DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO
NO. 29 POWERTAP HONDA
ANDRETTI STEINBRENNER AUTOSPORT
QUALIFYING RESULT: 17th
LAP TIME: 1:06.7418
“Qualifying was the first clean run we had all weekend. With traffic and the red flags, we weren’t sure where we stacked up. But we knew the Andretti Steinbrenner PowerTap Honda was strong. We were on the bubble for the transfer but I snagged the wall a bit in Turn 5 and I think that hurt us from moving forward. This place is tough, it does bite, especially without previous track knowledge. But we have a lot of knowledgable people around us so we’ll be good for tomorrow.”
Andretti Autosport has a reputation to uphold in Long Beach, California and so far, so good. 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race winner Colton Herta took home the NTT Pole Award in front of a crowd full of Santa Clarita, his hometown, Honda HPD employees. Alexander Rossi and Romain Grosjean gave Herta a run for his money joining Herta in the Firestone Fast Six. Rossi was settled with a fifth place after Grosjean, who was on pace to qualify second, made contact with a tire barrier with two seconds remaining relegating him to sixth for tomorrow’s race. Rookie Devlin DeFrancesco showed speed in Group 1 of qualifying, however, he was bumped to ninth in the session pushing him to start 17th overall.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
