Rinus VeeKay was quickest in qualifying for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series race at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo: Penske Entertainment: Joe Skibinski
Rinus VeeKay entered Barber Motorsports Park this weekend with a hunch he would be fast.
Turns out he was right.
VeeKay earned his second career NTT IndyCar Series pole award, winning the top spot Saturday for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama with a top lap of 1 minute, 6.2507 seconds in the No. 21 Chevrolet. His previous pole came in October 2020 for Race 1 of the Harvest GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
“I thought we had potential,” VeeKay said. “It was a chaotic session. We knew we were in a good position, but to actually put it on pole was an accomplishment. I think the whole team maximized everything. We made the right decisions with tires, setup, everything.
“Confidence is high. I think from here we can have a great race and fight for the win, definitely.”
Team Penske drivers have won the first three races of the season, with Scott McLaughlin capturing the season opener at St. Petersburg and Josef Newgarden winning at Texas and Long Beach.
VeeKay became the fourth different pole winner in as many races this season. Pato O’Ward will join him on the front row after a best lap of 1:06.4003 during the Firestone Fast Six. O’Ward’s previous best starting spot this season was 10th on the oval at Texas.
Alex Palou will start third after a quick lap of 1:06.4415. McLaughlin will join him in the second row after a best lap of 1:06.4967.
Alexander Rossi qualified fifth, tying a season best, with a lap of 1:06.5549. But this effort probably was far more satisfying for Andretti Autosport and Rossi than his fifth-place starting spot earlier this month at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, as crews from all four Andretti teams hustled to repair or replace the entire back half of Rossi’s car in two hours, 45 minutes after he crashed during morning practice.
Felix Rosenqvist will start sixth after his best lap of 1:06.6410. Arrow McLaren SP was the only team with more than one car in the Firestone Fast Six.
Series points leader Newgarden will start seventh after falling less than two-hundredths of a second short of earning a spot in the Firestone Fast Six.
Callum Ilott was the top rookie qualifier, grabbing a career-best 11th spot. Ilott and a handful of other drivers were on quicker final laps at the end of the second round of qualifying when Marcus Ericsson drove into the gravel, triggering a red flag and ending the session.
Three former series champions will need to work overtime to get to the front Sunday on the tight, 17-turn, 2.3-mile circuit after disappointing qualifying results.
Scott Dixon qualified 13th, while Will Power will start 19th. Simon Pagenaud endured a tough Saturday, qualifying 24th.
NTT IndyCar Series
Barber Motorsports Park – Birmingham, AL
Grand Prix of Alabama – April 30, 2022
Saturday’s Qualifying Results
1. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 01:06.2507 (124.980 mph)
2. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 01:06.4003 (124.698)
3. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 01:06.4415 (124.621)
4. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 01:06.4967 (124.517)
5. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 01:06.5549 (124.409)
6. (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 01:06.6410 (124.248)
7. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:06.3348 (124.821)
8. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 01:06.3820 (124.733)
9. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:06.6339 (124.261)
10. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:06.7295 (124.083)
11. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 01:07.2000 (123.214)
12. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 01:07.3561 (122.929)
13. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 01:06.5142 (124.485)
14. (30) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 01:06.7462 (124.052)
15. (45) Jack Harvey, Honda, 01:06.6511 (124.229)
16. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 01:06.8138 (123.926)
17. (51) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:06.7541 (124.037)
18. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 01:06.8898 (123.786)
19. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:06.7775 (123.994)
20. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 01:07.0242 (123.537)
21. (14) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevrolet, 01:06.8213 (123.913)
22. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 01:07.0350 (123.518)
23. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 01:07.6869 (122.328)
24. (60) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 01:07.1052 (123.388)
25. (11) Tatiana Calderon, Chevrolet, 01:07.9248 (121.900)
26. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 01:09.0075 (119.987)
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