Colton Herta took his first NTT IndyCar Series pole of 2024 during Saturday’s (June 1) qualifying on the streets of Detroit.
Herta bested Alex Palou to the pole by a margin of 0.1520 seconds, with Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden placing third.
“Just super happy for the team,” Herta said after qualifying. “They’ve worked their tails off in the Month of May, and it was disappointing to say the least.”
The disappointment in question was Herta’s campaign in the Indianapolis 500 coming undone less than halfway through the race when he spun from second place, eventually finishing 23rd.
“This qualifying session is so difficult here,” Herta continued. “This track, obviously it’s hard to pass, but also it’s so hard to just get a clean lap bumps are here. It’s probably the most aggressive place we go to as far as bumps and walls. So it feels good to get this one.”
Firestone Fast Six
Kyle Kirkwood threw a wrench in the plans of the other five drivers in the Fast Six when his No. 27 Honda ran into the turn 1 runoff area. The car stalled, triggering a red flag and costing Kirkwood his two fastest laps.
With Kirkwood’s red flag coming out so late in the session, the pole was decided by a sprint of single, timed laps for the Fast Six, where Herta came out on top.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time |
| 1 | Colton Herta | 26 | Andretti Global | 1:00.5475 |
| 2 | Alex Palou | 10 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +0.1520s |
| 3 | Josef Newgarden | 2 | Team Penske | +0.4132s |
| 4 | Scott McLaughlin | 3 | Team Penske | +0.7571s |
| 5 | Scott Dixon | 9 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +0.8430s |
| 6 | Kyle Kirkwood | 27 | Andretti Global | +3.7451s |
Round 2
Theo Pourchaire, now confirmed to be competing in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet for the rest of the season, nearly made waves on his return to the series. Having sat out the Indianapolis 500 where the No. 6 was driven by Callum Ilott, Pourchaire displayed a strong pace throughout the second round of qualifying, but came up just short of advancing to the Firestone Fast Six.
The Frenchman will be the highest-starting Arrow McLaren car on Sunday.
Behind Pourchaire was Will Power, who was visibly, and, audibly frustrated after missing out on the top-six shootout.
Pato O’Ward, who looked to be a contender for pole position, found frustration and elimination instead of a clean track and a ticket to the Fast Six. Radio communications indicated that the No. 5 Chevrolet suffered a brake fire.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Deficit |
| 7 | Theo… |
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