INDYCAR action for the Bourchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix got off to a slow start in Practice 1. With reduced time on track to prepare, qualifying was set to be an interesting mix as drivers had a single attempt. As usual on ovals, drivers headed out one by one to set a two-lap average fastest speed. By the end of the session, Kyle Kirkwood was fastest and took the NTT P1 Award. Kirkwood excelled on the Nashville Superspeedway, now he has to try and replicate it during the race.
Reduced Running in Practice
Practice 1 got off to a slow start. The bump between Turns 3 and 4 was causing issues for drivers, with Marcus Ericsson and Scott McLaughlin saving their cars from crashes. However, running came to a stop early on. David Malukas had a high speed crash at Turn 2. Marshalls helped him out of the car and running was suspended as repairs to the SAFER barrier were carried out.
Due to the lengthy delay, officials added 10 minutes to the practice session. Álex Palou was showing pace, but ultimately it was Kyle Kirkwood who topped the timesheets. Despite his crash, Malukas set the third fastest speed of the session.
Whilst Malukas is conscious, he has been transferred to a local hospital. Team Penske have confirmed that Conor Daly is on standby should Malukas be ruled unfit to race. However, INDYCAR declared that if Daly step in, he’d have to complete the weekend. Between this and the car not being ready, the No. 12 car was out of qualifying.
Qualifying Kicks Off
As is standard with ovals, drivers had the Nashville Superspeedway to themselves. Over two laps, the aim was to set the fastest average speed. However, for the first time on an oval track, INDYCAR have opted to bring the red-walled alternate soft compound tyres. As a result, drivers opted to run the softer tyres for the qualifying attempts.
Mick Schumacher was the first to attempt and set the benchmark: 194.815 mph. Sting Ray Robb and Romain Grosjean couldn’t do better, but fellow rookie Caio Collet found 0.012 mph and took the top spot. Christian Rasmussen then went faster, being the first driver to hit an average speed in the 195’s.
Nolan Siegel slipped between the Dane and Collet whilst Dennis Hauger couldn’t find speed in his Dale Coyne Racing No. 19 car. Louis Foster went P5, just behind his teammate. With the first group complete, Hauger was last with Rasmussen in provisional pole.
Rossi Picks The Speed Up
Santino Ferrucci flew to second with his run, seeing little drop off in his tyres over the run. Alexander Rossi followed and, like his ECR teammate, was quick off the bat. Rossi was the first to set a speed over 196 mph, but running high in his second lap saw him drop speed. Despite the difference, the No. 20 managed to usurp Rasmussen and slotted into P1 with an average speed of 195.664 mph. Neither Kyffin Simpson and Will Power could find the speed to top Rossi, slotting in P7 and P5 respectively.
Graham Rahal had problems as he went to start his attempt. Stalling on pit lane, he came onto the radio to say he had no fuel pressure. With his 60 second window to head on track timing out, Rahal had to forfeit his chance. Consequently, he’ll be facing the race from the back of the pack.
Marcus Armstrong was next to complete his attempt. His first lap was only slower than the ECR duo, and with a strong second lap, he slotted into P3. With the second group having run, Rossi took provisional pole, with Hauger the slowest and Rahal out of qualifying.
Team Penske On Another Level
Rinus VeeKay showed more pace than his teammate, Robb, and slotted into P4. Whilst quicker than his teammate, Ericsson couldn’t challenge Rossi for the top spot. Scott Dixon was tracking on par with Rossi. A lower deficit between laps put him P1.
Scott McLaughlin had a blistering first lap, setting the fastest one-lap speed so far. Despite running high in his second lap, he was able to take provisional pole from Dixon with an average speed of 196.190 mph. Felix Rosenqvist was unable to match pace with his Meyer Shank Racing teammate. He went P13, behind Schumacher.
Team Penske were showing their outright speed as Josef Newgarden headed out. With both laps over 196 mph, he flew to the top of the leaderboard being half an mph faster than his teammate.
The Final Battle For Pole
Pato O’Ward was unable to find the speed to match Team Penske, slotting in P10 just ahead of his teammate, Siegel. The third and final Arrow McLaren driver, Christian Lundgaard was next. His struggles on oval tracks continued and he slotted into P17.
It came down to just two drivers who could knock Newgarden off: Kirkwood and Palou. Following on from his Practice 1 performance, Kirkwood’s first lap was incredible. Being the only driver to hit an average of 197 mph, he went to provisional pole despite the big speed drop off in the second lap. Although Palou had an impressive warm up lap, the championship leader could only go P4.
Kirkwood Takes A Second Nashville Pole
Despite a lack of running in the first practice session, drivers remained clean during their qualifying attempts. Ultimately, Kyle Kirkwood took pole with an average speed of 196.852 mph. This is his second pole in Nashville, and it gives him a headstart to take points off of Palou tomorrow.
Newgarden lines up P2 for his home race, with McLaughlin and Palou on row two. Malukas and Rahal will form the back of the grid alongside Lundgaard, who has a nine-place grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. Tomorrow, eyes will be on Kirkwood to see if he can convert pole to the win. And we await news to see if Malukas can race. Up next is high line and final practice, a final chance to dial the cars in before the race.