Pagenaud leads Penske sweep in Fontana

Pole winner Simon Pagenaud talks to the media

Lucille Dust/AR1.com

Simon Pagenaud led a Team Penske sweep of the front row in earning his second career Indy car pole and first on an oval for the MAVTV 500 with a two-lap average speed of 218.952 mph on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway oval.

Pagenaud, driving the No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet, topped teammate Helio Castroneves' who qualified second with a two-lap average of 218.734 mph in the No. 3 Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet.

It is the fifth consecutive race that Team Penske entries have occupied the front row.

"Thanks to my crew for the preparations and it's exciting to get a superspeedway pole," said Pagenaud, who is in his first season with Team Penske. "Qualifying is one thing. It's a reward for performance. We have a 500-mile race and hopefully I can reward the team for its hard work."

Simon was asked if he thought he would have problems with the engine in the heat. he replied, "I am more worried about the sand that comes up off the track"

Marco Andretti will start 3rd

Lucille Dust/AR1.com

A strong qualifying run for Marco Andretti Friday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, will see the Honda-powered Andretti Autosport driver start third in Saturday’s MAVTv500, the second rung of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series “Triple Crown" of 500-mile events.

Andretti was fast throughout the first day of activity on the two-mile Auto Club Speedway oval, posting the second-fastest speed in morning practice behind fellow Honda driver Ryan Briscoe and following up with a 217.797 mph average in qualifying.

"We'll have a pretty clean view for the start here [after qualifying third]. I'm pretty excited about the race car; I'm thrilled with where we ended up in qualifying — but I think my race car is really solid, and thankfully we won't have to come from the back," said Andretti, who won the pole for the 2012 race at Auto Club Speedway

CFH Racing co-owner/driver Ed Carpenter, qualified on the outside of Row 2 (217.666 mph) in the No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet.

Verizon IndyCar Series championship points leader Juan Pablo Montoya, who is seeking to complete a career Triple Crown of 500-mile race victories at Pocono Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway, qualified fifth at 217.250 mph in the No. 2 PPG Automotive Refinish Team Penske Chevrolet.

He will share Row 3 with Scott Dixon, runner-up to Chip Ganassi Racing Teams teammate Tony Kanaan in the 500-mile race last August. Dixon, driving the No. 9 Degree Chevrolet, had a two-lap average speed of 217.184 mph.

James Jakes did not make a qualifying attempt following an engine issue in the second practice session. Pagenaud is the fifth different pole sitter this season.

MAVTV 500 QUALIFYING QUOTES:

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet, Verizon P1 Award winner): "It's good. We've been working really hard on the No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet Team – it's a brand new team. It's gelling really well and I'm super happy to get a superspeedway pole. It's an amazing feeling. It's a totally different day tomorrow. This (pole) is nice, but frankly, you can win from the back in a 500-mile race. Lots of traffic tomorrow and it's going to be important to keep your tires underneath you. Being able to run in different lanes and being smart in traffic is going to be key. And obviously there is going to be a lot of pit stops, too – so there's a lot for tomorrow, but I'm just going to take this tonight and enjoy it."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]WILL POWER (No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "We didn't even do a qualifying sim in practice. We had a lot of push and I had to lift on the first lap so it wasn't ideal. It is a long race and we just have to have a consistent race car and make our way up front. If you're near the front in the final 20 laps, you have a chance (to win)."

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 PPG Automotive Refinishing Chevrolet): "It was an OK run for the PPG Chevrolet. I figured it would end up somewhere around fourth to sixth and we ended up fifth. The car drives really well. We can make our way to the front easily from where we are starting. It's a long race. Anything can, and probably will, happen. If we are solid on pit road all day, then we should be right there at the end."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet): "I'm happy – the performance was very consistent. Wow, to be able to do two laps exactly the same shows that the car is good, and also very consistent. The challenge is the temperature. You know, it's very slippery when it gets very hot. It can be very challenging. Even when you have several lanes to go, the car sometimes just wants to go one way and that's the biggest (challenge) – trying to find new lines without having any huge moments."

STEFANO COLETTI (No. 4 KV Racing Technology Chevrolet): "I wasn't able to fully trim my car in the practice sessions leading up to qualifying, so it was a little difficult for me to know how the car was going to handle. Unfortunately, it was very loose and on my second lap I almost lost it in all four turns, but luckily held on and brought it back to the pits. I now need to sit down with my engineers and look at the data and we will decide on the changes we will make for the race tomorrow."

