POST-QUALIFYING UPDATE: Even with broken hand, Jimmie Johnson to race in Long Beach GP; Herta grabs pole
SECOND UPDATE: Being forced to qualify while driving with a fractured right hand, suffered in a Friday afternoon crash during practice, Jimmie Johnson managed to get through Saturday's qualifying without incident and will start Sunday's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach from the 25th position in the 26-car grid.
Fellow Southern California native -- and defending Long Beach Grand Prix winner -- Colton Herta will start from the pole with Josef Newgarden alongside.
Colton Herta will start from the pole at his home track, as well as attempting to defend his win in last year's race, in Sunday's Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Photo courtesy IndyCar.
Herta is part of three Andretti Autosport drivers in the top-6 qualifiers, along with teammates Alexander Rossi and Romain Grosjean, who will start fifth and sixth, respectively, while defending NTT IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou will start third and Felix Rosenqvist will start fourth.
Starting seventh through 10th are Will Power, Marcus Ericsson, current points leader Scott McLaughlin and Pato O'Ward.
Here's the starting lineup for Sunday's race:
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FIRST UPDATE: Despite suffering a broken right hand in a crash during practice Friday, Jimmie Johnson was cleared Saturday morning by IndyCar medical officials and climbed back in his No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda for the second and final practice session of the weekend.
Johnson struggled in the morning run-through, coming in last of the 26 cars on the practice grid. He logged just 14 laps, with his fastest lap also being his last lap of the session, covering the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit at a time of 01:08.3899 and at a speed of 103.594 mph, more than two seconds and 4 mph off the pace of the fastest driver in the session, Romain Grosjean.
Johnson's hand has been fitted with a special carbon fiber splint, per IndyCar.com.
“It’s really just take it how it comes from here,” Johnson said on Twitter. “I’m working with the team to make sure my cockpit is as comfortable as it can be. I feel very good about things now and am willing to try practice, but I really won’t know until I’m out there in the practice session and feel the demands of the race car to know if I can go further and into the race.”
And here's what Johnson had to say after the practice session:
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EDITOR'S NOTE: What follows is the original story posted Friday night after Johnson incurred his injury:
Jimmie Johnson’s status for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is uncertain after injuring his right hand in a practice crash late Friday afternoon.
The seven-time IndyCar champ and second-year IndyCar driver lost control of his No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda and slammed head-on into a tire barrier in Turn 5 of the twisting temporary street course layout.
Johnson apparently failed to take his hand off the steering wheel upon impact, causing the injury. While the rest of himself was uninjured, Johnson was fitted with a splint on his right hand that extended almost all the way up to his right elbow.
It was not revealed whether Johnson suffered any significant damage such as one or more broken fingers or if he just suffered perhaps a sprain of his hand.
Despite the injury, Johnson appeared to be in a relatively good mood when he took to Twitter with a video describing the accident and how he was doing.
Always keeping fans in mind, Johnson apologized for having to miss an autograph session, but the right-handed Johnson had to cancel because he obviously could not grip a pen with a splint on his hand and arm.
“Hey everybody, as you can see, I’m a little banged up here and have a splint on,” Johnson said. “First and foremost, apologies to the fans at the autograph session I wasn’t able to attend. Clearly, I’ve got something else going on here.
“I’m on my way to be further evaluated just to get a good honest look and understand what my options are. I really don’t have any clarity at this point. And I look forward to updating you all very soon.”
Johnson, who is coming off the best finish of his brief IndyCar career – sixth at Texas two weeks ago – is expected to be reevaluated by IndyCar medical personnel on Saturday. Chip Ganassi Racing officials have not indicated whether they have a replacement driver in mind if Johnson cannot compete in Sunday’s race.
Last season, veteran IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan filled in for Johnson on oval track races and was originally expected to only compete in this year’s Indy 500 for CGR. Whether Kanaan could get to Long Beach from his Miami home and potentially replace Johnson if needed is also uncertain.
The NTT IndyCar Series is scheduled to have five on-track sessions on Saturday. There will be one practice session from 11:45 am to 12:45 pm ET, followed by four qualifying sessions, including eliminations and setting the front of the field with the Firestone Fast Six.
The first round of qualifying is from 3:05 pm to 3:15 pm ET, the second round is from 3:25 pm to 3:35 pm ET, eliminations are from 3:45 pm to 3:55 pm ET, and finally, the Fast Six round is slated to run from 4:05 pm to 4:20 pm ET.
Sunday will include a warm-up round from Noon to 12:30 pm ET, followed by the race from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm ET, televised on NBC.