An exceptionally close battle occurred on Saturday afternoon when IndyCar took to the streets of St. Petersburg to set the grid for the next day’s race, and it was Josef Newgarden that ended the day in the top spot.
He took pole by a mere 0.006 seconds over Felix Rosenqvist, with the reigning Indy 500 champion stealing the top spot in the final moments of qualifying.
Rosenqvist will start outside the front row with his new Meyer Shank Racing team, with Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta filling out the second row.
READ MORE: IndyCar St. Pete – Full Qualifying Report
None of this year’s rookies advanced out of the first round of qualifying, showing just how tricky the 1.8-mile street course is.
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg takes place on Sunday, March 10 at 12:30 Eastern Time.
| # | Driver | Time | Gap | Avg. Speed (MPH) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josef Newgarden | 00:59.5714 | — | 108.777 |
| 2 | Felix Rosenqvist | 00:59.5772 | 0.0058 | 108.766 |
| 3 | Pato O’Ward | 00:59.6540 | 0.0826 | 108.626 |
| 4 | Colton Herta | 00:59.8189 | 0.2475 | 108.327 |
| 5 | Romain Grosjean | 01:00.0642 | 0.4928 | 107.885 |
| 6 | Marcus Ericsson | 01:03.5583 | 3.9869 | 101.954 |
| 7 | Rinus VeeKay | 00:59.5501 | — | 108.816 |
| 8 | Will Power | 00:59.5594 | — | 108.799 |
| 9 | Scott McLaughlin | 00:59.5741 | — | 108.772 |
| 10 | Marcus Armstrong | 00:59.6127 | — | 108.702 |
| 11 | Scott Dixon | 00:59.8483 | — | 108.274 |
| 12 | Christian Lundgaard | 01:00.0172 | — | 107.969 |
| 13 | Alex Palou | 00:59.7897 | — | 108.380 |
| 14 | Santino Ferrucci | 00:59.8182 | — | 108.328 |
| 15 | Alexander Rossi | 00:59.8164 | — | 108.331 |
| 16 | Callum Ilott | 00:59.8911 | — | 108.196 |
| 17 | Tom Blomqvist | 00:59.9968 | — | 108.006 |
| 18 | Kyle Kirkwood | 00:59.9102 | — | 108.162 |
| 19 | Linus Lundqvist | 01:00.0034 | — | 107.994 |
| 20 | Agustin Canapino | 00:59.9308 | — | 108.125 |
| 21 | Christian Rasmussen | 01:00.2021 | — | 107.637 |
| 22 | Graham Rahal | 01:00.0953 | — | 107.829 |
| 23 | Kyffin Simpson | 01:00.2956 | — | 107.471 |
| 24 | Sting Ray Robb | 01:00.4125 | — | 107.263 |
| 25 | Colin Braun | 01:01.3044 | — | 105.702 |
| 26 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 01:00.5336 | — | 107.048 |
| 27 | Jack Harvey | 01:00.5712 | — | 106.982 |
