Josef Newgarden Makes Fast 6 For Second Race in a Row; J.R. Hildebrand Qualifies for First Race Since 2015 Indianapolis 500

(SPEEDWAY, Ind.) May 13, 2016 – Qualifying Notes

– Josef Newgarden turned heads in today’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis qualifications, earning himself a Top 5 starting position for tomorrow’s race. J.R. Hildebrand qualified 18th for his first Verizon IndyCar Series race in nearly a year.

– After turning laps that left them 17th and 19th on the speed chart during this morning’s 45 minute practice session, Newgarden and Hildebrand were assigned to Round 1, Group 2.

– Hildebrand elected to start the 10 minute session on a set of brand new sticker red Firestone Firehawk tires, while Newgarden began on scuffed blacks. After two laps on blacks, Newgarden came in for his own set of sticker red tires. Hildebrand stayed on reds the entire session, finishing 9th. Newgarden jumped to 3rd on his final lap, advancing himself to the Top 12.

– After starting Round 2 on scuffed black Firehawks, Newgarden came in for another set of sticker reds. With three minutes left in the session, he headed back out on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On his final lap, he jumped to 6 with a lap of 129.996 mph. The lap held, advancing him to the Firestone Fast 6 for the second race in a row.

– The Firestone Fast 6 only featured six minutes of on-track time. Newgarden was able to turn 5 laps during the session, the last of which earned him the 5th starting position in tomorrow’s 82-lap race with a speed of 126.461 mph.

– Both Chevrolets of Newgarden and Hildebrand feature the blue and white colors of Preferred Freezer Services. PFS offers the most modern, state-of-the-art, full service temperature-controlled warehouses in the United States. This is the third Month of May PFS has been on Hildebrand’s car. Other races with PFS include the 2014 and 2015 Indianapolis 500 and last year’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

– The 2016 Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis will be Hildebrand’s first race since the 2015 Indianapolis 500.

– Ed Carpenter Racing is headquartered mere blocks south of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Main Street in Speedway. Team owner Ed Carpenter will join Hildebrand and Newgarden for the Indianapolis 500 with practice beginning on May 16, just two days after the ALGPI. The trio of drivers earned the nicknamed “Team America” in 2015 when ECR was the only multi-car team with an all-American line up in the Indianapolis 500. Hildebrand hails from Sausalito, Calif.; Newgarden is a native of Hendersonville, Tenn.; Carpenter, from Indianapolis, is a hometown favorite.

– ECR also holds the distinction of fielding two Indy Lights champions. Hildebrand and Newgarden both won the championship before graduating to the Verizon IndyCar Series; Hildebrand in 2009 with Newgarden following in 2011.

– Live television coverage for tomorrow’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 21 PREFERRED FREEZER SERVICES CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 5TH: “Fifth in qualifying here for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis is good. There are two different events here with the Grand Prix and the 500, but it’s still nice to start this first weekend off good. We’ll try to keep the form up all month. I’m hoping we can have a good, clean start. This race accordions into Turn 1 and I got the bad end of that last year. I nearly went down a lap and struggled all race, so if we can get through Turn 1 clean, then I think we’re going to have a pretty good day tomorrow.”

JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 6 PREFERRED FREEZER SERVICES CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 18TH: “Qualifying was kind of frustrating. We’ve been chasing it a little bit this weekend and it’s all just so close. It’s a little bit from me and a little bit from the car, it goes a long way. We didn’t get enough out of that combined to be able to transfer. For us, we can have a look at what Josef’s doing, which is a little bit different from what we were doing. We’ll be able to gain some idea on where we need to improve for tomorrow. The race in a lot of ways is a whole different ballgame. Last year, we played it smart and got through a lot of the mess down in Turn 1. Because we had made the car a little bit better and figured a few things out, we were running in the Top 5 for a lot of the day. It’s about being smart tomorrow, but also being a little aggressive and being willing to gamble with the strategy to leap frog up a few spots.”