Rossi, Dixon Lead Honda 1-2 in Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Qualifying
• Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon lock out front row for Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
• Defending race winner Rossi claims first pole of 2019, fifth pole of his career

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 13, 2019) – The Honda-powered duo of defending race winner Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon led the way Saturday in NTT IndyCar Series qualifying for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

It is Rossi’s fifth career pole, and the native Californian won from the pole here in 2018. For defending series champion Dixon, this will be his first front-row start in four events this season, with his previous best being a third last weekend at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. The five-time series champion previously won at Long Beach in 2015.

Graham Rahal will start sixth, with Ryan Hunter-Reay, another Honda-powered previous Long Beach winner, lining up seventh. Takuma Sato, winner of last week’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, will start eighth, while Circuit of the Americas race winner and series rookie Colton Herta rounds out the top ten. Sunday’s 85-lap Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach starts at 4 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.

Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport Honda) pole qualifier, won from pole in 2018: “That was way harder than [qualifying on the pole] last year. These Napa Andretti Honda boys did such an awesome job. To lead the final practice [Saturday morning] and then qualify on the pole against the most competitive field I think we’ve ever had is just a huge testament to the team. This one’s big. I wasn’t expecting it, to be honest. I think we’ve had a good car all year, but we haven’t had the best car yet this year, so we knew coming here we had to execute. This is Step One. We know how to win from pole here, so hopefully, we can do Step Two tomorrow.”