Colton Herta captured Andretti Global’s pole position of the season and 12th of his career with a scorching 1:00.547-second lap in the No. 26 Honda at the Detroit Chevrolet Grand Prix. NTT IndyCar Series championship leader Alex Ballou locked out the front row for Honda in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing machine in the Chevy home event (1m00.700s).
“I’m doing 180 and I’m very happy for the team,” Herta said after Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 ended with his car in the wall. “You know, they put in a big effort in May and it was disappointing to say the least. Coming back here to get some redemption, man, it feels good.”
Palo didn’t think he had the pace to unseat Herta from pole position, but he was confident about the way the race might go.
“Very happy,” he said. “The car has been great since the first test yesterday and we are able to fight through all the stages of qualifying. We are looking forward to tomorrow. It will be a busy and crowded race, but with a fast car, everything is a little easier.”
New Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden was top of the Chevy camp in the No. 2 Team Penske entry (1m00.961s) in third and teammate Scott McLaughlin was fourth in the No. 3 Chevy (1m01.334s). Ganassi’s Scott Dixon, in his 100th Firestone Fast Six, finished fifth in the No. 9 Honda (1.01.391 seconds) and Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood, who was third heading into the final minute of qualifying, rolled, stalled and fell. To sixth place after his two fastest laps were deleted due to the red flag (1m04.293s).
“Hats off to Andretti Global. They gave us rocket ships this weekend. I knew Colton would be hard to beat, hence the mistake. “Just a mistake,” Kirkwood said.
Qualifying with Theo Bourchier opening the top group on track, followed by McLaughlin, Newgarden, Kirkwood, Will Power and Santino Ferrucci who have all moved on.
Behind them, Christian Rasmussen (13), Romain Grosjean (15), Alexander Rossi (17), Rinus Vikai (19), Linus Lundqvist (21), Kevin Simpson (23), and Tristan Vauthier (25) were locked in their positions. .
Grosjean, angry at Ferrucci who he said had blocked him, jumped out of his car and raced to Ferrucci’s AJ Foyt Racing team to confront the recurring protagonist, but he was already gone.
Palou led the way in Group B with Christian Lundgaard, Hertha, Marcus Eriksson, Pato Oward and Dixon. From the outside looking in are Graham Rahal (14th), Pietro Fittipaldi (16th), Agustín Canapino (18th), Marcus Armstrong (20th), Felix Rosenqvist (22nd), Sting Ray Robb (24th), Hélio Castroneves (6th). Twenty), and Jack Harvey (27) was completed.
Rahal was sixth and was about to go ahead, but O’Ward sent him off on the final lap. Rahal will be hit with a six-point grid penalty — as is the case with Simpson — for the unapproved engine changes once the order is determined before Sunday’s 100-lap race, which turns green at 12:45 p.m. ET on the USA Network.
The Fast 12 was settled with the top six being Herta, Kirkwood, Dixon, McLaughlin, Palo and Newgarden. Dixon collided with Bourchier (seventh) at the finish line, followed by a furious Bauer (eighth), Ericsson (9th), Ferrucci (10th), Lundgaard (11th), and Ord (12th).
O’Ward, who was trying to make room for an attacking Kirkwood behind him, stopped with 3 minutes and 45 seconds left in the session, bringing out the red flag, while he finished seventh – before he could make a fast lap. He would lose his two fastest laps and drop to twelfth place.
results
