By INDYCAR
MONTEREY, Calif. – Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou maintained the pressure in his quest for a third title by winning the NTT P1 Award for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Palou earned his second pole of the season and fifth of his career with a best lap of 1 minute, 7.1465 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou is second in the championship standings, five points behind Will Power, who qualified 15th in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.
“It was really tough, really tight all qualifying to get to the Fast 12 and then the Fast Six,” Palou said. “It was really tricky with track conditions. As soon as there was some wind, you couldn’t really finish the lap because there was no grip.
“Really happy. The car was on rails today, so the best starting position for tomorrow.”
Live coverage of the 95-lap race starts at 6 p.m. ET Sunday on the USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. A 30-minute warmup precedes the race at 3 p.m. ET, live on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
The pole continued an impressive history for Palou at this picturesque Northern California road course, an 11-turn, 2.238-mile layout that includes the famous “Corkscrew” complex of turns. Palou won this race in 2022 and finished second in 2021 and third in 2023.
Kyle Kirkwood will join Palou on the front row after a best lap of 1:07.2204 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Global. The second starting spot was Kirkwood’s best performance in qualifying since winning the pole and the race in April 2023 at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Felix Rosenqvist continued his reinvigoration with Meyer Shank Racing, qualifying third at 1:07.2917 in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda. Colton Herta, who led practice Saturday morning, qualified fourth at 1:07.2972 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian. Herta won this race in 2019 and 2021.
Alexander Rossi qualified fifth at 1:07.3594 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Christian Lundgaard rounded out the Firestone Fast Six and Row 3 at 1:07.5112 in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
The other three drivers in the top five of the championship standings – third-place Scott Dixon, fourth-place Pato O’Ward and fifth-place Scott McLaughlin – will try to keep pace with Palou from the fourth and fifth…
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