Alex Palou provides a Mid Ohio pole place to his dominant IndyCar season

The Alex Palou present has rolled proper on to Mid Ohio Sports activities Automobile Course.

Palou laid down a prime time of 1:05.0215s to say the pole for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200. It was the Spaniard’s third pole of the yr, setting him as much as proceed his dominant marketing campaign and chase a seventh win in 10 races with Chip Ganassi Racing.

The sturdy qualifying outcomes have been a key differentiator for Palou’s 2025 marketing campaign.

“Ever since I began with CGR, we’ve (had) nice automobiles,” Palou stated. “However I’d say we’ve at all times struggled qualifying up entrance, so this yr has been phenomenal. The velocity we’ve within the automobiles in each single race monitor (the place) we present up, it’s been superb.”

Christian Lundgaard was Palou’s rival via the session, main his group and slotting forward of the three-time champion within the Quick 12. However the Arrow McLaren star fell .1911s wanting Palou within the closing spherical and needed to accept second.

The pair have been in a league of their very own when it counted. Collection sophomore Kyffin Simpson was the surprising star of the session, making the Quick Six for the primary time in his younger IndyCar profession. However he fell .734s shy of his teammate Palou regardless of taking third within the closing spherical.

CGR wasn’t the one staff with a nice shock in row two. Nolan Siegel wrapped up a career-best qualifying effort in fourth for Arrow McLaren. Colton Herta adopted in fifth, with Highway America polesitter Louis Foster capping off the Quick 6 after one other spectacular efficiency.

Whereas Palou led for a lot of the Quick 12, it was Foster that that rocketed to the highest within the closing seconds. Lundgaard, Palou, Herta and Siegel adopted, with Simpson narrowly pushing himself into the ultimate switch spot on his closing lap.

Simpson’s power aided Palou, knocking championship rival Kyle Kirkwood out of the Quick Six in seventh. Kyle Kirkwood slotted in eighth, with Scott Dixon and Christian Rasmussen finishing the highest 10.

Scott McLaughlin, Crew Penske

Picture by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen by way of Getty Photos

Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi wrapped up the Quick 12. It was an excellent restoration for Ericsson, who suffered a large shunt on the exit of Mid-Ohio’s closing nook within the morning’s observe session.

Lundgaard was quickest within the opening group, comfortably slotting .2923s away from second-place Ericsson regardless of working two fewer laps and pulling off early. Herta adopted in third, with Siegel sneaking via in fourth after a robust last-ditch effort. Rasmussen and Simpson capped off the advancing six.

Siegel’s late heroics eradicated a possible upset development for Conor Daly and Juncos Hollinger Racing. It additionally added to the woes of de-facto Arrow McLaren chief Pato O’Ward, who was the one staff driver that didn’t advance after slotting behind Daly. He’ll roll off fifteenth within the race.

Palou topped the charts in a stacked group two, main Foster, Dixon, Kirkwood, Armstrong and Rossi. David Malukas fell .0117s shy of advancing, with Felix Rosenqvist, Josef Newgarden and Graham Rahal behind him.

It was one other disastrous qualifying session for Crew Penske. All three of the group’s drivers didn’t advance, slotting properly outdoors of the quickest six qualifiers of their respective periods. Newgarden led the group with an 18th-place effort in group two. Scott McLaughlin and Will Energy have been even worse off, setting themselves as much as share row 11 in twenty first and twenty second, respectively.

“I used to be simply getting held up,” McLaughlin stated of his run. ‘You get into a nasty spot, you must again off. You’ll be able to’t use the tire on the proper spot. I’m actually bummed for the Odyssey Battery staff. I genuinely really feel prefer it ought to’ve been straightforward to switch there.”

The Honda Indy 200 will go dwell Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX.