Hunter McElrea and the Giltrap Group/Doric NZ/Miles Advisory Partners sponsored No. 18 Pabst Racing PM-18 on track at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy
By Steve Wittich
Indy Pro 2000 warm-up got underway at 11:30 am. The sun was shining with an ambient temperature of an already steamy 84F, with a track temperature at 109F.
The 20-minute session was surprisingly busy, with the baker’s dozen drivers completing 335 laps.
Hunter McElrea (Pabst Racing) completed the practice sweep, turning the quickest lap in testing, practice, and warm-up. His lap speed in Saturday morning warm-up was 139.913 mph.
The entire session was ‘clean and green.’ Pole sitter James Roe (Turn 3 Motorsport) was the busiest driver, completing 30 laps of the 1.25-mile egg-shaped oval.
Indy Pro 2000 warm-up results
| RANK | CAR NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | FAST LAP (mph) | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Hunter McElrea | Pabst Racing | 139.913 | 25 |
| 2 | 42 | Artem Petrov | Exclusive Autosport | 139.468 | 26 |
| 3 | 1 | Christian Rasmussen | Jay Howard Driver Development | 139.070 | 30 |
| 4 | 40 | Jack William Miller | Miller Vinatieri Motorsports | 138.881 | 22 |
| 5 | 91 | Braden Eves | Exclusive Autosport | 138.504 | 31 |
| 6 | 8 | Nolan Siegel | DEForce Racing | 137.883 | 24 |
| 7 | 51 | Jacob Abel | Abel Motorsports | 137.677 | 28 |
| 8 | 55 | Reece Gold | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 137.607 | 21 |
| 9 | 5 | Wyatt Brichacek | Jay Howard Driver Development | 137.283 | 31 |
| 10 | 7 | Kory Enders | DEForce Racing | 136.981 | 23 |
| 11 | 22 | Manuel Sulaiman | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 136.975 | 22 |
| 12 | 3 | James Roe | Turn 3 Motorsport | 136.749 | 30 |
| 13 | 21 | Kyffin Simpson | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 136.245 | 22 |
The 55 lap Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Oval Challenge will get the green flag at 2:45 pm.
Qualifying notes
- The fifth driver on track, James Roe, laid down an early two-lap average of 139.081 mph had to wait through eight drivers before celebrating his first career pole with Turn 3 Motorsport team owner Peter Dempsey.
James Roe and the Turn 3 Motorsport crew watch as the final driver – Christian Rasmussen – that could knock him off pole, turns his qualifying laps at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway (Photo Courtesy of TSO Ladder – Steve Wittch)
- Frost’s previous best start – fifth – came at Lucas Oil Raceway Park, the other oval on the schedule.
- The pole is the second in Indy Pro 2000 for Turn 3 Motorsport. The team’s first pole came with Danial Frost behind the wheel at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last year.
- Braden Eves will start the race outside the front row, the 2019 USF2000 champion’s sixth front row start of the season.
- Championship points leader Christian Rasmussen will have some work to do, starting seventh. Unfortunately, that’s the worst starting spot for the reigning USF2000 driver, who started sixth in the first race at Barber Motorsports Park and sixth in the first race at Road America. The Jay Howard Driver Development pilot had his worst two finishes of the season, 13th and tenth in those two races.
Indy Pro 2000 Friday Qualifying results
| RANK | CAR NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | 2 LAP AVERAGE (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | James Roe | Turn 3 Motorsport | 139.081 |
| 2 | 91 | Braden Eves | Exclusive Autosport | 138.852 |
| 3 | 55 | Reece Gold | Juncos Racing | 138.103 |
| 4 | 42 | Artem Petrov | Exclusive Autosport | 138.057 |
| 5 | 18 | Hunter McElrea | Pabst Racing | 138.022 |
| 6 | 40 | Jack William Miller | Miller Vinatieri Motorsports | 137.022 |
| 7 | 1 | Christian Rasmussen | Jay Howard Driver Development | 137.562 |
| 8 | 8 | Nolan Siegel | DEForce Racing | 137.024 |
| 9 | 22 | Manuel Sulaiman | Juncos Racing | 136.409 |
| 10 | 51 | Jacob Abel | Abel Motorsports | 136.312 |
| 11 | 7 | Kory Enders | DEForce Racing | 136.090 |
| 12 | 21 | Kyffin Simpson | Juncos Racing | 135.400 |
| 13 | 5 | Wyatt Brichacek | Jay Howard Driver Development | 133.750 |