Andretti Leads the Way for Honda in Phoenix Qualifying
• Disappointing day for Honda teams and drivers
• Crashes send Sato, Munoz and Hinchcliffe to the rear of the field
• First night oval race of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series on Saturday

A disappointing day for Honda drivers and teams on Friday at Phoenix International Raceway saw Marco Andretti lead the field for the manufacturer, qualifying 11th for Saturday night’s Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix.

Andretti and his Andretti Autosport teammate, Ryan Hunter-Reay, were the only Honda drivers to break into the top 12 in single-car qualifying on a warm, sunny day at PIR. The Honda effort was further hindered when Takuma Sato and James Hinchcliffe missed qualifying after single-car crashes in practice on Friday morning, while Carlos Munoz crashed during his qualifying run in the afternoon. All three drivers escaped serious injury and are expected to take part in the race.

Saturday night’s 250-lap race, the first oval round of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series, starts at 8:30 p.m. EDT, with live network television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.

Marco Andretti (#27 Andretti Autosport Honda): “That was a good [qualifying] run, and [yet] we’re 11th. Obviously, when we have the car wrung out for qualifying, we want to be running for the pole and not 11th… so I have to say it was disappointing. We have a lot of work to do tonight, but we have a direction that I think we can follow to improve the car. If we get the car good in race trim, the competition will be much closer tomorrow night.”