WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – As teams finalized race setups for this afternoon’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen presented by Hitachi, it was again Scott Dixon atop the time charts in the morning warmup for the 60-lap race at Watkins Glen International.
Dixon posted a fast lap of 1 minute, 23.7172 seconds (144.916 mph) in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. The reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion has led all four practice sessions of the weekend to go with his track record-shattering Verizon P1 Award Saturday. A three-time winner at Watkins Glen, Dixon will start from pole for the first time at the 3.37-mile, 11-turn road course.
CLICK HERE: INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen warmup results; Combined practice results; Starting lineup
RC Enerson, who impressed on Saturday by qualifying 11th in just his second Verizon IndyCar Series start, turned heads again this morning by running second quick at 1:23.8511 (144.685 mph) in the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda.
“(The setup) was really close to how we were in qualifying,” said 19-year old Enerson. “It’s a pretty similar setup but, of course, we don’t want to get passed on the straightaways as everyone is starting to trim out, so we need a little bit more straightaway speed.”
Enerson debuted in the Verizon IndyCar Series in July at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he showed rapid pace all weekend and posted the third-quickest lap of the race.
“We feel pretty comfortable in traffic,” Enerson said. “(Running on) cold tires feel good as well, we were really strong, and we had a few good, strong pit stops, so hopefully we can advance forward in the race.”
Enerson’s Dale Coyne Racing teammate, Conor Daly (No. 18 Jonathan Byrd’s Hospitality Honda, 1:24.0603), was fourth in the session.
“Our car’s been fast all weekend, it’s just been a really unlucky weekend,” said Daly, who starts 17th. “We tried something pretty big (with the setup during the warmup) that wasn’t the best. Obviously, RC tried the right amount of downforce and we were just a little too trimmed. At least we know that and we have that information now, because both cars are fast, so that’s nice.”
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Josef Newgarden (No. 21 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka/ECR Chevrolet, 1:23.9887) was sandwiched between the two Coyne drivers in third. Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) suffered a setback in Verizon P1 Award qualifying and will start 20th for this afternoon’s race, but rounded out the top five this morning at 1:24.0605 (144.325 mph). Rahal looks to move forward and win his second straight race, following his thrilling win Aug. 27 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Coverage of the INDYCAR Grand Prix at The Glen presented by Hitachi begins at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.
Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevrolet) comes into the penultimate race of the 2016 season with a 28-point lead over Team Penske teammate Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet). Pagenaud starts from the inside of Row 4 this afternoon, and was 12th in the warmup, while Power was 17th in the warmup but will start from the outside of the front row alongside Dixon.
Warmup practice results are below:
|
Rank
|
Car
|
Driver Name
|
C/A/E/T
|
Time
|
Speed
|
Diff
|
Gap
|
Best Lap
|
Total Laps
|
|
1
|
9
|
Dixon, Scott
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:23.7172
|
144.916
|
--.----
|
--.----
|
10
|
14
|
|
2
|
19
|
Enerson, RC (R)
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:23.8511
|
144.685
|
0.1339
|
0.1339
|
13
|
14
|
|
3
|
21
|
Newgarden, Josef
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:23.9887
|
144.448
|
0.2715
|
0.1376
|
13
|
15
|
|
4
|
18
|
Daly, Conor (R)
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:24.0603
|
144.325
|
0.3431
|
0.0716
|
14
|
15
|
|
5
|
15
|
Rahal, Graham
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:24.0605
|
144.325
|
0.3433
|
0.0002
|
9
|
15
|
|
6
|
2
|
Montoya, Juan Pablo
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:24.1947
|
144.095
|
0.4775
|
0.1342
|
14
|
15
|
|
7
|
83
|
Kimball, Charlie
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:24.2291
|
144.036
|
0.5119
|
0.0344
|
15
|
15
|
|
8
|
3
|
Castroneves, Helio
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:24.2388
|
144.019
|
0.5216
|
0.0097
|
6
|
15
|
|
9
|
7
|
Aleshin, Mikhail
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:24.2770
|
143.954
|
0.5598
|
0.0382
|
12
|
12
|
|
10
|
11
|
Bourdais, Sebastien
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:24.2938
|
143.925
|
0.5766
|
0.0168
|
11
|
11
|
|
11
|
28
|
Hunter-Reay, Ryan
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:24.2988
|
143.917
|
0.5816
|
0.0050
|
14
|
15
|
|
12
|
22
|
Pagenaud, Simon
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:24.4784
|
143.611
|
0.7612
|
0.1796
|
7
|
15
|
|
13
|
27
|
Andretti, Marco
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:24.4916
|
143.588
|
0.7744
|
0.0132
|
8
|
14
|
|
14
|
14
|
Sato, Takuma
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:24.5090
|
143.559
|
0.7918
|
0.0174
|
12
|
15
|
|
15
|
41
|
Hawksworth, Jack
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:24.5132
|
143.552
|
0.7960
|
0.0042
|
7
|
14
|
|
16
|
26
|
Munoz, Carlos
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:24.6513
|
143.317
|
0.9341
|
0.1381
|
14
|
14
|
|
17
|
12
|
Power, Will
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:24.6939
|
143.245
|
0.9767
|
0.0426
|
9
|
15
|
|
18
|
5
|
Hinchcliffe, James
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:24.8111
|
143.047
|
1.0939
|
0.1172
|
10
|
15
|
|
19
|
10
|
Kanaan, Tony
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:24.9276
|
142.851
|
1.2104
|
0.1165
|
11
|
15
|
|
20
|
8
|
Chilton, Max (R)
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:25.2397
|
142.328
|
1.5225
|
0.3121
|
14
|
15
|
|
21
|
20
|
Pigot, Spencer (R)
|
D/C/C/F
|
01:25.3183
|
142.197
|
1.6011
|
0.0786
|
6
|
14
|
|
22
|
98
|
Rossi, Alexander (R)
|
D/H/H/F
|
01:25.3292
|
142.179
|
1.6120
|
0.0109
|
11
|
15
|
(R) Rookie (C)hassis: D=Dallara | (A)erokit: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (E)ngine: C=Chevy, H=Honda | (T)ire: F=Firestone
Total Laps: 317