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 5 Arrow/Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Honda): "It's been a really good day and we had pretty high expectations for qualifying. We just didn't go as fast as we were hoping, but the car felt really good. We just had too much downforce on it. That would be a really easy fix if we were to qualify again, but I'm pretty excited about the speed we've had in practice and in race trim. I guess we've been making a habit of coming from the back and toward the front, so maybe we'll just have to do that again."

JAMES JAKES (No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "It's just really tough on the crew guys (to have to change the engine). We had a really good car and obviously had the engine failure in practice. The guys managed to put an engine in the car in about an hour, but it just wasn't quite quick enough to get us in line for tech. It's really disappointing but it's going to be a long race tomorrow and we've got a good car. I'm looking forward to it and I think we can get a good result in the No. 7 MAVTV MediaTech Oculus Honda."

SAGE KARAM (No. 8 Comfort Revolution/Big Machine Records Chevrolet): "I never went low in Turns 3 and 4 and I tried that during qualifying. That took a lot of guts for me to just say 'I'm going to do this,' but I made a little mistake on my last lap and I chose the wrong gear and hit the rev limiter. I think we would have been a little higher up the scoring pylon, but we'll learn from it and move on."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Degree Chevrolet): "We missed it for some reason, so I'll have to go back and talk it over with the team as to why we were hitting the rev limiter. The winds definitely picked up and the conditions were ideal. We tried to run the bottom but there was still some quick dry down on the track and it got pretty slick. Overall missing it in qualifying isn't that big of a deal and it's a 500-mile race and I know we have a good Degree Chevrolet for the race."

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet): "I think we have a really good car in the No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet, but with some of the changes we made between the second practice and qualifying we just missed a little. The good thing about qualifying on a track like this one is that your starting position isn't as important as it might be on a road course. There are so many lanes to make passes and lines to take that if you have a fast race car, it won't take you long to make it back to the front."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Team Mistic E-Cigs – KVSH Racing Chevrolet): "We were just a little too aggressive with the balance of the car. It was oversteering (loose). I also made a mistake. I was freaking out a little bit on the second lap between Turn 1 and 2 and forgot to downshift into fifth gear, so we were a bit low on the rpm and that killed the second lap. It was a good effort by the Mistic guys and the Chevy power was strong again. We had a bit of a disjointed second practice and we didn't get through all the items we wanted to do. We gave it our best shot in qualifying. Now we just keep working and see what we can come up with for the race tomorrow."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): "Very pleased – it was a good performance from the team. In practice we weren't able to optimize the car but they put everything together in qualifying and I was able to run on the bottom of the lane, which is difficult to hold the line because it's bumpier. The first lap was good but on the second one it naturally started sliding, so I lost a little bit of speed. But to be in the top 10 is a good place to start."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Mi-Jack Honda): "I'm happy with the speed we ran, which was way, way better than I expected based on the speeds I did earlier today. I knew qualifying was going to be our weakness but I think the race car is pretty good. I don't want to start too far back obviously, but I told my guys I thought we would qualify between 15th and 18th. Everyone adds so much downforce back on the cars for the race. Over a 30-, 32-lap stint we did in practice, I was able to stay pretty close to flat the whole time and able to pass (Will) Power and a bunch of good guys, so I feel like we will be OK in the race."

PIPPA MANN (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): "It is a bit difficult for me coming here to Fontana because my other start (at Auto Club Speedway) is officially a start, but I didn't get to run much. It really feels like this is the first time I've been here because I didn't get that far in the race. I'm learning and making improvements to the car. It is going to be a long 500 miles in this heat but I'm looking forward to it. Since we don't have the outright speed right now, we are really hoping we can make the speed last longer than everyone else during a stint. Hopefully that strategy will work a bit better than it did in Texas and we can have a good race tomorrow."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]TRISTAN VAUTIER (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): "The wind made it a little bit tricky but, honestly, the run was pretty uneventful. I think we might have been a bit too safe. The car felt quite stuck and it wasn't the speed we wanted. It is a long race and there is a lot you can do during the race, so we will work on the race car. I think we have a few things to work on for tomorrow, but the race setup seemed pretty good."

ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka CFH Racing Chevrolet): "We had a good qualifying run. That was a lot better than we've been able to show on the first two ovals. The win and second place in Toronto gave us good momentum and the week off was really good, too. We had been struggling on the ovals and the week off really gave us a chance to get immersed in what our problems were and come up with some good ideas to come here and get back on track. I just have to thank all the guys on the team – mechanics, engineers, everybody, for putting in the hard work to get the cars driving nice again."

