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Alexander Rossi, David Malukas completed the front row for May 24 classic.
NTT IndyCar Series racer Felix Rosenqvist had been especially fast all month, actually ever since he captured the pole position at the April street race at Long Beach, Calif.
Leading both the Top 12 and the Firestone Fast Six into qualifying for next Sunday’s 110th edition of the Indianapolis 500 would have been no surprise Then Alexander Rossi drove a four-lap average at 231.990-mph in Fast Six competition and appeared headed to his first pole position at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a momentous kickstart the 10th-anniversary commemoration of his rookie triumph at the Indianapolis 500. But once again, Alex Palou showed up as the skunk at their garden party Sunday, continuing his dominance at the storied 2.5-mile oval with a brilliant 232.346-mph four-lap average to earn his second pole position, first since 2023.
That slid over Rossi and his in the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet to the middle of the front row as the second-best qualifier after Palou’s qualifying clinic. It marked Rossi’s return to the first row since 2017. David Malukas gave Team Penske its 50th front-row start at the Indianapolis 500, averaging 231.887 mph from his four Fast Six laps. He said he “really pushed the limits” of his No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
Even so, he said he “had nothing for Palou,” marveling at the Chip Ganassi Racing wunderkind’s supremacy: “Congrats to him. That was mega mega four laps. But really happy—front row is kind of what we were aiming for, and we got it there. So that’s a good spot to start in for this Indy 500.
” What might be even more aggravating for the stronger drivers with visions of starting from the pole May 24, Palou said, “I cannot believe it. Honestly, we did not expect it. We did not have the speed when we started today or even on Friday. So I cannot believe that we’re here, honestly.
You could see that the celebration was really high because this morning when we woke up, we did not expect this speed. ”He had predicted he would qualify somewhere in the fifth to 10th range but said, “It's not easy to do everything like this team is executing. Just look at these guys, the incredible work they did today. I have no words.
We're able to do it because of DHL and everybody that is supporting us throughout the year. But yeah, did not expect it. Incredible. So fun.
” Palou is aiming to become the seventh back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winner, after Wilbur Shaw , Mauri Rose , Bill Vukovich , Al Unser ,Helio Castroneves , and Josef Newgarden .
“The car was incredible, one of the best race cars I've ever driven here, especially in qualifying when you're pulling for a fast six and trimming so much. We struggled so much on Fast Friday and also this morning we kind of worked on the car a lot, the great team that we have, honestly: all the engineers, all the mechanics. They are executing at a level that it's incredible every single week and every single day.
And they just make me look good on track, honestly. I did not set up the car today. I was just lucky enough to drive it,” he said.
“You learn so much throughout every single Indy 500, but I think every single Indie 500, it's different,” Palou said. “You need different stuff. As a driver, you need different mindset, different techniques. Last year was about dealing with the traffic.
This year, I think it's going to be different. I think there's 15 to 20 cars that are super, super fast, and everybody can win here. So, I'm going to focus a lot on the race car tomorrow and Friday . The remaining Firestone Fast Six racers—Row 2—from inside to outside were Rosenqvist, Santino Ferrucci, and Pato O’Ward.
Behind them on the grid went the Top 12 drivers who didn’t advance to the Firestone Fast Six. In order, they were Kyffin Simpson, Conor Daly, and Scott McLaughlin forming Row 3 and Caio Collet, Scott Dixon, and Rinus VeeKay composing Row 4.
Row 5: Takuma Sato, Ed Carpenter, Helio CastronevesRow 7 : Christian Lundgaard, Will Power, Nolan SiegelRow 9: Romain Grosjean, Kyle Kirkwood, Katherine LeggeRow 11: Dennis Hauger, Jacob Abel, Sting Ray RobbIn Sunday’s first full-field qualifying session, leader Felix Rosenqvist’s gap on second-fastest David Malukas was greater than the gap Malukas had on No. 12 Kyffin Simpson . In a group so closely bunched, that was an outstanding performance.
But that’s not how Rosenqvist, of Meyer Shank Racing, described it. He spoke as if he were some curious blend of mystified, frightened, and entertained.
“Honestly, I’m not sure where it came from,” he said. “We had a similar situation last year. We were really good on Day 1 and then Fast 12. So we just focused on trying to hopefully get to Fast Six again and get another shot at.
It was close last year, but we kind of went the wrong direction, and we won’t make the same mistake again. But it was a fun and terrifying run, to be honest, probably one of the hardest runs I’ve done. So it’s nice that it paid off.
I had a big snap on my lap three in turn two, and I hadn’t looked at my lap time until that point because I was messing with the tools on the car and I saw it was a 232.599. And I was like, ‘OK, this is a good run. ’ Yeah, it’s incredible speed. ” Rosenqvist said he has to keep up the performance: “I think you kind of have to try your best each time.
I don’t think there’s such a thing as playing it safe. It’d be super-cool to get a pole here. ” Helio Castroneves—four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, teammate, and one of his Meyer Shank Racing bosses—said he wished he had the caliber of car Rosenqvist has. But he said, “What I noticed this year—Firestone Tires has been amazing, by the way—everyone is so close to each other.
I’m actually surprised with Felix with this speed, that he has the gap that he got. ” Castroneves will begin the race on the outside of Row 5 in pursuit of a record fifth 500 victory. At the end of the day, Rosenqvist said his performance was hindered by “quite a big gap from Run 2 to Run 3, like 1.3 miles per hour. It felt good.
It just didn't seem like it was that much in it. It just didn't go as fast, I’d say. I had this three times now when we kind of got into the last round and want to finish it off and then it just kind of like a curse, but it is what it is. I’m super-proud of the team, anyways.
Congrats on Alex and Honda on the pole. We’ll just focus on the race. ”Katherine Legge’s attempt to complete both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day next Sunday will start from the 27th position on the Brickyard grid—the outside of Row 10. She drew the final spot in line to make her four-lap qualifying effort, and afterward, the A.J.
Foyt Racing, e.l.f. Cosmetics-sponsored driver said she would have liked to have gone out earlier.
“I think we were really unlucky with that draw. But the team did an awesome job getting us solidly in the field. I think our car’s faster than it shows on the time sheet right now. ” The next hurdle for Legge is to integrate her relatively new NASCAR experience into her “Double” program.
“I started off in open wheel. I went to sports cars, did a bit more open wheel, and now I’m in big, heavy stock cars, which I love. They are amazing to drive, and it’s like this newfound passion of mine. I’m very much looking forward to it.
I’m apprehensive, because I’ve never driven at Charlotte before. But I will do my very best and make the most out of the wonderful opportunity that it is. ” Her IndyCar Series teammates, rookie Caio Collet and Santino Ferrucci, were in the top 10 in the initial, overall segment Sunday. All three Chip Ganassi Racing drivers advanced to the Top 12, and perhaps surprisingly, Alex Palou wasn’t the fastest among them.
He actually was second, sneaking into the mix late in the order, barely ahead of No. 12 Kyffin Simpson. First-out Scott Dixon took eighth. Susan Wade has lived in the Seattle area for 40 years, but motorsports is in the Indianapolis native’s DNA. She has emerged as one of the leading drag-racing writers with nearly 30 seasons at the racetrack, focusing on the human-interest angle.
She was the first non-NASCAR recipient of the prestigious Russ Catlin Award and has covered the sport for the Chicago Tribune, Newark Star-Ledger, and Seattle Times. She has contributed to Autoweek as a freelance writer since 2016.
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