Scott McLaughlin qualified fastest for the second year in a row in Gateway but this time he will get to start there.
The Penske driver lost pole position at the oval 12 months ago due to exceeding his maximum number of new engines. But he secured pole for tomorrow’s race in a session which was disrupted when rival Colton Herta crashed.
The Andretti driver was on course to rival McLaughlin’s time when he completed his first of two laps fractionally slower than his rival. However Herta’s car snapped sideways as he began his second lap and he swiped the barrier at an almost perfectly perpendicular angle, knocking his rear wing out of joint and damaging the rear crash structure.
Although Herta was able to limp back to the pits in his damaged car, the session was suspended before the final three drivers were sent out. But the track conditions appeared to worsen during the break in running, and none were able to get within 1.1kph of McLaughlin’s average time.
That cemented the fourth pole position of the season for McLaughlin, and his third on an oval. He will share the front row of the grid with Felix Rosenqvist.
The Meyer Shank driver narrowly beat David Malukas in the team’s second car. But Malukas is one of four drivers who will serve the same penalty McLaughlin had last year for an engine change. Josef Newgarden and Will Power are therefore promoted to third and fourth places respectively, leaving Rosenqvist the only non-Penske driver in the top four places.
Along with Power, championship leader Alex Palou and his team mate Scott Dixon were the last three drivers to run after Herta’s crash. However the Ganassi drivers also have engine change penalties and will surrender their top 10 starting positions as a result.
Therefore fifth-place Kyle Kirkwood will be followed by ex-F1 drivers Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson. Pato O’Ward, McLaren’s top qualifier, will rise three places to eighth on the grid. Grosjean’s new team mate Conor Daly impressed by qualifying in the top half of the field.
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Qualifying result
Times to follow.
IndyCar
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