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 AndrettiTV/Cinsay Honda): "Qualifying was a bit disappointing. Anyways, qualifying is not where it counts. Tomorrow – the race – is what counts. We'll see where we are tomorrow; it's a long race, 500 miles, and it's going to be really hot. We're starting 11th, so hopefully we'll have a good car to push to the front."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 27 Snapple Honda): "We'll have a pretty clean view for the start here. I'm pretty excited about the race car; I'm thrilled with where we ended up in quals – but I think my race car is really solid, and thankfully we won't have to come from the back. Just really proud of everybody, we're really maximizing everything."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "It was a pretty good run in the No. 28 DHL car; we had to be a little conservative with it. We didn't go working the qualifying stuff this morning, didn't get a good read off it. … It's a 500-mile race, we just went at it kind of conservatively and we were the first amongst our teammates (Marco Andretti, Carlos Muñoz) again, so we gave them some feedback for their runs."

JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 41 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): "We had a little too much downforce in the car, we should have trimmed out a little more. It was one of those deals where we didn't know. We thought the pace might be slower than it was but it wasn't, the track was very quick and had a lot of grip so we got caught out by that a little bit. But the car was good in practice today so we think we can have a good race tomorrow."

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 67 Hartman Oil CFH Racing Chevrolet): "I was surprised, when I saw Ed (Carpenter's) lap I got excited and we didn't have the same speed. The car was good and will be good for tomorrow, we just didn't have the speed tonight. Ed has always been good in the race here and hopefully that helps us tomorrow. We definitely did a lot of homework after Texas. The break was good, not just for me but for the entire team. We had more time to prep our cars more than most races and that has paid off here so far."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet): "Obviously the Chip Ganassi Racing Teams cars are fast here with how we've all practiced and how the top three qualified in the top 10. I have a lot of confidence in the No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet in race trim. We were really racy during the first practice, especially when we were running on older tires and running sets longer than most people would. I'm definitely disappointed that we weren't able to stay in the top 10 for qualifying, but I think we have a really good chance to move quickly to the front and finish strong tomorrow in the race."

Results

Pos	No	Name	Time	Diff	Gap	FL	Laps	Speed	Engine
1	22	Simon Pagenaud	32.860	0.000	0.000	1	2	219.112	Chevy
2	3	Helio Castroneves	32.916	0.0565	0.0565	1	2	218.736	Chevy
3	20	Ed Carpenter	32.988	0.1284	0.0719	1	2	218.259	Chevy
4	27	Marco Andretti	33.038	0.1779	0.0495	1	2	217.932	Honda
5	1	Will Power	33.050	0.1903	0.0124	1	2	217.850	Chevy
6	14	Takuma Sato	33.088	0.2284	0.0381	1	2	217.600	Honda
7	10	Tony Kanaan	33.102	0.2423	0.0139	1	2	217.508	Chevy
8	2	Juan Pablo Montoya	33.116	0.2561	0.0138	1	2	217.418	Chevy
9	8	Sage Karam	33.125	0.2654	0.0093	1	2	217.357	Chevy
10	9	Scott Dixon	33.137	0.2772	0.0118	1	2	217.279	Chevy
11	26	Carlos Munoz	33.190	0.3296	0.0524	1	2	216.936	Honda
12	67	Josef Newgarden	33.213	0.3529	0.0233	2	2	216.784	Chevy
13	83	Charlie Kimball	33.267	0.4069	0.0540	1	2	216.432	Chevy
14	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	33.330	0.4697	0.0628	2	2	216.024	Honda
15	11	Sebastien Bourdais	33.361	0.5015	0.0318	1	2	215.818	Chevy
16	41	Jack Hawksworth	33.391	0.5312	0.0297	1	2	215.626	Honda
17	5	Ryan Briscoe	33.391	0.5315	0.0003	2	2	215.624	Honda
18	4	Stefano Coletti	33.601	0.7410	0.2095	1	2	214.280	Chevy
19	98	Gabby Chaves	33.683	0.8233	0.0823	2	2	213.756	Honda
20	15	Graham Rahal	33.684	0.8242	0.0009	1	2	213.751	Honda
21	19	Tristan Vautier	33.752	0.8917	0.0675	1	2	213.323	Honda
22	18	Pippa Mann	34.193	1.3329	0.4412	2	2	210.571	Honda
23	7	James Jakes	No Time	—	—	—	—	—	Honda

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