IndyCar: Alexander Rossi takes pole for 2018 Honda Indy 200
By Asher Fair
![FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 09: Alexander Rossi, driver of the #27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 09: Alexander Rossi, driver of the #27 NAPA Auto Parts Honda (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/9663a6f6e89e97c450c4d29e845744dd98aaeed3c65891c48769c25746cf475f.jpg)
Alexander Rossi took the pole position for the Honda Indy 200, the 13th race of the 2018 IndyCar season, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi earned his third pole position of the 17-race 2018 IndyCar season by taking the pole position for the season’s 13th race, the Honda Indy 200.
Rossi took the pole position for the 90-lap race by recording a top lap time of 64.6802 seconds (125.677 miles per hour) around the 13-turn, 2.258-mile (3.634-kilometer) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio in his #27 Honda in the third and final round of qualifying, the Firestone Fast Six.
Team Penske’s Will Power is the highest qualifying Chevrolet driver for the race. He qualified in second place alongside Rossi in his #12 Chevrolet. On the second row, there is also an Andretti Autosport driver on the inside with a Team Penske driver on the outside, as Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified in third in his #28 Honda and Josef Newgarden qualified in fourth in his #1 Chevrolet.
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The highest qualifying non-Andretti Autosport Honda driver was Schmidt Peterson Motorsports rookie Robert Wickens, who qualified in fifth place in his #6 Honda.
The highest qualifying non-Team Penske Chevrolet driver was Carlin Motorsport’s Max Chilton, who qualified in sixth in his #59 Chevrolet after qualifying for his first Firestone Fast Six, and even his first round of 12, of the season. His sixth place starting position is tied for the highest of his IndyCar career on a road or street course, as he qualified in sixth for the race at Watkins Glen International in the 2016 season.
While the first three rows each have a Honda driver on the inside and a Chevrolet driver on the outside, Honda drivers dominated the rest of the top 13. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammates Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato qualified in seventh and eighth place in their #15 and #30 Honda, respectively, while Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Jones qualified in ninth and 11th in their #9 Honda and #10 Honda, respectively.
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe was slated to advance to the Firestone Fast Six as the fastest driver in the round of 12, but he spun and brought out a red flag. He is still set to start in 10th place in his #5 Honda. Andretti Autosport teammates Zach Veach and Marco Andretti (Andretti Herta Autosport) are set to start in 12th and 13th in their #26 Honda and #98 Honda, respectively.
The race is scheduled to be broadcast starting at 3:00 p.m. ET tomorrow. It is scheduled to begin shortly thereafter at 3:35 p.m. ET. At 6:30 p.m. ET tomorrow evening, NBC Sports Network is scheduled to air an encore of the race.
Here are the full qualifying results for the 2018 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Qualifying Results |
1st – Alexander Rossi |
2nd – Will Power |
3rd – Ryan Hunter-Reay |
4th – Josef Newgarden |
5th – Robert Wickens |
6th – Max Chilton |
7th – Graham Rahal |
8th – Takuma Sato |
9th – Scott Dixon |
10th – James Hinchcliffe |
11th – Ed Jones |
12th – Zach Veach |
13th – Marco Andretti |
14th – Conor Daly |
15th – Charlie Kimball |
16th – Jordan King |
17th – Simon Pagenaud |
18th – Spencer Pigot |
19th – Tony Kanaan |
20th – Jack Harvey |
21st – Matheus Leist |
22nd – Pietro Fittipaldi |
23rd – Rene Binder |
24th – Sebastien Bourdais |
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Be sure to tune in to CNBC at 3:00 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon for the live broadcast of the 2018 Honda Indy 200. If you miss it, be sure to tune in to NBC Sports Network at 6:30 p.m. ET to watch it re-air.