Team Penske had a solid opening day of track action at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Will Power in the No.12 Verizon Business Chevrolet ended the day in second place with a time of 01:06.7811s and speaking following the action he said:
It was a good Friday at Long Beach. Very happy with the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet. We certainly can improve in some areas, driving-wise. I think we are right in the window. Now we have to take that base that we had in practice and apply it in qualifying because that has been an issue. We are really focused on that.”
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet ended the day in fifth place with a time of 01:06.8976s.
“It was a good first session. I felt like we had good speed right away, which is positive for a Friday. But the track is going to change a lot tomorrow. It’s going to build a lot of grip, but feeling in the mix in qualifying, which is going to be critical for the race. Qualifying up front here is always critical. I got a lot of confidence in the Hitachi crew, and Team Chevy has really brought us something good to work with. All around, I think we’re really encouraged for the weekend.”
Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet was third fastest with a time of 01:06.8258s.
“Pretty good day for the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Chevy team. We rolled out of the truck really strong and that makes the whole day heaps easier. We are in a really good spot for the weekend. Obviously, we showed a lot of pace at St. Pete to start the year. Street circuits were a big focus of ours in the off season so it’s nice to see that work paying off. The goal is to continue building on that, qualify well tomorrow and be up front on Sunday when it matters.”