Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon in the No.9 PNC Bank Honda and his teammate, Alex Palou, the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion locked out the third row for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the final race of the season.
Dixon set a fastest time of 01:07.0171s and saved a set of the Alternate red Firestone tire for the 95 lap race.
Speaking following the action, the Iceman said:
Interesting qualifying with Q1. The PNC Bank Honda was really strong on both sets of tires. We probably should have run an extra lap on blacks in Q2, but we had the No. 12 car go off and that compromised us a little bit and we pitted short. In Q3, we opted to go on primaries and I think we were the only car to do that. It was looking quite good there for a minute but the alternates just had a ton of grip. But, the upside is we saved alternates for tomorrow so hopefully that’s good.”
Alex Palou in the No.10 Be The One American Legion Honda set a time of 01:07.2846s and speaking following the action the Spaniard said:
It was good; it was a positive session. We knew we had a little bit more in the Fast 6 and we went aggressive with our strategy. We thought we had a chance to go for pole, but unfortunately I made a mistake on the last corner. The positive thing is we’re starting in the top dive. It’s going to be a long race tomorrow and the cars are really fast so I’m looking forward to it.
In his final race before he goes full-time in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2024, Marcus Armstrong starts the race from 16th place and speaking following the action he said:
It’s been a frustrating weekend, as we’ve done about five push laps since the test. There have just been so many red flags and I haven’t gotten a rhythm yet. I just feel like I haven’t got going. I’m also disappointed with qualifying because we caught traffic and the car was really good.”
Marcus Ericsson starts his final race with Chip Ganassi Racing before moving to Andretti Autosport from 19th place and speaking following the action he commented saying:
“I locked up the rears into the Corkscrew and it ruined my lap. That was really the only time that I went full speed into the Corkscrew because there was traffic and red flags. It’s frustrating because the car was so fast all weekend. There is a lot of grip with the new surface. It’s very fun to drive, but obviously if you get out of the groove it can get really slippery. It’s tough out there but I am enjoying it.”