Simon Pagenaud wins IndyCar pole in Iowa
Simon Pagenaud of France, driver of the #22 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet, walks down pit road during US Concrete Qualifying Day for the NTT IndyCar Series - DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 07, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Simon Pagenaud will start first in Saturday’s IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway after winning the pole for the second week in a row.
Pagenaud, who won in Toronto last weekend starting from the front row, posted an average speed of 180.073 mph to capture his third pole of 2019 and his 13th overall. It was also Team Penske’s fifth straight qualifying win in Newton.
Will Power qualified second, followed by series leader Josef Newgarden and Takuma Sato. Defending Iowa champion James Hinchcliffe was fifth and Alexander Rossi, just four points behind Newgarden, will round out the third row.
The pole winner has never won an IndyCar race at Iowa’s 0.875-mile oval in 12 tries.