The Verizon IndyCar Series made its return to the historic Phoenix International Raceway after an 11-year absence.
Qualifying:
Helio Castroneves drove the number 3 car for team Penkse Chevrolet, at record setting speeds and took home the Verizon P1 Award at the Phoenix International Raceway on Friday April 1st. Castroneves averaged 192.324 mph and was awarded a crown for a record-breaking qualifying performance. His first lap of 19.0997 seconds (192.631 mph) established the new track record for the 1.022-mile oval that stood for 20 years prior to the qualifying session. Tony Kanaan came in second and Juan Pablo Montoya finished in third place.
In their own words:
“It’s an honor to be breaking the record, which has been holding for 20 years, and now we’re able to show that Verizon IndyCar Series cars are fast,” Castroneves said after receiving the crown in pit lane from former track record-holder Arie Luyendyk, now an INDYCAR race steward.
Qualifying was paused when Carlos Munoz spun and crashed in Turn 1 on his first qualifying lap in the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda. Takuma Sato (No. 14 ABC Supply/AJ Foyt Racing Honda) and James Hinchcliffe (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda) crashed in the morning practice.
Qualifying results from Friday for the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix Verizon IndyCar Series event are as follows:
1. (3) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 192.324
2. (10) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 191.511
3. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 191.366
4. (83) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 191.220
5. (20) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 190.780
6. (9) Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, 190.376
7. (21) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 190.094
8. (8) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 189.972
9. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 189.749
10. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 189.654
11. (27) Marco Andretti, Honda, 189.071
12. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 188.966
13. (7) Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, 187.998
14. (98) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 186.939
15. (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 186.544
16. (19) Luca Filippi, Honda, 185.814
17. (41) Jack Hawksworth, Honda, 185.046
18. (18) Conor Daly, Honda, 184.261
19. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 179.770
20. (14) Takuma Sato, Honda, no speed
21. (26) Carlos Munoz, Honda, no speed
22. (5) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, no speed