Palou Takes Pole for Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis
Alex Palou, the three-time and reigning champion of the NTT IndyCar Series, secured a commanding pole position for the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis road course, clocking a lap time of 1m09.3417s, an average speed of 126.625 mph. Palou’s nearest competitor, Graham Rahal from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, trailed by a substantial 0.4 seconds, with rookie Louis Foster and Devlin DeFrancesco starting third and fifth, respectively.
Utilizing a single set of new Firestone alternate tires during qualifying, Palou demonstrated strategic prowess, navigating the challenging 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit effectively despite a lock-up at Turn 1. His decisive final lap outpaced rivals and reaffirmed his dominance in the series.
Rahal’s performance, alongside teammates Foster and DeFrancesco, marked a significant turnaround for RLL, showcasing a competitive edge that eliminated Will Power—six-time Indy GP polesitter—from advancing to the Firestone Fast Six. Power admitted to missteps in Turns 12 and 13 that hindered his lap time. He ultimately qualified sixth, narrowly edging out Pato O’Ward, whose Arrow McLaren Chevy struggled with straight-line speed.
Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden secured fourth and sixth positions for Team Penske, with Newgarden opting to conserve tires for the race. Alexander Rossi, a former Indy winner, starts ninth, sharing the row with Kyffin Simpson of Chip Ganassi Racing. Santino Ferrucci and Felix Rosenqvist will round out the sixth row.
Notable eliminations in Q1 Group 1 included Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood; Herta cited handling issues, while Kirkwood’s switch from primary to red tires caught him off guard. Similarly, Christian Lundgaard, fresh from podium finishes, failed to advance from Q2 Group 2, joined by Scott Dixon, who qualified 0.45 seconds behind Palou.
Qualifying Results:
- Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) – 1m09.3417s
- Graham Rahal (RLL) – +0.4000s
- Louis Foster (RLL) – +0.5285s
- Scott McLaughlin (Penske) – +0.5973s
- Devlin DeFrancesco (RLL) – +0.6312s
- Josef Newgarden (Penske) – +0.7312s
- Will Power (Penske) – +0.7510s
- Pato O’Ward (McLaren) – +0.8600s
- Alexander Rossi (Ed Carpenter Racing) – +1.0230s
- Kyffin Simpson (Ganassi) – +1.0250s
With Palou’s impressive performance, anticipation builds for a thrilling race at Indy, where strategy and tire management will be crucial factors.
