Alexander Rossi left it until late to take pole position for the Long Beach IndyCar race with a super lap as Will Power also qualified on the front row.
Rossi chose not to go out in the first run of the Fast 6 but when he did, he bolted to a lap 0.3526s faster than the rest in the #27 Andretti Autosport Honda.
“That’s a good number isn’t it?” said Rossi.
“The NAPA Auto Parts Honda has been so strong since we rolled out.
“I think we definitely should be a force to be reckoned with tomorrow.”
Power was fastest after the first runs despite brushing the wall at Turn 8 in the #12 Team Penske Chevrolet but didn’t improve on his second run.
Click here now.
“(The car) was very good, definitely had good speed, (we) just weren’t quite good enough in the Fast 6,” said the Toowoomban.
“Happy with P2, slowly crept up the whole weekend, and we’re right there.”
Power might have lost the position to team-mate Simon Pagenaud (#22 Team Penske Chevrolet) but the Frenchman he had a bigger run-in with the Turn 8 wall.
Pagenaud will start third, alongside Scott Dixon (#9 Chip Ganassi Honda).
Graham Rahal (#15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda) and Josef Newgarden (#1 Team Penske Chevrolet) round out the Fast 6.
Ryan Hunter-Reay just missed the final phase of qualifying having served a drive-through for an improper pit lane exit in the #28 Andretti Autosport Honda and will start seventh.
St Petersburg winner Sebastien Bourdais put the #18 DCR w/ Vasser-Sullivan Honda ninth on the grid.
The 85-lap Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach starts tomorrow at 0640 AEDT.
Starting grid: Long Beach
| Pos | Num | Driver | C/E/T | Time | Session |
| 1 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | D/H/F | 1:06.5528 | Fast Six |
| 2 | 12 | Will Power | D/C/F | 1:06.9054 | Fast Six |
| 3 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud | D/C/F | 1:06.9107 | Fast Six |
| 4 | 9 | Scott Dixon | D/H/F | 1:07.0483 | Fast Six |
| 5 | 15 | Graham Rahal | D/H/F | 1:07.1275 | Fast Six |
| 6 | 1 | Josef Newgarden | D/C/F | 1:07.1922 | Fast Six |
| 7 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | D/H/F | 1:07.1415 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
| 8 | 5 | James Hinchcliffe | D/H/F | 1:07.1899 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
| 9 | 18 | Sebastien Bourdais | D/H/F | 1:07.1943 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
| 10 | 6 | Robert Wickens (R) | D/H/F | 1:07.2289 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
| 11 | 14 | Tony Kanaan | D/C/F | 1:07.3478 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
| 12 | 20 | Jordan King (R) | D/C/F | 1:07.6427 | Round 2 / Top 12 |
| 13 | 10 | Ed Jones | D/H/F | 1:08.3844 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
| 14 | 4 | Matheus Leist (R) | D/C/F | 1:08.1622 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
| 15 | 59 | Max Chilton | D/C/F | 1:08.7167 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
| 16 | 26 | Zach Veach (R) | D/H/F | 1:08.1763 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
| 17 | 60 | Jack Harvey (R) | D/H/F | 1:08.8207 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
| 18 | 21 | Spencer Pigot | D/C/F | 1:08.2739 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
| 19 | 88 | Gabby Chaves | D/C/F | 1:08.8623 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
| 20 | 98 | Marco Andretti | D/H/F | 1:08.5294 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
| 21 | 19 | Zachary Claman DeMelo (R) | D/H/F | 1:09.1429 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
| 22 | 30 | Takuma Sato | D/H/F | 1:08.6340 | Round 1 / Group 2 |
| 23 | 23 | Charlie Kimball | D/C/F | 1:09.7481 | Round 1 / Group 1 |
| 24 | 32 | Kyle Kaiser (R) | D/C/F | No Time | Round 1 / Group 2 |
(C)hassis: D=Dallara | (E)ngine: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (T)yre: F=Firestone
Discussion about this post