Sato, Dixon Head Honda Qualifying Effort at Sonoma
- Takuma Sato to start season-ending race from fifth
- Scott Dixon, seeking his fifth IndyCar Series drivers’ championship, will start sixth
- Title to be decided in Sunday’s GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma
Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato and Honda's leading contender for the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series Championship – Scott Dixon – led the way for the manufacturer today in qualifying action in advance of Sunday's season-ending GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma.
While eight Honda drivers advanced through the first round of knock-out qualifying Saturday at the 2.385-mile Sonoma Raceway circuit, only Sato and Dixon advanced to the final, "Fast Six" shootout for the coveted pole. Sato's best lap of 1:16.2208 netted him fifth in the 22-car starting field, while Dixon ended the session sixth.
Pole qualifier Josef Newgarden is Dixon's primary rival for the 2017 drivers' championship, but both Helio Castroneves, third; and defending series champion Simon Pagenaud, fourth, are just behind Dixon in the points standings heading into tomorrow's season finale. Live television coverage of Sunday's 85-lap championship-deciding event starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT, on the NBC Sports Network.
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) qualified 6th: "I think the air temperature change might have thrown us off a bit. The NTT DATA car was good this morning, but then we just didn't have the grip [in qualifying]. We were lucky to find a few things and scrape through the qualifying rounds. I actually made a big mistake in Turn 3 that cost us some time, but I don't think it would have put us close to the top, maybe just up one more position. I think we're the "best of the rest" today, but the race is tomorrow and there is a lot that can happen between the start and the checkered flag. I'm looking forward to it."
Verizon IndyCar Series GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma Circuit: Sonoma Raceway (2.385-mile road course), Sonoma, Calif. 2016 Winner: Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) 101.181 mph average Weather: Mostly sunny, mild, 72 degrees F
Top-12 Qualifying Results:
| Ps. |
Driver |
Team |
Manufacturer |
Best Time |
Notes |
|
1. |
Josef Newgarden |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:15.5205 |
New qualifying record |
|
2. |
Will Power |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:15.5556 |
+0.0351 seconds |
|
3. |
Simon Pagenaud |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:15.6356 |
Fast Six final qualifying |
|
4. |
Helio Castroneves |
Team Penske |
Chevrolet |
1:15.8032 |
Fast Six final qualifying |
|
5. |
Takuma Sato |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:16.2208 |
Fast Six final qualifying |
|
6. |
Scott Dixon |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
1:16.3978 |
Fast Six final qualifying |
|
7. |
Ryan Hunter-Reay |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:16.1815 |
2nd Round qualifying |
|
8. |
Alexander Rossi |
Andretti Herta Autosport |
Honda |
1:16.1934 |
2nd Round qualifying |
|
9. |
Graham Rahal |
Rahal Letterman Lanigan |
Honda |
1:16.1968 |
2nd Round qualifying |
|
10. |
Sebastien Bourdais |
Dale Coyne Racing |
Honda |
1:16.5811 |
2nd Round qualifying |
|
11. |
Marco Andretti |
Andretti Autosport |
Honda |
1:16.8221 |
2nd Round qualifying |
|
12. |
Tony Kanaan |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
1:16.9718 |
2nd Round qualifying |
Other Honda Results
| 14. |
Max Chilton |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
1:16.7581 |
1st Round, Group 2 |
|
15. |
Charlie Kimball |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
Honda |
1:17.1417 |
1st Round, Group 1 |
|
16. |
James Hinchcliffe |
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
Honda |
1:16.9539 |
1st Round, Group 2 |
|
18. |
Ed Jones-R |
Dale Coyne Racing |
Honda |
1:17.0231 |
1st Round, Group 2 |
|
19. |
Jack Harvey-R |
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
Honda |
1:17.2722 |
1st Round, Group 1 |
|
21. |
Zachary Claman DeMelo-R |
Rahal Letterman Lanigan |
Honda |
1:17.2814 |
1st Round, Group 1 |
