Qualifying Report- Indianapolis 500 Firestone Fast Nine

May 19, 2019

Team Penske IndyCar Series Qualifying Report

Track:                  Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race:                   Indianapolis 500 – Firestone Fast Nine
Date:                   May 19, 2019

No. 2 Shell V-Power Dallara/Chevrolet – Josef Newgarden

Qualifying
Position:                                           8th
Total Time / Avg. Speed:              2:37.6208 seconds / 228.396 mph

No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara/Chevrolet – Will Power

Qualifying
Position:                                           6th
Total Time / Avg. Speed:              2:37.4490 seconds / 228.645 mph     

 
No. 22 Menards Dallara/Chevrolet – Simon Pagenaud

Qualifying
Position:                                           1st
Total Time / Avg. Speed:              2:36.5271 seconds / 229.992 mph     

Fastest Avg. Speed:
Qualifying – 229.992 mph (No. 22 – Pagenaud)

Notes:  
With positions 10-33 already set for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500, the drivers comprising the Firestone Fast Nine took to the track on Sunday afternoon for a duel to see who would win the coveted pole position. Team Penske placed Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud in the grouping, with Pagenaud besting them all to win his first career Indianapolis 500 pole position and the 18th for team owner Roger Penske. Rain showers pushed back the Firestone Fast Nine before skies cleared and the track dried at 4:30 pm ET. Most of the competitors received advantageous cloud cover during their run, but Pagenaud took to the track under a bright sun. He was still able to improve on his speed from Saturday to continue a strong month of May that has also seen the Frenchman win the INDYCAR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Power and Newgarden threw strong runs at the venerable IMS oval but could not muster the speed to challenge for the pole position as they will start sixth and eighth, respectively. Helio Castroneves locked himself into the 12th starting position during Saturday’s time trials and did not take to the track.  

Coverage: 
The seventh practice session for the Indianapolis 500 can be seen live tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Coverage is also available on IMS Radio and the NBC Gold app.