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Grand Prix of Long Beach Qualifying Report

Long Beach, California - April 20, 2024

One of the most important - and stressful - days during an NTT INDYCAR SERIES (NICS) race weekend on a street circuit is qualifying day. When you are trying to win one of the biggest races on the schedule it gets ramped up even further. The day begins with a practice session where teams begin to dial in their setup for the time trials. During Saturday's early morning practice session at Long Beach, the 27 NICS drivers were greeted with cooler than normal temperatures and a slight change to the track surface that caused more than a few issues. 

Over the years, drivers have become accustomed to a bump on entry into the eighth corner. Since the 2023 race that bump has been smoothed out, allowing a more aggressive entry into that corner. In trying to put together an optimal lap, several drivers were involved in incidents in that area. One of those drivers, Will Power, was flummoxed twice by that corner in practice. Yet, the two-time NICS champion was still able to produce the eighth-fastest lap in the practice session. Scott McLaughlin led the way for Team Penske with the fifth-fastest lap in the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Chevrolet with Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Hitachi Chevrolet team slotting into the 13th position. 

In qualifying, Power and his No. 12 Verizon Chevy team had no issues with any of the 11 corners that make up the Long Beach circuit. With both he and Newgarden making it into the Firestone Fast Six, Power narrowly missed out on his 71st NTT P1 Award by .004 seconds to qualify in the second position. Newgarden finished just behind in third with McLaughlin starting tomorrow's 85-lap event from the 11th spot. 

The green flag for the Grand Prix of Long Beach will fly tomorrow at 3:00 pm ET on the USA Network. 

NEWGARDEN HITS MILESTONE: Josef Newgarden continues to climb the charts as one of the most successful racers in NTT INDYCAR SERIES (NICS) history. The two-time series champion and reigning winner of the Indianapolis 500 will set a milestone on Sunday when he takes the green flag for his 200th NICS start. He currently owns 30 career wins that place him 13th on the all-time list, one win behind a tie for 10th. 

THEY SAID IT: "I'll take a top-six. Just getting back into the Fast Six again is a big deal for me. Working hard on my qualifying, been quick all year in practice, so super stoked to transfer. Obviously, it's a bit when you miss out by that much, but Felix (Rosenqvist) must have done a phenomenal lap. I couldn't pick anywhere where I made a mistake. It was about as good as I could do, so it's cool to get the Verizon Chevy on the front row again. It's been a long time. We can certainly win from there. You've just got to be smart. You can never predict what's going to happen. We'll try and get a good start. We'll try and stay in second and go from there.”
- Will Power