Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: Josef Newgarden wins pole

LONG BEACH — Josef Newgarden connected Saturday won the rod for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, but helium inactive has nary much than a tiny accidental to look with the NTT IndyCar bid title for the 3rd time.

Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward and Newgarden are the lone 3 drivers mathematically susceptible of winning the title successful what volition beryllium the play finale. Palou enters with 517 points, O’Ward has 482 and Newgarden has 470 aft picking up a constituent for winning the pole.

Palou volition commencement 10th, O’Ward eighth. The contention volition statesman astatine 12:45 p.m.

At this point, Palou tin bushed retired O’Ward and Newgarden for the bid rubric if helium finishes 12th oregon better, oregon 13th if helium leads a lap.

Newgarden’s lone accidental includes getting maximum points by winning the contention and starring the astir laps arsenic good arsenic a decorativeness of 25th oregon worse by Palou.

Qualifying successful the 2nd spot was Scott Dixon. Helio Castroneves volition commencement third. Castroneves won this contention successful 2001. Dixon won successful 2015. Castroneves, 46, successful May became the 4th operator to triumph the Indianapolis 500.

Starting 4th volition beryllium Simon Pagenaud, Felix Rosenqvist volition beryllium 5th and Romain Grosjean sixth.

Newgarden’s apical qualifying clip was 1:08.2241, Dixon was adjacent down astatine 1:08.4422 and Castroneves came successful astatine 1:08.4827. Top times for Pagenaud, Rosenqvist and Grosjean were 1:08.6514, 1:08.7461 and 1:08.7577. Grosjean, a rookie, toils for Dale Coyne Racing.

Palou, 24, of Spain, whitethorn not person qualified adjacent the top, but he’s inactive feeling bully astir his chances to look arsenic bid champion.

“Yeah, I deliberation we’re successful bully position,” said Palou, of Chip Ganassi Racing.. “We person a truly accelerated car. … I deliberation we person tons of chances, we conscionable request to decorativeness the occupation tomorrow. It’s not going to beryllium easy.”

Immediately aft the qualifying session, Palou did not dependable immoderate interest astir wherever he’s starting during a trackside interview.

“It’s OK,” helium said. “We cognize we person a bully contention car. We’ll effort and overtake immoderate bully cars time and conscionable absorption connected ourselves trying to bash the champion we tin tomorrow. If we bash a bully occupation tomorrow, we’ll get the title home.”

Newgarden, who won the bid title successful 2017 and 2019, believes Palou is successful a coagulated spot.

“I deliberation if helium sticks to his program, helium should beryllium successful bully shape,” said Newgarden, 30, of Nashville, Tennessee. “He’s been precise resilient this twelvemonth and he’s done a tremendous job.

“And truly the aforesaid with Pato. I don’t spot him marque a batch of mistakes, and he’s ever a charger.”

As for his ain chances of winning the title, Newgarden knows what he’s up against.

“I consciousness similar we’re astir dormant and it’s conscionable like, enactment maine retired of my misery astatine this point,” said Newgarden, whose apical decorativeness successful Long Beach was 2nd successful 2019. “But we’re similar clinging to life, truthful it’s a hard spot to be.”

Newgarden, of Team Penske, finished 2nd successful points successful 2020 down Dixon, a six-time victor of the series.

O’Ward, of Mexico, is conscionable 22. He was 4th successful bid points successful 2020, and he’s looking to amended upon that. It’ll beryllium pugnacious to triumph the title, but helium wants to astatine slightest decorativeness second.

“Last year, we finished fourth, truthful the extremity starting disconnected the play was decidedly to not beryllium fourth, to beryllium astatine slightest third,” said O’Ward, who races for Arrow McLaren SP. “We tin inactive decorativeness 3rd – we’re sitting 2nd close now.

“At slightest from wherever I’m at, it’s truly tight, truthful we request to person a bully contention time to effort and unafraid second. As well, we request to show wherever Alex is to spot if we should truly hazard it to spell for a triumph oregon not if we person a accidental oregon conscionable effort and prevention second.”

Colton Herta, coming disconnected a triumph this past play astatine Laguna Seca, volition commencement 14th. The Santa Clarita autochthonal had the apical signifier clip of 1:07.9783, but helium was knocked disconnected precocious successful the archetypal qualifying session.

Herta, 21, is presently sixth successful bid points with 402.

Alexander Rossi, the two-time defending champion of the race, volition commencement 15th. He won this contention successful 2018 and 2019. There was nary contention successful 2020 due to the fact that of the coronavirus pandemic.

Starting seventh volition beryllium James Hinchcliffe. Ed Jones volition beryllium successful the ninth presumption and Will Power, a two-time victor of this race, volition commencement 12th.

NASCAR fable Jimmie Johnson, successful his archetypal play successful IndyCar, volition commencement 27th.