Alex Palou secured pole position for the Alabama Indy Grand Prix. The reigning champion was one tenth of a second faster than David Malukas in the Honda-dominated Firestone Fast Six, with Malukas taking second place. Graham Rahal impressed with a third-place result, ahead of Marcus Armstrong in fourth.

For the second race weekend in a row, Team Penske’s troubles began as early as the second practice session. During that session, Scott McLaughlin suffered a heavy crash in Turn 1 after putting a wheel on the grass under braking and slamming backwards into the tire barriers. The impact was so severe that he even went through the catch fencing. McLaughlin was able to climb out unharmed, but Penske was forced to prepare the backup car.

It didn’t take long for another major incident in qualifying. Just six minutes into the first group session, Will Power went straight on into the tire barriers at the Charlotte’s Web hairpin. It appeared that the rear brakes on the Andretti Global car were not functioning, leaving Power with no chance of making the corner. Fortunately, he was also able to exit the car uninjured.

Once the session resumed, Alex Palou set the fastest time, ahead of Christian Lundgaard and a surprising Graham Rahal. Marcus Armstrong, Alexander Rossi and Santino Ferrucci also advanced to the Fast 12.

The second qualifying group featured several top contenders for the Fast 12, meaning some big names would inevitably miss out. Kyle Kirkwood set the fastest time in the session, ahead of David Malukas and a surprising Romain Grosjean, who had been impeded by Sting Ray Robb on his first flying lap. Josef Newgarden, Marcus Ericsson and Pato O’Ward also advanced, while McLaughlin narrowly missed out in the backup car. Other notable eliminations included Rinus VeeKay and Felix Rosenqvist.

Kirkwood was again the fastest in the second segment, beating Palou by just four hundredths of a second. Malukas was the only Penske driver to advance to the Firestone Fast Six, qualifying third. Marcus Armstrong, Graham Rahal and Romain Grosjean also made it through. Among those eliminated were three-time Barber winner Newgarden and McLaren drivers Lundgaard and O’Ward.

In the Firestone Fast Six, it all came down to the final laps. Kirkwood lost his shot at pole position with a costly mistake and could do no better than fifth. Palou, meanwhile, delivered a flawless run to claim his first pole position of the season.

Full results of the qualifying session at Barber Motorsports Park