23 | Oliver Askew | 01:19.1486 | – |
| 24 | Dalton Kellett | 01:16.5805 | – |
| 25 | Jimmie Johnson | 01:17.9838 | – |
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