Iowa Doubleheader Qualifying Results: Newgarden and Palou Take Pole Positions
Iowa Speedway, July 12, 2025 — IndyCar’s qualifying sessions for the Iowa doubleheader showcased fierce competition as drivers completed two laps each to determine starting positions for both races.
Race 1 Qualifying
Josef Newgarden of Team Penske claimed the pole position for the first race with a lap time of 17.4914 seconds. This marks his first pole of the season and the 19th of his career. Newgarden is seeking to revive his campaign after a series of poor results, including four retirements in the previous five races.
Conor Daly, representing Juncos Hollinger Racing, surprised with a strong second-place finish, just behind Newgarden. Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top three, followed by Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward to complete the top five. Scott Dixon, Will Power, Nolan Siegel, Santino Ferrucci, and David Malukas made up the rest of the top ten.
Race 2 Qualifying
In a dramatic turn of events for Race 2, Alex Palou secured the pole position, setting a session-best time of 17.490s. This marks Palou’s fourth pole of the 2025 season. He aims for a second oval victory after his success at the Indianapolis 500.
Rosenqvist closely followed Palou, finishing just 0.0037 seconds behind, while David Malukas showed strong form with a third-place qualifying effort. Newgarden and Siegel closed out the top five. The top ten for Race 2 included Power, Daly, Dixon, O’Ward, and Graham Rahal.
Notable Incidents
Scott McLaughlin faced a challenging day when he crashed during his first lap of qualifying for Race 2, resulting in a last-place start for both events. “I got a little high, I guess,” McLaughlin recounted, emphasizing the difficulties he faced in maintaining control of his car.
Rinus VeeKay also struggled, hitting the wall in his opening lap and finished 25th for Race 1 and near the back for Race 2. Title contender Kyle Kirkwood will need to recover from disappointing qualifying times of 18th and 21st for the doubleheader.
Race Schedule
The Synk 275 will commence at 5 p.m. ET, followed by the Farm to Finish 275 on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Both races will be broadcast live on FOX.
