INDYCAR BARBER: MCLAUGHLIN TAKES POLE IN PENSKE 1-2
Last year’s winner here, McLaughlin will start ahead of team-mate Will Power and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard after the three-stage knockout qualifying rounds.
IndyCar Alabama Indy Grand Prix starting grid
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay |
| 1 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'05.9490 | - |
| 2 | 12 | Will Power | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.0460 | 0.0970 |
| 3 | 45 | C.Lundgaard | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.0818 | 0.1328 |
| 4 | 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.2940 | 0.3450 |
| 5 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.4524 | 0.5034 |
| 6 | 11 | Marcus Armstrong | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.9022 | 0.9532 |
| 7 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.0942 | 0.1452 |
| 8 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.2908 | 0.3418 |
| 9 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.2959 | 0.3469 |
| 10 | 10 | Alex Palou | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.3013 | 0.3523 |
| 11 | 77 | Romain Grosjean | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.3526 | 0.4036 |
| 12 | 66 | Tom Blomqvist | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.3871 | 0.4381 |
| 13 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.1425 | 0.1935 |
| 14 | 20 | C.Rasmussen | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.4803 | 0.5313 |
| 15 | 26 | Colton Herta | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.1481 | 0.1991 |
| 16 | 7 | Alexander Rossi | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.5054 | 0.5564 |
| 17 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.2751 | 0.3261 |
| 18 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.5846 | 0.6356 |
| 19 | 8 | Linus Lundqvist | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.2825 | 0.3335 |
| 20 | 78 | Agustín Canapino | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.6706 | 0.7216 |
| 21 | 51 | Luca Ghiotto | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.4788 | 0.5298 |
| 22 | 18 | Jack Harvey | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.7969 | 0.8479 |
| 23 | 4 | Kyffin Simpson | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.5267 | 0.5777 |
| 24 | 6 | Théo Pourchaire | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.9052 | 0.9562 |
| 25 | 41 | Sting Ray Robb | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.8404 | 0.8914 |
| 26 | 30 | P.Fittipaldi | Dallara/Honda | 1'07.4920 | 1.5430 |
| 27 | 21 | R.van Kalmthout | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'07.7392 | 1.7902 |
Fast six qualifying
McLaughlin set an early benchmark on alternates of 1m06.3295s and ran a second lap on this set – but made a tiny error at Turn 5 – before switching to his second set.
Power went earlier to his second set of alternates and lowered the bar to 1m06.046s with a minute to go, but then it was his turn to run wide at Turn 5.
McLaughlin wasn’t to be denied with 1m05.949s on his final effort to snatch pole, Penske’s 300th pole, by 0.097s.
Lundgaard jumped up to third on 1m06.0818s, a tenth further back, ahead of Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren), Felix Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank Racing) and Marcus Armstrong, the latter taking part in his first-ever Fast Six for Chip Ganassi Racing.
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Laps |
| 1 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'05.9490 | 5 | |
| 2 | 12 | Will Power | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.0460 | 0.0970 | 4 |
| 3 | 45 | C.Lundgaard | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.0818 | 0.1328 | 4 |
| 4 | 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.2940 | 0.3450 | 4 |
| 5 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.4524 | 0.5034 | 5 |
| 6 | 11 | Marcus Armstrong | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.9022 | 0.9532 | 4 |
Top 12 qualifying
After Romain Grosjean set the pace on primary tires for Juncos Hollinger Racing, Lundgaard set the benchmark on alternates at 1m05.813s before aborting an even quicker lap to save his rubber.
Power took P2, just 0.0635s slower, from McLaughlin, with Armstrong, O’Ward and Rosenqvist also progressing.
Falling at this hurdle were a livid Graham Rahal (RLL), Josef Newgarden (Penske), Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Global), Alex Palou (CGR – who was mystified over the pace he lost since Q1), Grosjean and Tom Blomqvist (MSR).
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Laps |
| 1 | 45 | C.Lundgaard | Dallara/Honda | 1'05.8130 | 6 | |
| 2 | 12 | Will Power | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'05.8765 | 0.0635 | 7 |
| 3 | 3 | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'05.9344 | 0.1214 | 8 | |
| 4 | 11 | Marcus Armstrong | Dallara/Honda | 1'05.9593 | 0.1463 | 8 |
| 5 | 5 | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.0374 | 0.2244 | 7 | |
| 6 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.0418 | 0.2288 | 8 |
| 7 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.0942 | 0.2812 | 7 |
| 8 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.2908 | 0.4778 | 9 |
| 9 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.2959 | 0.4829 | 7 |
| 10 | 10 | Alex Palou | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.3013 | 0.4883 | 8 |
| 11 | 77 | Romain Grosjean | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.3526 | 0.5396 | 8 |
| 12 | 66 | Tom Blomqvist | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.3871 | 0.5741 | 7 |
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Photo by: Josh Tons / Motorsport Images
Group stage qualifying
In group 1, Grosjean and Ganassi’s Linus Lundqvist engaged in an early turf war for track position.
O’Ward took P1 with a minute to go but he was bested by Palou with a lap of 1m05.5862s. Armstrong was third quickest, ahead of Rahal, Grosjean and Kirkwood.
Missing out were Long Beach GP winner Scott Dixon (CGR), Colton Herta (Andretti), Santino Ferrucci (AJ Foyt Racing), Lundqvist, debutant Luca Ghiotto (Dale Coyne Racing), Kyffin Simpson (CGR) and Sting Ray Robb (Foyt).
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Laps |
| 1 | 10 | Alex Palou | Dallara/Honda | 1'05.5862 | 8 | |
| 2 | 5 | Patricio O'Ward | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'05.8193 | 0.2331 | 6 |
| 3 | 11 | Marcus Armstrong | Dallara/Honda | 1'05.9767 | 0.3905 | 8 |
| 4 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Dallara/Honda | 1'05.9948 | 0.4086 | 7 |
| 5 | 77 | Romain Grosjean | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.0343 | 0.4481 | 8 |
| 6 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.0350 | 0.4488 | 8 |
| 7 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.1425 | 0.5563 | 8 |
| 8 | 26 | Colton Herta | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.1481 | 0.5619 | 8 |
| 9 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.2751 | 0.6889 | 6 |
| 10 | 8 | Linus Lundqvist | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.2825 | 0.6963 | 8 |
| 11 | 51 | Luca Ghiotto | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.4788 | 0.8926 | 8 |
| 12 | 4 | Kyffin Simpson | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.5267 | 0.9405 | 8 |
| 13 | 41 | Sting Ray Robb | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.8404 | 1.2542 | 7 |
In group 2, practice pacesetter Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing) reported “no power” over the radio on his opening run and that it was “getting worse”.
McLaughlin set the pace with a lap of 1m05.8147s, a couple of tenths ahead of team-mates Power and Newgarden. Lundgaard was fourth, ahead of Rosenqvist and Blomqvist.
Newgarden had a big moment at the exit of the final turn on his penultimate lap, just saving it where Alexander Rossi suffered a huge shunt a few years ago.
Missing out were Christian Rasmussen (ECR), who had a big slide at Turn 12 on his fastest lap, Rossi (McLaren), Marcus Ericsson (Andretti), Agustin Canapino (JHR), Jack Harvey (Coyne), Theo Pourchaire (McLaren), Pietro Fittipaldi (RLL) and the powerless VeeKay, who said the electrical issue could not be fixed in time to run again.
| Cla | Nº | Driver | Car / Engine | Time | Delay | Laps |
| 1 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'05.8147 | 7 | |
| 2 | 12 | Will Power | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.0450 | 0.2303 | 8 |
| 3 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.1385 | 0.3238 | 8 |
| 4 | 45 | C.Lundgaard | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.2147 | 0.4000 | 7 |
| 5 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.2483 | 0.4336 | 8 |
| 6 | 66 | Tom Blomqvist | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.4519 | 0.6372 | 8 |
| 7 | 20 | C.Rasmussen | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.4803 | 0.6656 | 8 |
| 8 | 7 | Alexander Rossi | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.5054 | 0.6907 | 7 |
| 9 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.5846 | 0.7699 | 8 |
| 10 | 78 | Agustín Canapino | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.6706 | 0.8559 | 8 |
| 11 | 18 | Jack Harvey | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.7969 | 0.9822 | 8 |
| 12 | 6 | Théo Pourchaire | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'06.9052 | 1.0905 | 8 |
| 13 | 30 | P.Fittipaldi | Dallara/Honda | 1'06.9244 | 1.1097 | 8 |
| 14 | 21 | R.van Kalmthout | Dallara/Chevrolet | 1'07.7392 | 1.9245 | 4 |