Colton Herta and Andretti Global know how to go quick on street courses.
This was proven Saturday (July 20) as Herta took his 14th NTT IndyCar Series pole for the Ontario Honda Dealers Toronto Indy.
But speed hasn’t been the concern for the No. 26 car, it’s been wins, something he hasn’t achieved since the Indianapolis Grand Prix in 2022.
“You know this thing has been a rocket ship all weekend, really has been the past few races,” Herta said. “Luck hasn’t turned our way this year for a win yet. I’m hoping it’s here tomorrow. The Gainbridge Honda is very quick and we’ve always had good results here and I hope we can transfer that tomorrow.”
It was a front-row sweep for Andretti Global, as teammate Kyle Kirkwood will start on the outside.
“We ended up doing three laps of tires on the first run, which put us in a situation where we grained the front,” Kirkwood said.
The outside front-row start continues Kirkwood’s strong season, but he knew he didn’t have the speed to challenge his teammate.
“Colton’s obviously been the quickest driver all weekend long, so he’s extremely deserving of this.”
Meyer Shank Racing put two cars in the top six, with Felix Rosenqvist starting third for Sunday’s race, and new teammate David Malukas further proving he has speed. The American will start sixth.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin was the highest starting top-five championship contender and the only one to make the Firestone Fast Six, qualifying fourth. Romain Grosjean will start fifth.
Firestone Fast Six
Herta was the clear favorite, but Kirkwood tried his best to put his No. 27 ahead of his teammate. But it didn’t work out.
Grosjean went too deep in one of the turns and had to back up on the track, luckily not impeding any other cars. That misstep set him back in his run, but he rebounded to take fifth.
Malukas’ start is his second straight Firestone Fast Six appearance, after qualifying third at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time |
| 1 | Colton Herta | 26 | Andretti Global | 59.5431s |
| 2 | Kyle Kirkwood | 27 | Andretti Global | +0.1304 |
| 3 | Felix Rosenqvist | 60 | Meyer Shank Racing | +0.2821s |
| 4 | Scott McLaughlin | 3 | Team Penske | +0.3651s |
| 5 | Romain Grosjean | 77 | Juncos Hollinger Racing | +0.4581s |
| 6 | David Malukas | 66 | Meyer Shank Racing | +0.6678s |
Round 2
Confusion reigned on who would advance after Malukas was penalized for causing a local yellow, which affected another car on his run, stripping him of his fastest…
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