Palou and Kirkwood quickest in the first qualifying segment
Even before qualifying began, there were problems for Josef Newgarden. During the second practice session he had hit the wall at Turn 2 at relatively low speed. Although it initially looked minor, the tub of the #2 Penske car turned out to be damaged, forcing him to switch to the spare car.
Alex Palou set the fastest time in the first qualifying group, ahead of Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi – who both used two sets of the soft tires to do so. Newgarden guided his spare car to fourth place at the last moment, while Christian Rasmussen and Marcus Ericsson also advanced to the top twelve.
In the second group, the Arlington street circuit claimed another victim among the Team Penske drivers. Scott McLaughlin – the fastest driver on Friday – went slightly over the limit in Turn 8, touched the wall on the inside of the circuit and then slammed hard into the wall on the outside of the track. McLaughlin was running in second at the time, but as a result of the incident he lost his two fastest lap times and will start the race from last place.
The fastest time in the second group was set by Kyle Kirkwood. It was two tenths of a second slower than the fastest lap set by Palou in Group 1. David Malukas recorded the second-fastest time, ahead of a surprising Santino Ferrucci in third. Marcus Armstrong, Will Power, and Pato O’Ward also advanced to the Fast 12, leaving drivers such as Christian Lundgaard and Scott Dixon on the outside looking in.
Palou also fastest in the second segment
The second segment once again showed how challenging it is to find the limit on the Arlington street circuit. This time Kirkwood brushed the wall but was able to continue, though he ultimately fell just short of advancing to the Fast 6.
Palou was again the fastest in this segment, finishing 0.16 seconds ahead of O’Ward in second place. Rosenqvist, Power, Armstrong and Ericsson also qualified for the fight for pole position. That meant the remaining two Penske drivers, Malukas and Newgarden, were eliminated in the second segment.
Ericsson surprises in the Fast 6
For the Firestone Fast 6, IndyCar introduced a slightly different format specifically for this race; instead of allowing drivers to complete multiple runs, each driver was permitted only a single qualifying lap.
Marcus Ericsson, who had been sixth in the Fast 12, was the first to begin his qualifying attempt. He delivered a very strong lap, after which the next four drivers were unable to beat his time. Palou still had his attempt to complete and was quicker than Ericsson halfway through the lap, but lost too much time in the final sector and finished second. That handed Ericsson his first pole position in the IndyCar Series.
Full results of the qualifying session at Arlington
PhotographyHonda Racing HPD
