As the afternoon starts to draw to a close near St. Louis, it was time for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES to have its ninth qualifying of the 2026 season. Conditions were drawing closer to what drivers will experience during the race. All 25 drivers had one opportunity, two laps to produce the fastest average speed at the World Wide Technology Raceway. As the session ended, Álex Palou took pole. For the fourth race this year, he’ll lead the grid to green at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
O’Ward Topped Practice
Earlier in the day, drivers headed on track for their first practice session. Whilst they have a final practice following qualifying, the first time on track gave teams a single hour to prepare. With little time to get the cars into the optimal set up, most drivers remained cool and calm as they lapped the oval.
Rinus VeeKay brought out the only caution after hitting the wall at Turn 4. Fortunately, after being seen by the Medical Centre, it was confirmed he was unhurt. David Malukas was caught speeding in the pit lane shortly after. Consequently, he served a drive through penalty.
Many drivers saw the top of the timings in practice, including championship leader Álex Palou and Scott McLaughlin. But a rapid lap as the session closed saw Pato O’Ward and Arrow McLaren leap to the top. With five podiums here, O’Ward is no stranger to success at the WWTR.
Schumacher Sets The Benchmark
With cars lined up in reverse championship order, Mick Schumacher was the first to attempt qualifying. The rookie set the benchmark for the rest of the drivers to beat, with an average speed of 170.290 mph. It was neck and neck between Schumacher and Christian Rasmussen, but a big lift in his second lap saw the Dane unable to beat the benchmark. Seemingly having technical issues on his run, Sting Ray Robb was unable to find pace, slotting in behind the previous two attempts.
Caio Collet went just behind Rasmussen by 0.002 mph. Romain Grosjean, fresh out of surgery on his wrist, could only go faster than Robb. Up next came Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel. He found pace compared to his best speed in practice, but slotted in between Collet and Grosjean.
Following Siegel came Schumacher’s teammate, Louis Foster. His first lap was rapid, and whilst he lost time in the second lap, he bested his teammate. Consequently, his average speed of 170.569 mph saw him go to P1. Will Power rounded out the first third of drivers. Holding five poles here, he knows how to find pace around this oval. It wasn’t to be for Power though and he’ll have to wait some more for his maiden Andretti pole. He went P5, between Collet and Siegel.
The Speed Picks Up
The final rookie, Dennis Hauger, followed Power. He also couldn’t go flat in Turns 3-4, and could only go faster than Robb. Santino Ferrucci was the only driver so far to find time during his second lap. With an average speed of 170.988 mph, the A. J. Foyt Racing driver became the new man to beat. Whilst Ferrucci saw some pace gained over the two laps, Kyffin Simpson found a full 1 mph. This saw him be the first driver to gain an average speed over 171 mph and go first.
In his first lap, Alexander Rossi set the fastest single lap speed so far in the session. He went ahead of Simpson. Despite his crash in practice, Rinus VeeKay was showing speed as he made his attempt. A consistent run saw the #76 go P2. Marcus Ericsson made last minute adjustments based on Power’s attempt, but it wasn’t enough to beat Rossi. He did, however, go ahead of VeeKay.
Speed continued to be found as Scott Dixon hit the track. An almighty first lap saw him storm to P1, with an average speed of 172.478 mph. But he didn’t stay there for long. A consistent run for Marcus Armstrong saw him go provisional pole with eight drivers remaining. The fellow Kiwi went P1 by the smallest of margins, with an average speed of 172.483 mph.
The Final Battle For Pole
Graham Rahal has had his best season in recent years, with three podiums and a P3 start at the first oval of the year in Phoenix. He was next on the track, and was faster than his teammates who went earlier. Rahal’s attempt was neat but only good enough for P4, behind Rossi. Josef Newgarden is one of the injured drivers on the grid this weekend. Despite nursing an injured leg, he kept his #2 Team Penske car planted to the track. Ultimately, he slotted in P3 after loosing speed in his second lap.
Newgarden’s teammate Scott McLaughlin was the next to run. Running a special, historic livery he set a rapid first lap. This allowed him to inherit provisional pole, despite having a wiggle on his second lap. Felix Rosenqvist was able to set a cleaner second lap, taking over the top spot with an average speed of 172.953 mph. Pato O’Ward could not match his pace from practice, and only managed to go P6 between Newgarden and Rossi.
Christian Lundgaard also couldn’t find the pace Arrow McLaren showed earlier in the day. With some lifting and a lack of pace he could only go P13, behind Ferrucci. David Malukas achieved his maiden pole at the last short oval of the season. And he followed that up with another massive attempt here. As the first driver to break 173 mph, his average speed was 173.244 mph and went provisional pole.
Álex Palou Takes Pole For The Bommarito Automotive Group 500
Two drivers remained to try and knock Malukas off the top spot. First to try was Kyle Kirkwood. Initially, he was tracking behind Malukas. His two laps were consistent though, and he went P2 by a narrow margin. Finally, it was the championship leader Álex Palou who had his chance. And he didn’t waste it.
It was the fastest single lap for Palou as he started his attempt. Despite dropping speed between laps, he was able to capitalise off of his perfect first lap. With an average speed of 174.353 mph, he knocked Malukas down. For the first time at the WWTR, Palou takes the NTT P1 Award and will lead the grid to green come tomorrow’s race.
Qualifying is complete and Palou takes a fourth pole position in a row. But there’s still track time to be had before the race begins tomorrow night. Up next is high line and final practice, a chance for drivers to lay rubber down. But with rain and storms on the forecast, will that be washed away before the green flag falls?