Scott Dixon has kicked off his delayed NTT IndyCar Series season by qualifying second for today's Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.
After topping practice, Dixon set the timesheets alight with his qualifying run. With a 214.3mph run from former champion Ryan Hunter-Reay to beat, Dixon was able to clock a 215.6mph average over the course of his run to claim first.
This placed him and Hunter-Reay at the top of the field over Zach Veach, Will Power, and Graham Rahal.
Alexander Rossi, Simon Pagenaud, and Josef Newgarden were the only drivers set to qualify after Dixon. Defending Indy 500 winner Pagenaud came very close to the Kiwi's time, shading him by less than a tenth of a mile-per hour.
This just left Newgarden to take on the Kiwi's time. After a slightly quicker opening lap, Newgarden was able to narrowly pip Dixon to pole with a 215.7mph time.
"They were not bad in practice, they did a great job there," Dixon said of Newgarden and Team Penske's efforts.
"I probably left a little bit on the table there, which is a bit frustrating. I think all three Ganassi cars have been fantastic, especially on the long run that we did."
"I'll say this feels awkward, there's no fans there's no crowds in the paddock," said Newgarden, in light of the event's Covid-19 restrictions.
"It's great to be back at least, doing what we love. I love driving an IndyCar and getting to work with Team Penske.
"I didn't know if we had enough to beat Dixon, he looked really good in his qualifying trim. I just tried to do as much as I could to stay flat, that's really all I had to do. The car was perfect."
Behind Newgarden and Dixon, Pagenaud will line up third ahead of Hunter-Reay, Veach, Power, Rossi, Felix Rosenqvist, and Tony Kanaan. The 300-mile race starts later today at 11.30am NZST.