Dixon, Rahal Lead Honda Qualifiers at Road America
• Championship leader Scott Dixon qualifies fifth for Kohler Grand Prix
• Two-race winner Graham Rahal will start sixth
• Honda teams and drivers claim eight of top 12 starting positions
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (June 24, 2017) – Verizon IndyCar Series championship points leader Scott Dixon led the way for Honda Saturday at Road America, advancing to the final round of knockout qualifying to fifth on the starting grid for Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix. Graham Rahal also advanced to the top six, his third consecutive Fast Six appearance of 2017.
Dixon, who has qualified eighth or better in all 10 races this season, currently leads the drivers’ championship with 326 points, to 313 for defending series champion Simon Pagneaud in second. Eight Honda drivers advanced out of first-round qualifying to complete the top 12 starting positions.
Sunday’s 55-lap, 220-mile race, the 10th round of the 2017 season, begins at 12:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, with live television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): “It was [a] decent [qualifying run]. I think we struggled with balance yesterday, then we made some big changes overnight and definitely got better. Our car has been pretty good today in practice and qualifying. Overall, we’re pretty happy. We know the deficit [to the fastest qualifiers] we’re dealing with; it is what it is. We’ll try and do our best tomorrow.”
Graham Rahal (Rahal Lettterman Lanigan Racing Honda): “We got all of it. I think [the gap to the pole] is more of a handling thing than straight-line speed. Hopefully, tomorrow we can have a good race. We strategically did not use the [optional, softer-compound] ‘reds’ [tires] in round three, because I didn’t want to. I wanted to be pretty race-minded. I wanted to put myself in the best spot possible for tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. Go out there and take the challenge to them, as will Dixie, and see what happens.”
