Scott McLaughlin set a new record as he claimed pole position for next week’s Indianapolis 500.
He will share the front row of the grid with his Penske team mates Will Power and Josef Newgarden. McLaughlin’s four-lap average speed of 376.940kph (234.220mph) beat the pole record set by Alex Palou last year by just 0.004kph.
Santino Ferrucci was first to run in the decisive Fast Six session. After a slightly loose run to an average of 374.481kph (232.692) he was powerless to prevent the runners who followed from beating his time.
Kyle Larson did so on the next run, then headed to North Wilkesboro where he is competing in NASCAR’s All-Star Open tournament. His McLaren team mate Alexander Rossi looked set to raise the benchmark far higher when he produced a stunning 234.0 mph first lap. However his speeds dipped sharply from there, and though he moved to the top his 375.121kph (233.090mph) effort looked beatable for the Penske trio.
So it proved. Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Scott McLaughlin took their turns to beat the best run. Newgarden, still seeking his first win this year following his and McLaughlin’s disqualifications from the season-opening round, posted an average over 1kph quicker than Rossi’s.
Power narrowly beat that time, but McLaughlin’s last effort was sensational. His stunningly consistent run ensured the Penske trio will own the front row of the grid for next week’s 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The earlier top 12 session confirmed the third and fourth rows of the grid. Rinus Veekay, who claimed his place in the top 12 with a daring late run yesterday, narrowly failed to reach the top six and will start seventh. Pato O’Ward thought his run was good enough for the Fast Six, but it proved not to be and the third McLaren will start eighth. Felix Rosenqvist is the first Honda-powered driver on the grid in ninth place behind eight Chevrolets.
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The final three places on the grid were decided before the Fast Six session began and almost saw a huge upset as Marcus Ericsson inadvertently abandoned his first run. The 2022 race winner backed off a lap too soon, leaving him last of the four drivers contesting the Last Chance session.
After a series of low-speed runs to cool his car down, Ericsson posted a quick enough run to claim 32nd on the grid behind Katherine Legge, who secured her spot in the race with a hair-raising run. That left Nolan Siegel the last driver to attempt to…
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