A Fast Six combination that has never been seen before ended with the same result. Nolan Siegel and Kyffin Simpson joined Christian Lundgaard, Louis Foster, Alex Palou, and Colton Herta in the final round.
Foster looked to be on track for his second straight pole, and Lundgaard had shown a lot of strength in practice. But in the end, Alex Palou won his third pole of the season as his dominance continues.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was Kyle Kirkwood not advancing to the Fast Six. Kirkwood finished seventh in Round 2. Scott Dixon will start ninth.
Team Penske woes continue as Josef Newgarden is their best qualifier in 18th. Will Power and Scott McLaughlin share row 11.
Arrow McLaren placed two cars in the Fast Six,k but Pato OWard, last year’s winner at Mid Ohio, was not one of them. He will start 15th tomorrow. Christian Lundgaard has emerged as the team leader.
Rinus VeeKay lost his best lap for causing a local yellow and will start 26th.
Christian Rasmussen qualified 10th but will start 16th because of an engine penalty.
Notes
It is nice to start seeing some new drivers in the Fast Six. Foster has a pole and has made two consecutive Fast Six rounds. Siegel seems to have found his groove after a challenging early season. Simpson has show quiet but steady improvement.
Palou just missed turning a lap under 1:05. Lundgaard was 0.19 seconds behind him.
Siegel, Herta, and Foster were more than a second slower than Palou. In today’s IndyCar, that is a huge difference.
Results
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 