Palou Claims Pole Position at Honda Indy 200, Extends Dominance
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 29, 2025 – Alex Palou secured pole position for the Honda Indy 200 with a blistering lap time of 1:05.0215 seconds, marking his third pole of the season. This performance positions the Chip Ganassi Racing driver to potentially capture his seventh victory in the last ten races.
"Ever since I started with CGR, we’ve had great cars. This year has been phenomenal," Palou stated, emphasizing the team’s improved qualifying performance.
Christian Lundgaard of Arrow McLaren challenged Palou, finishing second, just 0.1911 seconds behind in a tightly contested final round. Judging by their competitiveness, both drivers showcased their potential throughout the qualifying sessions.
Series rookie Kyffin Simpson made headlines by achieving his first Fast Six appearance, qualifying third, albeit 0.734 seconds slower than Palou. Behind him, Nolan Siegel recorded a career-best fourth, with Colton Herta and Louis Foster rounding out the top six.
In the earlier rounds, Lundgaard topped Group 1, outperforming Marcus Ericsson and Herta, while Palou led the stronger Group 2, with Foster and Scott Dixon also advancing. Notably, Team Penske experienced a poor qualifying session, with all three of their drivers failing to advance to the Fast Twelve.
Scott McLaughlin expressed frustration over being hindered during his lap, stating, “You get into a bad spot, you have to back off. I genuinely feel like it should’ve been easy to transfer there.”
The Honda Indy 200 will take place Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET, broadcast live on FOX, with Palou looking to leverage his pole position for another victory.
