Qualifying at Mid-Ohio was delayed due to lightning in the area. But after it was all said and done, it is Christian Lundgaard on pole and will lead the field to green tomorrow, ahead of teammate Pato O’Ward for an Arrow McLaren front-row lockout in Mid-Ohio.
Big Names out Early
After a three-hour delay clear from any lighting, the sun was out, and cars were finally on track in Mid-Ohio. Drivers in group 1 quickly started getting their times on the board. With 5 minutes to go, it was Rinus Veekay at the top with a 1:05.834. In the closing stages, drivers put on their red sticker tires, and times began to fall quickly.
Less than one minute remaining, Kyle Kirkwood found a mega lap and was the only driver in group 1 to get into the 1:104s with a 1:04.893. In the dying seconds, Rasmussen managed to jump to second, ahead of Pato O’Ward with a time of 1:05.135.
There were a few surprising names that did not advance out of group 1, including Felix Rosenqvist and Mid-Ohio master Scott Dixon. The IndyCar veteran got in the way of Romain Grosjean‘s qualifying lap attempt, and as a result, the New Zealand native was hit with a penalty.
It was group 2’s turn to take the track. Early on, it was a mix of drivers at the top, with Álex Palou at the top, before drivers put on the red stickers. At the chequered flag, Palou led group 2, beating Kirkwood’s mark by 28 thousandths of a second. Lundgaard finished second with a 1:04.915
Rookie Caio Collet just barely scraped by to earn a place in the Fast 12 ahead of Sting Ray Robb. It’s double trouble for Meyer Shank Racing with Marcus Armstrong also not making it to the Fast 12.
Fast 12 Shocker
Pato O’Ward came out of the gate flying at the start of Fast 12, dropping a 1:05.253. It held the top spot as drivers dove into the pits. Palou was the first driver to set a time after cars got back on track, but it was not enough to beat O’Ward’s time, putting him in second for the time being.
Times continued to fall quickly, and huge laps from drivers like David Malukas, who finished at the top of Fast 12 with a time of 1:04.709, Christian Rasmussen, and Rinus VeeKay dropped him down to 8th. This ended Palou’s five-straight pole streak dating back to the Sonsio Grand Prix at the beginning of May. Kirkwood, who is chasing Palou for the championship, will be starting behind the Chip Ganassi driver in 10th.
Fast 6
It was Rasmussen who set the early benchmark for drivers in the Fast 6, but the time was quickly beaten. O’Ward jumped to the top with a time of 1:04.864 in the dying seconds. However, there was one more driver who still had to complete a lap; that driver was teammate Lundgaard. Lundgaard managed to find a lap time and put down a time of 1:04.839 to secure his first pole position since Toronto 2023 and complete the Arrow McLaren front-row lockout for tomorrow’s race at Mid-Ohio.
Starting behind them will be Will Power and Malukas, followed by Rasmussen and Veekay.