LONG POND, PA – Due to fog, then rain, this morning, the NTT IndyCar Series schedule on Saturday at the Pocono Raceway had to be altered. The initial session which was originally slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET but was delayed due to the medical helicopter not being able to land inside of the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania race track. The foggy conditions wouldn’t allow for it, which meant the session was on hold.

While it was on hold, rain made its way to the track with prompted track officials to cancel the session. So, instead of qualifying at 12:30 p.m. ET, the schedule was changed.

The series and track officials developed a plan to cancel qualifying and have the starting lineup for Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 (2 p.m. ET/NBCSN/INDYCAR Radio Network) determined by entrant points. Then, they added a two hour practice session as a replacement for the lost on track time.

See, instead of two separate one-hour practice sessions, the teams now had a single two-hour session as their disposal.

So, at 1:53 p.m. ET, we went green.

In that thrilling 120 minute session, Tony Kanaan set the quick time with a speed of 216.354 mph in his No. 14 Chevrolet. Kanaan, has scored his two best results on ovals this year, so despite starting Sunday’s race from the 19th starting spot, he showed the pace in the lone practice session of the day on Saturday to be able to move through the field.

Scott Dixon put down a late flyer with a speed of 215.761 mph in his No. 9 Honda to come in P2.

Third quickest was rookie Santino Ferrucci. The impressive rookie who finished seventh in Indianapolis and fourth at Texas turned in a lap of 215.377 mph in his No. 19 Honda.

Alexander Rossi (215.373 mph) was fourth fastest in his No. 27 Honda. Rossi, will roll off second for Sunday’s race which is the exact same starting spot that he had in last year’s race that saw him lead 180 of 200 laps en route to a dominating victory. The Andretti Autosport driver also finished runner-up in both superspeedway races this season too.

Indy 500 champion Simon Pagenaud (215.368 mph) rounded out the top five with a late lap himself. Pagenaud, had an electrical problem with his car being stuck in gear at the start of the session and missed the first 40 minutes for repairs.

Carlin/Dale Coyne Racing Shines

It’s no secret, the “Big 3” teams in the NTT IndyCar Series are likely to win Sunday’s ABC Supply 500. After all, they’ve won each of the last 10 races on the season and have also combined to win all six trips that the series has made back to the Tricky Triangle since 2013.

Furthermore, they’ll start in spots 1-6 for the 500 mile race this weekend too now.

But, if you want to see a potential sleeper, look no further than Carlin or Dale Coyne Racing.

Charlie Kimball has finished well at Pocono in the past. He had a fast car back in May in Indy. On Saturday, Kimball was P8 (214.818 mph) in practice. That gives him high hopes for Sunday’s race.

Same for his Carlin teammate of Conor Daly. He’s finished in the top 11 in both superspeedway starts this season and was 14th fastest overall in Saturday’s lone practice session too.

Also, Dale Coyne Racing was fast in Saturday’s practice too. Rookie Santino Ferrucci was second quickest (215.377 mph) while his teammate Sebastien Bourdais (215.267 mph) was P7.

Bourdais, has never been confused as an oval specialist. Out of his 35 career NTT IndyCar Series wins, only five of them have come on ovals. The last came in Milwaukee in 2015. The last one prior to that?

2006.

But, Bourdais is actually a legitimate sleeper to win Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at the Pocono Raceway. The Dale Coyne Racing driver enters this weekend with four top 10 finishes in his last six tries on the season. He was in the top 10 solidly at Indy before crashing with 24 laps-to-go in the Indy 500. He started third and finished eighth in Texas back in June.

At Pocono the last two years, he finished fifth and fourth respectively. I think he can grind out a podium on Sunday.

Ferrucci, had always said that street courses are his favorites. He’s scored 82 points on them in 2019 which ranks only 16th best. On natural road courses, he’s scored another 74 points which is ranked 18th.

But, where he’s excelling at is on ovals. For a driver with no past oval experience, Ferrucci has scored 103 points, which is tied with Will Power for fourth most in the entire series.

The only drivers that have as many or more points than him are the three Penske’s and Alexander Rossi. That’s how remarkable he’s been.

In Iowa, he put on a show. In Indy, he made daring passes and maneuvers through places no one dared go. He looked a lot like Rossi in fact. Now, he heads to Pocono eyeing his first career win.

Ferrucci, ran extremely well on the last superspeedway at Texas in finishing fourth. He was seventh in Indy.

Seven to four is a three spot gain in two superspeedway starts. If he can get another three spot gain on Sunday – he will be celebrating in victory lane.

Team Penske Surprisingly Struggles

Heading into this weekend, I think the Team Penske trio had to be listed as the favorites. They have won two of the last three races of the season and three of the last five. In Pocono, they won two of the last three at the Tricky Triangle too.

Luckily for them though, qualifying was rained out for Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 because they’ll start 1-3-5. If not for that, they may not have the starting spots that they initially wanted.

See, the three cars struggled in the lone practice session of the day on Saturday. Simon Pagenaud led the way for them with a top speed of 215.368 mph in his No. 22 Chevrolet. That was good enough for fifth. Josef Newgarden was only 17th fastest in his No. 2 Chevrolet with a top speed of 214.174 mph.

Will Power only went 213.953 mph in his No. 12 Chevrolet which put him on 20th out of 22 cars on the speed charts. Power, won this race in two of the last three years. He was second last year.

What happened?

2019 has been a great season for Team Penske. Currently, all three of their drivers sit in the top five of the NTT IndyCar Series points standings. Josef Newgarden in fact leads all drivers with 504 points scored. Simon Pagenaud is third with 457 points accumulated this year while Will Power (356) is fifth.

On superspeedway’s this season, they’re 2-for-2. On superspeedway’s the last couple of years, they’re 5-for-7. In fact, since the start of the 2016 season, Penske has won six of the 11 races contested on superspeedway’s.

Newgarden has finished fourth and first respectively in 2019 on them. Pagenaud has finished first and sixth respectively on them. Power has finished fifth and ninth respectively on them.

In fact, in Pocono, Newgarden, has five top five finishes in six tries with his worst finish being eighth. Pagenaud, has five top eight finishes in six tries himself.

Also, on ovals in general, Penske has won four straight and 12 of the last 17 overall.

If Penske is going to win on Sunday, they need to find some help overnight.