Rosenqvist Takes Long Beach Pole in Tight QualifyingTravis HinkleNTT IndyCar Series driver Felix Rosenqvist capped a successful Saturday for Meyer Shank Racing on the streets of Long Beach, capturing the pole position for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.With his single-lap of 1 minute, 7.4635 seconds at 105.017 mph on the iconic 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit that hugs the Southern California Pacific coast, he held off close friend Pato O’Ward for his second No. 1 start here in three years.And it came on the heels of Acura Meyer Shank with Curb-Agajanian’s IMSA triumph in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship race with Renger van der Zande and Nick Yellowly. What a day for us,” Rosenqvist said.

“Meyer Shank Racing wins the IMSA race from the pole followed by pole here. Pretty lost for words. We said we wanted to do a little bounce-back here, and we did.

Phenomenal day for us.”Following IndyCar qualifying, Rosenqvist said waiting for Arrow McLaren’s O’Ward to complete the Firestone Fast Six format “was nerve-wracking.” O’Ward came close to trading places with him on Row 1 with a 1-minute, 7.506-second run with a speed of 104.948 mph. But Rosenqvvist was .0441 quicker.Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward.Penske Entertainment: Paul HurleyNevertheless, O’Ward said he was “glad to be on the front row with my good friend,” especially because this course that loops the Long Beach Convention Center has “been one of the toughest places that I’ve come to in the past.” He said, “Going into this year, like, there was a huge emphasis [to fare well at Long Beach].

Like I told my engineer, ‘I'm sick and tired of sucking there. I know that I can be strong there.’ So we’ve just brought something completely new. It’s obviously working.

I’m so much more comfortable. It just feels like a completely different car.”Rosenqvist is in a similar situation. He has only one career victory to show for his eight pole positions and is hoping this could be the springboard for a rejuvenation.

So he, too, is looking for a feel-good Sunday when the green flag flies at 2:57 p.m. PT. (Coverage of the 90-lap, 177.12-mile race, televised live on FOX, will begin at 2:30 p.m. PT.) He had said Friday, “We haven’t really had a start of the season we’ve been hoping.

It’s nice to come back here, a place we know we’re quick, try to do a little reset of the season.” Of course, he still has to prove it race day, but with livery saluting the band Green Day, he said he isn’t planning to focus on their hit song “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”It annoys him to be having trouble converting the prime starting slot into victories, he indicated. “I’m aware of that stat. This is my seventh or eighth pole or something.

I have only one win. It kind of speaks for itself,” he said.“Race pace is literally the only thing I’ve been focusing on all off-season, all season. Like qualifying, we always feel like the speed is there.

We try to really maximize the time we have to figure out how to go quicker in the races. I’ll say we’ve done some good progress in that area, especially from second part of last year and even this year. I should say qualifying has been more of an issue this year.

But yeah, we’re fully aware of that,” Rosenqvist said. “I think just looking after the tires has been a thing for me many times in the situation where I have to pit early. That’s definitely something you don’t want to happen.

Just keep an eye on tires, I think we’ll be good.”Pato O’Ward.Travis HinkleO’Ward said he counted Saturday as “a stellar day for me in Long Beach. I’ve been happy with the car I’ve been given. I’m comfortable with it.

I know I can push.”The Mexican driver said he’s “muy contento” with his No. 2 start, four spots better than his previous best.Rosenqvist, of Sweden, said he’s super-happy,” as well – make that "superuperjäst" in his native language.Will Power marvels in ‘another day in the life of Bob Power'Plenty of amazing things have happened to Will Power, but he just might have to take a back seat to dad Bob Power.The elder Power put up a fearless struggle this past week in Australia against a would-be carjacker in the small Queensland town of Toowoomba. The police, tracking the criminal as he went on a reckless spree throughout the area, swept in just in time and halted the confrontation before Power was hurt or robbed.“Yeah, it was probably a pretty unusual thing to happen in Toowoomba, a small town,” Will Power recounted.

“But he was held up with a sawed-off shotgun. Wrestle with the guy a bit, and eventually, with the gun on his chest, he’s like, ‘All right, I’ll get out. Just let me get my dog out.’ Dad has a special affinity for all his cars.

He wouldn’t let any of us kids drive his cars. So it was no surprise [he resisted]. It was a Honda-type car. So he does like the car particularly.

Great PR there.” Will Power’s No. 26 entry in the NTT IndyCar Series is a Honda-powered Dallara.Bob Power firmly told the criminal, “Don’t you shoot me. D