Photo by Kyle McInnes

The first pole of the hybrid era goes to Alex Palou by a razor thin margin. Palou slipped by Pato O’Ward on his last lap by 0.0024 seconds, the closest front row difference since Indycar began knockout qualifying. Palou won the race at Mid-Ohio last year.

David Malukas will start third as he made his first Fast Six. Malukas has not finished worse than 10th in his career at Mid-Ohio. In his two starts with Meyer Shank Racing, and his first two races of the season, Malukas has gone beyond the first round. He started 12th at Laguna Seca.

Colton Herta will start 4th, followed by Marcus Armstrong and Marcus Ericsson.

Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, and Will Power were eliminated in Round 1. Alexander Rossi had been fast in the practices, but went out in Round 2.

Youth Will Be Served

All the drivers in the Fast Six began their Indycar careers in 2019 or later. The youth movement has taken a little longer to assert itself than I expected, but we may be seeing the beginning of a power shift.

Close Qualifying

2024 will be known for the year of the hybrid, but it could also distinguish itself as the season with the closest front rows on road and street courses. Three of the six closest front rows have occured this year.

The top 10 closest qualifying sessons:

Results