THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up qualifying ahead of tomorrow's Bommarito Automotive Group 500, joined by Felix Rosenqvist, driver of the No. 60 Auto Nation Sirius XM Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. Third front-row start of the season, best start here at Worldwide Technology Raceway in his seven starts here in suburban St. Louis.
Did you think you'd have it? What was that waiting game like watching guys go after your fast speed?
FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, we had 12 cars after we rolled out, so I was kind of expecting someone to break through. Seems like me and Scott are always fighting for -- I think it's like the fourth or fifth time we're fighting for the pole.
But yeah, it was a really good run, and you could feel it was well-executed, good balance, everything was good with the tools and the car feeling. I got some good feedback from Dave, as well. He did really good starting early, early in the qualifying and he's essentially going to be on the front row because I have a grid penalty.
THE MODERATOR: Both cars really good out of the box it seems.
FELIX ROSENQVIST: For various reasons, we're not super happy with how the season has gone after a really strong start, but I just talked to Mike, and it was like, hey, last year we had zero top-6 qualifyings and this year we have 13 combined between the two cars. You kind of have to take in the bigger perspective of things, and we're excited. We're fast. We have to get a bit better at closing on race day, and obviously tomorrow with the grid penalty it's going to be tough with a pretty track position-biased race, but hey, it's better to be P11 than being all the way in the back. I think really kind of maximized what we could today.
Q. With the addition of David, do you feel like the bar has been raised for the whole team? And you're being pushed a little bit more than you were instead of being the leader out there on your own island.
FELIX ROSENQVIST: For sure. He's been really impressive. He's quick on every kind of track. He's known for being very good here, obviously, but he's been impressive on every track we've been so far, and especially with that hand injury, recovering from that. It's pretty impressive, to be honest.
I'll be sad to lose him next year for sure, but I'll be happy he's got his future sorted.
Q. How is it making you better?
FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, when you have a quick teammate, every time you come back, you're scratching your head, how can I beat this guy. That's what you want internally. It's a healthy thing to have between teammates. I think we see it in all the best teams like Penske, Ganassi and Andretti, as well. They have some really, really good drivers pushing each other, and I think it always keeps you on your toes and you maximize your stuff a little bit more every session.
Q. How edgy was that run? We saw Herta crash down there. How on the edge was it getting through there?
FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, you have to push the limits a little bit because the two ends are so different on the car, and you can't have a perfect car on both ends. I'd say it seemed like a lot of guys were pushing the limit of trimming, like downforce, and going more loose, and I think Herta obviously reached the limit of that. But that's what you have to do if you want to fight for pole. You're kind of happy when the two laps are over, to be honest.
THE MODERATOR: Have you figured out, it seems like some are deploying out of 2, some are deploying out of 4, some are changing their minds once they get out there. What's been your experience so far?
FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, it's an interesting game there. Especially in qualifying here when you're fighting for hundredths, the deployment strategy can be pretty impactful. It all depends on what kind of gear ratios you have, if you're hitting the soft limiter in that end or that end. There's no real, like, winning strategy overall. I think every team has their own idea of what they need to do.
But it's cool, you can see it on TV, and I think it gives the fans a new thing to look after, especially in qually.
Q. Felix, congratulations on the result. Obviously you've got the engine change penalty, but what do you think you can do in the race tomorrow? It can be quite tricky to overtake here.
FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, we've been talking about that. I think staying out of the pits would be very good. Don't come into the pits. It's costing a lot, especially now with the stage pit limiter. I think there's another three seconds or so loss from going into the pits, on a track that was already very penalizing for that.
If you can do the three-stopper, I think a lot of people are going to start looking at that early, and especially if you want to go forward from a position where you feel like you deserve to be further forward, you've got to start making some different plans early in the race because if you want to save fuel, you've got to commit early.
Q. How important will the test later on this evening be in terms of getting your race setup sorted for tomorrow?
FELIX ROSENQVIST: I think practice tonight is even later than the race, so you get a good idea how the cold conditions start -- I don't think it's going to be that cold, to be honest. It's pretty toasty here. You don't see that on TV, but it is. I think a lot of that is going to stay. But there's going to be some differences.
I think the high line practice is going to be really interesting. There's been a lot of talk about that. Especially having it after qualifying basically, going into the race. I think that's what all the drivers were asking for, so we'll see. If the high line comes, it comes. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I think it will be tough to run up there, but in the restarts for sure it will be open. So we'll see.
Q. What do you think the impact of high line practice will be and if it'll make any difference?
FELIX ROSENQVIST: I think it's definitely been better the times we have been running it. I think Iowa that year when we -- no, Texas. Sorry, Texas that year when we ran it, it transformed the race. So it works. It helps. I think if we don't do it, there's no way anyone is going to venture up there. Maybe in the restart, but that's it.
It's all a matter of physics, though. I think it looks easy to go up there, but from behind the wheel, it can be super scary and slippery. If the grip stays, it stays, but that's not always the case.
Q. Did you see the video of Colton's crash?
FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yes.
Q. Was it an impressive save?
FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, he's very good at that, like not spinning. He always seems to recover his slides somehow. Yeah, I was happy he didn't have a big one.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports