Kyle Kirkwood has unexpectedly claimed pole position for the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville. The Andretti Global driver was, over two measured laps, an average of 0.2 mph faster than Josef Newgarden, who qualified second. Felix Rosenqvist finished third, just ahead of title contender Will Power in fourth. Championship leader Alex Palou disappointed with the 15th-fastest time, while Rinus VeeKay did slightly better with the 12th-fastest time.

The qualifying session for the Music City Grand Prix was particularly interesting. Not only had the drivers received just 1.5 hours of practice on a track where IndyCar hadn’t raced since 2008, but they also faced the choice of qualifying on hard or soft tires. Most drivers opted for the soft tires, but a few sacrificed their qualifying session to save fresher soft tires for the race.

Drama unfolded early in the session. Christian Rasmussen put in a strong lap, setting the fastest time up to that point, but as he parked his Ed Carpenter Racing car in the pits, it caught fire. Meanwhile, Sting Ray Robb was on a fast lap but was unable to complete his second lap due to a loss of power. Robb ended up qualifying second to last, while Nolan Siegel, who had crashed in practice, didn’t take part in the session and finished last.

David Malukas became the first driver to complete his two qualifying laps with an average speed of over 200 miles per hour, setting the best time of the session until Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist went 0.2 mph faster.

It could, however, be even faster, as Josef Newgarden demonstrated by becoming the first to break the 201 mph barrier. But shortly after, Kyle Kirkwood surprised everyone by going 0.2 mph faster. This performance was especially remarkable since his teammate, Marcus Ericsson, had posted a far less competitive time.

Several drivers failed to beat Kirkwood’s time, leaving only title contenders Will Power and Alex Palou to try. With every point crucial in the championship, pole position was especially important for them. However, Power narrowly missed out and qualified fourth. Palou was already off pace for pole in his first lap, and in his second lap, he made a mistake, losing 2 mph in speed. This left the Ganassi Racing driver with the 15th-fastest time. On top of that, Palou will receive a nine-place grid penalty due to an engine change, meaning he will have to start the race from the back of the field.

The failure of the top contenders handed Kirkwood his second career pole position in IndyCar.

Full results of the qualifying session at Nashville Superspeedway