Hinchcliffe Leads Honda Qualifiers in Detroit
• Indy 500 pole qualifier will start fourth in Saturday’s opening race
• Munoz, second-place finisher at Indy, qualifies fifth in Detroit
• Doubleheader weekend in Detroit features races Saturday and Sunday

James Hinchcliffe led the Honda effort Friday at Belle Isle Park, qualifying fourth for Saturday’s first race of the Dual in Detroit Presented by Quicken Loans, a Verizon IndyCar Series double header race weekend on the temporary street circuit in Detroit, Michigan.

The pole qualifier for last week’s Indianapolis 500, Hinchcliffe was one of five Honda drivers to advance beyond the first round of Indy car “knockout” qualifying. Carlos Munoz also advanced to the final round and qualifed fifth, after finishing second last Sunday at Indy. Second-round qualifiers Graham Rahal will start 10th, with Takuma Sato 11th and Mikhail Aleshin, 12th.

Activities continue Saturday in Detroit with the first of this weekend’s 70-lap Verizon IndyCar Series races. The seventh and eighth rounds of the 16-race 2016 season start at 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday and Sunday, respectively, with live television coverage of both races on ABC.

James Hinchcliffe (#5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): “I’m really happy with qualifying. To get into the Firestone Fast Six two races in a row is big for the Arrow Electronics team. Some of the other cars were really quick, but we managed to have enough there at the end of the second round and then a solid effort in the third round to put it on the second row. I’m very pleased with that. We still have two races and another qualifying to go but to come back here after missing last year and be able to get up to speed quickly, I can’t thank Allen [McDonald, engineer] and the crew enough. The Arrow car was great off the truck and it’s just allowing us to keep this momentum going.”