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IndyCar: Indianapolis starting lineup – Will Power strikes again

By Asher Fair

Will Power, Team Penske, IndyCar - Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
Will Power, Team Penske, IndyCar - Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Will Power took the pole position for the second race of the IndyCar Harvest Grand Prix doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Team Penske’s Will Power surprisingly didn’t take the pole position for the first race of the IndyCar Harvest Grand Prix doubleheader this weekend, as he entered this race having taken four of the last six pole positions at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

But he got back to usual programming this morning, taking the pole position for this second race of this doubleheader to give him five pole positions in nine career starts at the track.

This pole position is his series-high fourth pole position through the 14-race season’s first 13 races, and it is the 61st pole position of his career, bringing him to within six pole positions of Mario Andretti’s all-time record of 67.

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Power took the pole position for this 85-lap race around the 13-turn, 2.439-mile (3.925-kilometer) natural terrain road course in Speedway, Indiana by recording a top lap time of 68.9767 seconds (127.295 miles per hour) behind the wheel of his #12 Chevrolet in the second of two groups in the qualifying session.

Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport’s Colton Herta topped the speed chart in the first group, and he did so with what was the second fastest overall lap time of the qualifying session at 69.1017 seconds (127.065 miles per hour behind the wheel of his #88 Honda.

He is set to start alongside Power on the front row in second place because he topped the speed chart in this group, not because of the fact that his best lap time was the second best overall, based on the qualifying format.

For the first race, the fastest 10 qualifiers were all from one group, but the second place starting spot went to the leader of the second group.

All of the drivers from Power’s group are set to line up in the odd positions while all of the drivers from Herta’s group are set to line up in the even positions.

Aside from Power and his #12 Chevrolet taking the pole position, Honda drivers dominated qualifying, taking six of the next seven positions.

Set to share the second row are Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi in third place behind the wheel of his #27 Honda and Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh rookie Alex Palou in fourth behind the wheel of his #55 Honda.

Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward qualified in fifth behind the wheel of his #5 Chevrolet and is set to start alongside Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay in sixth behind the wheel of his #28 Honda on the third row.

The fourth row is set to feature Meyer Shank Racing’s Jack Harvey in seventh place behind the wheel of his #60 Honda and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist in eighth behind the wheel of his #10 Honda.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, who is chasing Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon in the championship standings and has cut 77 points from what was a 117-point lead four races ago, including 32 points in yesterday afternoon’s race, qualified in ninth place behind the wheel of his #1 Chevrolet and is set to start alongside Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal in 10th behind the wheel of his #15 Honda on the fifth row.

Dixon only managed to qualify in 15th place behind the wheel of his #9 Honda.

Here is the full starting lineup for the second race of the 2020 IndyCar Harvest Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Starting Lineup
1st – Will Power
2nd – Colton Herta
3rd – Alexander Rossi
4th – Alex Palou
5th – Pato O’Ward
6th – Ryan Hunter-Reay
7th – Jack Harvey
8th – Felix Rosenqvist
9th – Josef Newgarden
10th – Graham Rahal
11th – Santino Ferrucci
12th – Marco Andretti
13th – James Hinchcliffe
14th – Rinus VeeKay
15th – Scott Dixon
16th – Marcus Ericsson
17th – Takuma Sato
18th – Max Chilton
19th – Simon Pagenaud
20th – Helio Castroneves
21st – Sebastien Bourdais
22nd – Sage Karam
23rd – Conor Daly
24th – Charlie Kimball
25th – Dalton Kellett

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Tune in to NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the second race of the 2020 IndyCar Harvest Grand Prix doubleheader from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.