LONG BEACH, Calif. – Defending Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach winner Colton Herta was the fastest driver in Sunday’s NTT IndyCar warmup session.
The driver who will start on the pole for the 47th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach that starts at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, clocked a best lap of 1:05.8845 around the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street course in the No. 26 Honda for Andretti Autosport.
Former Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach winner Scott Dixon was second in the No. 9 Honda at 1:06.1923. Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Marcus Ericsson was third at 1:06.3934 followed by Meyer-Shank Racing’s Simon Pagenaud at 1:06.7766 in the No. 60 Honda.
Two-time Long Beach winner Will Power rounded out the top five at 1:06.8203 in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet for Team Penske. Honda swept the top four potions.
NTT IndyCar Series points leader Scott McLaughlin was an early departure from the session because of a broken header. His car was rolled back to the paddock after just 13 minutes into the session.
“We know we have a fast car,” McLaughlin said. “In and out laps are going to be very crucial today. We know we have a fast car. I’d rather this happen now than in the race. They’ll look at it, change it and go over it properly. In the race, we’ll be very good. I’ll be leaning on my teammates for info. We’ll be fine.”
A Chevrolet spokesperson later clarified that it was a precautionary engine change for McLaughlin due to a to suspected electrical problem. The change also addresses the possible header issue. Chevrolet said it could’ve been fixed without the full change, but they felt it was safer and less of a risk for the race.
Jimmie Johnson, who has had a variety of issues this weekend including a broken right hand in a crash on Friday, had more issues in Saturday’s session, and was penalized for impeding Graham Rahal from making a fast lap in qualifying, continued to have an unusual weekend Sunday morning. He ran over an air hose on his way out of his pit area.
Johnson was also wearing a white glove on his right hand to fit over the brace he is wearing on his broken hand.
He was 24th fastest out of 26 cars in warmup with a time of 1:08.9949 in the No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda.
Rahal slid sideways and nosed into the wall with 8:20 left in the session to bring out the red flag.
When the green flag came out, there were less than three minutes left.
Keyword: Herta Leads Warmup As McLaughlin Has Trouble