McLaughlin secured the top spot during the final lap of qualifying. The qualifying session at the challenging Barber Motorsports Park was filled with excitement, as the IndyCar pole position winner was determined in the closing moments of the session.
Throughout the elimination sessions, drivers pushed their limits, causing dust to fly off the tires of several drivers as they tried to stay on track without slowing down. Will Power impressively made it to the Firestone Fast Six and seemed to have a strong enough lap for the top spot. In fact, he even eased off the pace on his second lap.
However, that decision proved costly as his teammate Scott McLaughlin began his own lap at the end of the session. The top spot changed hands a few times during McLaughlin’s lap, but he managed to cross the timing line just ahead, securing the pole position.
McLaughlin completed his lap in 1:05.9490, just 0.097 seconds ahead of Power, earning his sixth pole in his IndyCar career. The two teammates will start from the front row on Sunday.
Christian Lundgaard achieved the third-best time, putting his Honda RLL in contention for a successful points weekend. Pato O’Ward closely followed as the fourth fastest, with Felix Rosenqvist right behind him despite installing a new engine between practice and qualifying.
Second-year driver Marcus Armstrong made an impressive appearance in the Fast Six, although he couldn’t improve his position beyond sixth place. However, he was pleased with his effort.
Graham Rahal expressed extreme frustration with his team after being eliminated in the second round. He immediately confronted his team, expressing his dissatisfaction with the communication about whether he had one more lap in the session. He will start from seventh place.
Josef Newgarden attributed his failure to reach the Fast Six to a single bad lap. Rinus VeeKay, who was the fastest driver in the morning practice, had engine issues during his race. His team instructed him to bring the car to the pits area earlier, resulting in him starting from the 27th and last position. The ECR team may need to change the engine overnight.
A quick warm-up session will take place on Sunday morning, followed by a 90-lap race at 12:30 in the afternoon.
