Newgarden was lucky to escape Q2, as some potentially faster runners had their flying laps ruined by Romain Grosjean crashing and bringing out the red flag.
But once through to the Firestone Fast Six, on used ‘reds’, Firestone’s softer compound tires, Newgarden delivered to snatch pole from the Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Honda of Takuma Sato by 0.133sec.
“I didn't think we were going to have enough, to be honest,” said two-time IndyCar champion Newgarden. “It was taking us a little too long to build temperature so I really needed two laps. We went for a one to one strategy.
“On the second set of tires, I was actually up in Turns 1-2 by a tenth. I thought I'm going to go as hard as possible, I'm either wrecking or I'm putting it on pole! Fortunately the car was very, very good. It was a little too loose. A couple corners I thought I was actually going to hit the fence. We hung on. Now we get to work toward tomorrow and hopefully have a clean day with Team Chevy and Hitachi.
Regarding the looseness of the car, Newgarden opined: “I think everybody is dealing with that this weekend: it seems the grip level is not coming up quite as quickly as you would anticipate around here. Normally this place builds, builds, builds, gets easier to drive. I find you're pretty on the edge this weekend. Track grip is lower than I would anticipate.”
Newgarden then added that it was “one of the most satisfying pole laps I've ever had because of the difficulty of it. It was on the edge. It was not easy at all. Some laps you put together, the car is so hooked up and so good you're kind of just steering it. Makes it sound a little bit too basic and simple. It feels that way at times.
“Today was not that case. It felt like you really had to go and attack and work for it. Like I said earlier, the way I started the lap was so promising. I was up already from the Q2 lap. I said, ‘If I can just really push this thing in the middle section of the track, I'm going to try to go for it. If I hit the fence, that's what it's going to be today. Fortunately we had just enough to not do that, had plenty of speed to put it on pole.
“It was on the edge. Four, five and six, I thought those three corners I was going to hit the wall, and we stayed off.”
The 31-year-old from Hendersonville, TN, said that he’s expecting a strong challenge from several directions, including those who lost out in Q2, which included the Ganassi-Hondas of Scott Dixon and Marcus Ericsson, the Andretti Autosport-Honda of Alexander Rossi, and his own teammate Scott McLaughlin.
“We almost got knocked out of the Fast Six,” he admitted. “In actuality we probably got saved in Q2. I think Dixon probably would have bumped us out if that red didn't come into play. We just snuck into the Fast Six, then had to really work to get the pole. I was very, very proud of that.
“What that means for tomorrow, I don't know yet. I think we've got a fast car, quick enough to win. It's just a matter of getting the strategy right, not having any missteps. This field, it's too difficult to keep everybody behind you nowadays, even when you have a fast car. You just can't make any mistakes.
“I feel confident we can do the job. But feeling confident is not enough these days. You got to really go and really make it happen.”
