Arlington, Texas — Alex Palou hadn’t left a race weekend not as the INDYCAR points leader for 21 months.
So when he exited Phoenix Raceway fifth in the standings, some would think he might have lost a little swagger.
Palou knows his incredible run is over, but he qualified on the front row for the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington, where Marcus Ericsson will lead an INDYCAR field to green for the first time in his career at a new temporary 2.73-mile street circuit that winds by both the Cowboys and Rangers stadiums (Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET)
Here are my takeaways:
1. Palou Ready To Pounce
Palou won the last two points races on new road/street courses as he captured the first win at the new Detroit course and also won last year at Thermal. Can he make it three in a row and cut into his 19-point deficit on leader Josef Newgarden.
Alex Palou is trying to continue his run of success at new INDYCAR tracks.
[ARLINGTON PREVIEW: Everything to Know About Inaugural Race]
“[Those wins] imply nothing,” Palou stated in his post-qualifying information convention. “It means extra that the staff does a superb job not having information and with the ability to put the automobile.
“I felt good at each Detroit, Thermal, and right here as properly. I really feel we’ve a superb automobile. I really feel very assured with the observe.”
Each Palou and Newgarden downplayed the truth that Palou — a four-time sequence champion who has received the title the final three years — isn’t main the standings two races into the season.
“It is loopy, loopy numbers, loopy statistics,” Palou stated in a information convention Friday about that streak.
2. Ericsson Lengthy Highway To Pole
This was the primary pole for Marcus Ericsson in 117 profession begins.
Marcus Ericsson earned the primary pole of his profession on Saturday.
[POWER RANKINGS: Who is on top at Arlington?]
The previous Method 1 driver and former Chip Ganassi Racing driver completed twentieth within the standings final 12 months at Andretti International, and doesn’t cover from the truth that this shall be his final 12 months there if he doesn’t carry out.
“I used to be very pissed off actually after final 12 months and the best way I carried out, particularly the second half,” Ericsson stated in his post-qualifying information convention. “I simply felt like I did not acknowledge myself as a driver. I wasn’t aggressive, I misplaced confidence. I put lots of work in within the offseason, tried to drive various things.
“I jumped in GT3 vehicles and every kind of issues to construct up my confidence and form of enjoyment of driving race vehicles once more.”
3. Newgarden, McLaughlin Wreck
It was an extended day for Crew Penske as its mechanics needed to restore vehicles all through the day. Josef Newgarden wrecked in Saturday’s morning apply and Scott McLaughlin hit the wall in qualifying. Newgarden needed to go to a backup automobile (somewhat little bit of a shock for the reason that wreck didn’t seem too arduous) and McLaughlin’s automobile will want restore.
Josef Newgarden is hoping he can rebound after crashing in Saturday’s apply session.
McLaughlin will begin tail of the sphere in twenty fifth whereas Newgarden begins eleventh. Whereas the observe does seem racy sufficient the place they’ll cross, they each are in considerably important holes.
Newgarden stated he simply locked up the rear wheels and “ran out of room” whereas McLaughlin began a flip too early.
Newgarden stated on the FS1 telecast: “The pace’s been nice, so hopefully it’s all good.”
Nobody needs to be stunned by the wrecks. They’re all making an attempt to maximise pace and studying the course. It’s typical for these sort of incidents when drivers come to a observe for the primary time.
4. Wind Worries
With wind gusts of as much as 50 miles an hour, INDYCAR officers opted to maneuver the race an hour earlier with a inexperienced flag within the neighborhood of midday ET.
The transfer was made for common security causes — from employees and followers making an attempt to navigate the power, which has loads of non permanent buildings, in addition to lifts getting used to broadcast and officiate the race.
“Appears like a tailwind down into Flip 10 there [after the 0.9-mile backstretch] — it may make it enjoyable,” McLaughlin advised me and different reporters. “Lots of slipstreaming and passing.”
4 ½. What’s Subsequent
Drivers would possibly get a greater really feel of the wind and the way it might impression them of their warmup Sunday morning (9:30 a.m. ET, FS1).
They then will battle for 70 laps in what is predicted to be an electrical crowd to witness the inaugural race.
