Photo: Gavin Baker Photography / Road to Indy
Reece Gold claimed his fifth pole position of the Indy Pro 2000 season in qualifying for the first race of the weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Hunter McElrea led for much of the 20-minute session as he gradually improved his time, getting down to a 1m13.5423s before he headed for the pits.
That was when Gold struck to claim pole position, setting a 1m13.3965s with just over five minutes left on the clock.
McElrea held on for second, with series leader Christian Rasmussen taking third by just 0.0015s over last weekend’s Gateway pole-sitter James Roe.
Rasmussen’s chief rival Braden Eves took fifth in front of Jack William Miller, Kyffin Simpson, Jacob Abel and Wyatt Brichacek.
Artem Petrov spent time in the pits with an apparent issue, and although he returned to the track in the closing minutes he couldn’t improve upon 10th and last position.
Qualifying results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reece Gold | Juncos Racing | 1m13.3965s | 9 | |
| 2 | Hunter McElrea | Pabst Racing | 1m13.5423s | +0.1458s | 8 |
| 3 | Christian Rasmussen | Jay Howard Driver Development | 1m13.7685s | +0.3720s | 10 |
| 4 | James Roe | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1m13.7700s | +0.3735s | 9 |
| 5 | Braden Eves | Exclusive Autosport | 1m13.8896s | +0.4931s | 11 |
| 6 | Jack William Miller | Miller Vinatieri Motorsports | 1m14.0695s | +0.6730s | 10 |
| 7 | Kyffin Simpson | Juncos Racing | 1m14.1100s | +0.7135s | 8 |
| 8 | Jacob Abel | Abel Motorsports | 1m14.1800s | +0.7835s | 7 |
| 9 | Wyatt Brichacek | Jay Howard Driver Development | 1m14.3086s | +0.9121s | 10 |
| 10 | Artem Petrov | Exclusive Autosport | 1m14.3905s | +0.9940s | 7 |