Posting a track record time of 1:14.0739, Simon Pagenaud beat out Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves in the final moments of qualifying Group 1. That ultimately gave him the pole for Sunday’s Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans – Dual II amid controversy.
In a session moved up 15 minutes to 10:30 a.m. ET for impending rain, Pagenaud’s time stood through both 11-car qualifying groups and another driver’s misfortune to earn him his fourth pole of the 2016 season.
Multiple competitors wound up with issues in their 15-minute sessions. Group 1 saw Gabby Chaves serve a drive-thru penalty for a blend line violation just as the session began. Jack Hawksworth hit the outside wall, ending his session early with damage while Conor Daly, Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden all missed the corner in Turn 3. Daly lost his fastest lap as a result of his mistake, a penalty for causing a local yellow as another competitor drove by.
Group 2, while cleaner, also saw its fair share of miscues. The first came from Ryan Hunter-Reay, forced to serve a drive-thru penalty for breaking the pit road speed limit. Later, an incident between Will Power and Marco Andretti led to Power losing his two fastest laps and Andretti losing his for causing a local yellow. Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi also lost his quickest lap for failing to slow in a yellow-flag zone.
Another issue arrived in the middle of session two – rain. Consistent, heavy drops hit the racing circuit, forcing slick conditions that led to Power and Andretti’s late issues. That meant despite a would-be track record time of 1:13.8835, Power dropped from the pole to midpack.
“I don’t agree with the penalty,” said Power. “I think the guys got this wrong because they didn’t understand the conditions. It was wet.”
Benefitting from the myriad penalties in session two was Hunter-Reay, who will start alongside Pagenaud on the front row.
Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Mikhail Aleshin will complete the top-5 starters. Tony Kanaan, Graham Rahal, Power, Hawksworth and Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the top 10.
The 70-lap Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans – Dual II is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Starting Lineup
- Simon Pagenaud
- Ryan Hunter-Reay
- Helio Castroneves
- Scott Dixon
- Mikhail Aleshin
- Tony Kanaan
- Graham Rahal
- Will Power
- Jack Hawksworth
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Charlie Kimball
- Sebastien Bourdais
- Carlos Munoz
- James Hinchcliffe
- Gabby Chaves
- Takuma Sato
- Josef Newgarden
- Alexander Rossi
- Max Chilton
- Spencer Pigot
- Conor Daly
- Marco Andretti
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