NOLA Motorsports Park was so wet yesterday for qualifying that the IndyCar Grand Prix of Louisiana grid will be set by drivers' season points. Qualifying couldn't continue because of heavy rain, and now the race has been moved up in anticipation of more lousy weather moving through tomorrow. Yecch.
According to NBC Sports, they only made it through the first round of qualifying until the heavens opened up and washed any chances of continuing on track away. Grand Prix of St. Petersburg winner Juan Pablo Montoya gained the most from the wash-out. He would have been eliminated in Q1 had they continued with qualifying. Instead, his lead in the driver's championship means that he will start from pole tomorrow.
All of the Chevrolet teams are lucky that IndyCar goes by driver standings and not manufacturers, as Chevrolet's penalized engine repairs set them back quite a bit in the manufacturers' points. Juan Pablo Montoya drives a Chevrolet for Team Penske.
Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves was also spared an embarrassing Q1 elimination due to the weather-caused cancellation. Castroneves will start from fourth on the grid.
Per commenter LesMillerFive, today's race will now start at 2:45 PM instead of 3:00 in hopes that the race will avoid more inclement weather that's on the way.
Photo credit: AP Images
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