McLaughlin guaranteed the first position during the final lap of qualifying. The qualifying session at the challenging Barber Motorsports Park was full of excitement, as the IndyCar pole position winner was determined in the final 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 first position. In fact, he even slowed down on his second lap.
However, this decision ended up being costly, as his teammate Scott McLaughlin began his own lap towards the end of the session. The first position 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 a exprimé une extrême frustration envers son équipe après avoir été éliminé au deuxième tour. Il a immédiatement confronté son équipe, exprimant son insatisfaction quant à la communication concernant s’il avait encore un tour dans la session. Il partira de la septième place.
Josef Newgarden a attribué son échec à se qualifier pour le Fast Six à un seul mauvais tour. Rinus VeeKay, qui était le pilote le plus rapide lors de l’entraînement du matin, a rencontré des problèmes de moteur pendant sa course. Son équipe lui a demandé d’amener la voiture aux stands plus tôt, ce qui a entraîné son départ de la 27ème et dernière position. L’équipe ECR pourrait avoir besoin de changer le moteur pendant la nuit.
Une séance d’échauffement rapide aura lieu dimanche matin, suivie d’une course de 90 tours à 12h30.
