| Circuit: | Phoenix International Raceway (1.022-mile oval), Avondale, AZ |
| Weather: | Sunny, warm, 84 degrees |
Top 12 Qualifying Results:
| Ps. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Total Time | Average Speed/Notes |
| 1. | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 38.2604 sec. | 192.324 mph |
| 2. | Tony Kanaan | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 38.4228 sec. | 191.511 mph |
| 3. | Juan Pablo Montoya | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 38.4520 sec. | 191.366 mph |
| 4. | Charlie Kimball | Target Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 38.4813 sec. | 191.220 mph |
| 5. | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 38.5700 sec. | 190.780 mph |
| 6. | Scott Dixon | Target Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 38.6519 sec. | 190.376 mph |
| 7. | Josef Newgarden | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 38.7093 sec. | 190.094 mph |
| 8. | Max Chilton-R | Target Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 38.7341 sec. | 189.972 mph |
| 9. | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 38.7797 sec. | 189.749 mph |
| 10. | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 38.7990 sec. | 189.654 mph |
| 11. | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 38.9188 sec. | 189.071 mph |
| 12. | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 38.9403 sec. | 188.966 mph |
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Other Honda-powered Results: |
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| 13. | Mikhail Aleshin | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Honda | 39.1409 sec. | 187.998 mph |
| 14. | Alexander Rossi-R | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 39.3625 sec. | 186.939 mph |
| 16. | Luca Filippi | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 39.6009 sec. | 185.814 mph |
| 17. | Jack Hawksworth | A.J. Foyt Racing | Honda | 39.7653 sec. | 185.046 mph |
| 18. | Conor Daly-R | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 39.9347 sec. | 184.261 mph |
| 19. | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Honda | 40.9323 sec. | 179.770 mph |
| 20. | Takuma Sato | A.J. Foyt Racing | Honda | No time | Crash |
| 21. | Carlos Munoz | Andretti Autosport | Honda | No time | Crash |
| 22. | James Hinchcliffe | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Honda | No time | Crash |
Andretti Leads the Way for Honda in Phoenix Qualifying
- Disappointing day for Honda teams and drivers
- Crashes send Sato, Munoz and Hinchcliffe to the rear of the field
- First night oval race of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series on Saturday
A disappointing day for Honda drivers and teams on Friday at Phoenix International Raceway saw Marco Andretti lead the field for the manufacturer, qualifying 11th for Saturday night's Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix.
Andretti and his Andretti Autosport teammate, Ryan Hunter-Reay, were the only Honda drivers to break into the top 12 in single-car qualifying on a warm, sunny day at PIR. The Honda effort was further hindered when Takuma Sato and James Hinchcliffe missed qualifying after single-car crashes in practice on Friday morning, while Carlos Munoz crashed during his qualifying run in the afternoon. All three drivers escaped serious injury and are expected to take part in the race.
Saturday night's 250-lap race, the first oval round of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series, starts at 8:30 p.m. EDT, with live network television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.
Marco Andretti (#27 Andretti Autosport Honda): "That was a good [qualifying] run, and [yet] we're 11th. Obviously, when we have the car wrung out for qualifying, we want to be running for the pole and not 11th… so I have to say it was disappointing. We have a lot of work to do tonight, but we have a direction that I think we can follow to improve the car. If we get the car good in race trim, the competition will be much closer tomorrow night."
