Iowa Speedway: McLaughlin Tops Early Practice, Kirkwood Faces Setback
In a stark contrast to Friday’s tumultuous weather, Saturday at Iowa Speedway began with clear skies and a comfortable 75 degrees, allowing for uninterrupted running during the morning IndyCar practice session. Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin dominated the field, clocking a fastest lap of 183.514 mph in his No. 3 Chevrolet, leading an all-Chevy top six.
Completing the Chevy-dominated leaderboard were Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel (182.645 mph), Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi (182.512 mph), Pato O’Ward (182.393 mph), Josef Newgarden (182.319 mph), and Christian Rasmussen (182.189 mph). Alex Palou, the championship leader, emerged as the fastest Honda driver, securing seventh with a lap at 182.013 mph.
The session saw three cautions for incidents, including O’Ward’s spin exiting pit lane, a stalled Jacob Abel, and Rasmussen’s brush with the wall. Out of the 27-driver field, 26 participated, with Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood sidelined after crashing in a previous session, damaging his car’s right-side suspension. Kirkwood, currently second in the championship, will proceed to qualify with the repaired vehicle.
“It’s a mistake on my part. Really caught me off guard there,” Kirkwood commented on his crash.
Looking ahead, the day’s schedule is packed with qualifying set for 1:30 PM ET, followed by the first of two 275-lap Sukup-sponsored races, which will be broadcast live on FOX at 5 PM ET.
