Louis Foster shocked the IndyCar paddock by taking pole position in Road America qualifying.
The competitive order at the iconic Road America remained a mystery ahead of qualifying. Following a difficult Friday, championship leader Alex Palou looked more at one with his car in final practice.
Kyle Kirkwood, continuing his strong form, wanted to improve on his P4 finish in Saturday practice. A good qualifying result at Road America could benefit him in the race, and close the gap on Palou.
Stunning weather conditions graced the circuit, the high temperatures once again, causing the teams headaches when looking at how to warm up their tyres in the searing 122’c heat.
Group 1
The first group made its way onto the Road America circuit for qualifying, with Josef Newgarden leading the cars out. Palou led the field after the first runs.
Devlin DeFrancesco continued his scrappy but fast weekend running wide on his first lap, but moved to fourth on his second lap. Graham Rahal underlined RLL’s strong pace jumping to the top of the times with six minutes remaining.
Robert Schwartzman became a surprise name in the top six, while the likes of Scott Dixon, Newgarden, Kirkwood and Pato O’Ward all out of contention, but yet to run the softer tyres.
With two minutes to go, the favourites started to push. Kirkwood jumped to the top of the times on his run, displaced by Palou by over half a second. Callum Illot pulled out a spectacular lap to move into second, with Rahal, O’Ward, and Kirkwood completing those advancing to the Fast 12.
Dixon received a penalty for impeding DeFrancesco and was demoted to the back. This gave a chance to Newgarden who moved to the Fast 12.
Eliminated: Newgarden Siegel Armstrong, Schwartzman, DeFrancesco, Daly, Simpson
Group 2
Group 2 was next to take to the circuit, with all cars heading out to get their banker laps in early. With the cars running so close together, the drivers had to work hard to ensure there were no further impeding incidents.
Christian Lundgaard led the field after the first runs were complete from Will Power, mirrioring the pace seen in practice.
Ericsson and Louis Foster jumped to the top of the timesheets running soft tyres, with early pacesetter Ferucci pitting for his go on soft tyres.
Lundgaard, now out on soft tyres, jumped to the top of the times. Power and Ferucci had significant work to do to move into the top six as the seconds ticked down.
McLaughlin, Malukas and Power all moved up with Rosenqvist and Foster all able to progress into the Fast 12.
Eliminated: Ericsson, Herta, Ferucci, Rassmussen, Veekay, Rossi, Robb, Abel
Fast 12
With only six places available in the final part of qualifying, all cars took to the track quickly to attempt to secure their place.
Ilot led the field once the first laps were complete, surprising the paddock. But big hitters Kirkwood and Palou were pushing hard on their second laps.
O’Ward jumped to the top of the times once the first push laps were done. Foster and Palou lay second and third, Kirkwood fourth, Rahal fifth and Newgarden sixth.
With three minutes left, the drivers began to push once again as the session drew to a close. The bottom six set searing sector times putting those at the top under significant pressure.
McLaughlin moved to the top of the times, closely followed by Palou, with Kirkwood slotting into third. Lundgaard moved into second, with Foster, McLaughlin. Kirkwood and Rahal completing the lineup for the Fast Six.
Eliminated: Malukas, Power, Illott, Newgarden, O’Ward, Rosenqvist.
Fast Six at Road America
The climax of qualifying at Road America got underway with a flurry of activity heading onto the track. With six minutes remaining the cars prepared for their final runs of Saturday.
The first runs saw Graham Rahal at the top of the times, from McLaughlin, Palou, Lundgaard, Foster and Kirkwood.
With two minutes to go, the drivers pushed for one more do-or-die lap. Palou moved to the top after his second run, with Foster moved into provisional pole position with 35 seconds remaining.
The rest of the drivers were all trending red, not improving on their times. Kirkwood lay third, McLaughlin fourth, Rahal fifth and Lundgaard sixth.
Session Classification – Fast Six
- Louis Foster
- Alex Palou
- Kyle Kirkwood
- Scott McLaughlin
- Christian Lundgaard
- Graham Rahal
