For the tenth time in his Road To Indy career and fourth time in Indy Pro 2000, Parker Thompson will start a race from the inside of the front row.
The 21-year-old, who is confirmed for only this weekends event, took Abel Motorsports to their first Indy Pro 2000 pole in their very first race.
Thompson, who will start on the pole on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit turned a quick lap of 68.4137 seconds.
Parker Thompson hammers the Turn 1 apex of the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit on his way to the pole for the first Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires pole of 2019 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)
The top eight, which included Thompson, Rasmus Lindh (Juncos Racing), Kyle Kirkwood (RP Motorsport), Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Racing), Moisés de la Vara (DEForce Racing), Danial Frost (Exclusive Autosport), Kory Enders (Exclusive Autosport) and Nikia Lastochkin (Exclusive Autosport), were all within one second of Thompson.
Compared to USF2000 qualifying before it, the first Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying session of the season was relatively tame.
At the half-way point, Thompson was in the top spot with a lap clocked at 68.4137 seconds. Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Racing), Kyle Kirkwood, Rasmus Lindh, and Moisés de la Vara joined the experienced Canadian in the top five.
At the half-way point of the session, most of the field came to pit road for sticker sets of Cooper Tires and adjustments. Everybody, but Thompson, who only made adjustments in the hopes that he could hold onto the pole.
A pair of rapid rookies with fresh tires, RP Motorsport’s Kyle Kirkwood and Juncos Racing’s Rasmus Lindh, were able to get within two-tenths of a second of Thompson but had to settle for the outside front and inside the second row starting spots.
Cooper Tires Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by Andersen RacePark Qualifying 1 Results
| RANK | CAR NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | FAST LAP | DIFFERENCE | TOTAL LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Parker Thompson | Abel Motorsports | 1:08.414 | –.—- | 14 |
| 2 | 10 | Rasmus Lindh | Juncos Racing | 1:08.591 | 0.1769 | 14 |
| 3 | 28 | Kyle Kirkwood | RP Motorsport Racing | 1:08.614 | 0.2000 | 14 |
| 4 | 2 | Sting Ray Robb | Juncos Racing | 1:08.696 | 0.2825 | 12 |
| 5 | 6 | Moises de la Vara | DEForce Racing | 1:09.104 | 0.6899 | 16 |
| 6 | 68 | Danial Frost | Exclusive Autosport | 1:09.111 | 0.6975 | 16 |
| 7 | 7 | Kory Enders | DEForce Racing | 1:09.163 | 0.7492 | 16 |
| 8 | 90 | Nikita Lastochkin | Exclusive Autosport | 1:09.300 | 0.8862 | 13 |
| 9 | 11 | Antonio Serravalle | Pserra Racing/Jay Howard Driver Development | 1:09.595 | 1.1815 | 12 |
| 10 | 98 | Phillippe Denes | FatBoy Racing | 1:09.805 | 1.3912 | 14 |
| 11 | 5 | Damiano Fioravanti | RP Motorsport Racing | 1:09.891 | 1.4771 | 16 |
| 12 | 51 | Jacob Abel | Abel Motorsports | 1:10.301 | 1.8873 | 13 |
| 13 | 91 | Parker Locke | Exclusive Autosport | 1:10.312 | 1.8979 | 16 |
| 14 | 83 | Charles Finelli | Fatboy Racing! | 1:15.156 | 6.7422 | 9 |
The first Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires race of the year rolls off at 12:40 pm.
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