Joe Skibinski/IMS Photo
Herta edges Malukas for Detroit Grand Prix pole
Colton Herta was on a mission to claim back-to-back poles at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix and wouldn’t be denied as he secured his 15th career pole with a lap of 1m00.477s in the No. 26 Andretti Global Honda.
“That was a big relief. We were close a few times this year. Happy to do that. Happy to be P1,” Herta said.
AJ Foyt Racing’s David Malukas was the surprise performer on Saturday as he snatched second with the No. 4 Chevy after recording a lap of 1m00.649s.
“Really good session. The mood’s really lifted up on us. We’re on a good run here. Very happy run,” Malukas said.
Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood was trending to be first but hit the wall with his right-rear wheel and broke the suspension on the No. 27 Honda with just a few corners to go before completing the lap.
“I’ve never been more disappointed with a third in my life,” Kirkwood said. “Threw away a pole.”
Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard was fourth in the No. 7 Chevy with a 1m00.893s lap ahead of Graham Rahal in the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, which was good enough for fifth, but will become 11th due to a six-position grid penalty coming out of the Indianapolis 500.
“It’s nice to have a fast car. Two years ago we were awful here. To see that gain, I did not expect that at all,” Rahal said.
Championship leader Alex Palou was sixth in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, and will slide into fifth at the start of Sunday’s 100-lap contest that airs on FOX beginning at 12:30pm ET.
“To be sixth now feels like a pole,” Palou said after acknowledging the past week has been draining with all of the travel and media obligations to handle after his Indy 500 win.
The first round of knockout qualifying pitted 13 of the 27 drivers against each other and after their 10-minute session, Will Power led Palou, Lundgaard, Scott McLaughlin, Marcus Armstrong and Rinus VeeKay to transfer through to the Fast 12.
Those who were done for the day were led by Marcus Ericsson (P13), Felix Rosenqvist (P15), Callum Ilott (P17), Kyffin Simpson (P19), Santino Ferrucci (P21), Devlin DeFrancesco (P23) and Conor Daly (P25).
The second round of knockout qualifying featured a few surprises, including Josef Newgarden hitting the wall with his rear suspension for the second time on Saturday, which forced him to back off during his fastest lap.
The quick six going through were led by Colton Herta with Graham Rahal, Malukas, Rasmussen, Kirkwood and Scott Dixon squeaking in as the clock expired. Behind them, Louis Foster (P14), Alexander Rossi (P16), Pato O’Ward (P18), a career best for Jacob Abel (P20), Robert Shwartzman (P22), Newgarden (P24), Sting Ray Robb (P26), and in last due to a suspected engine issue, Nolan Siegel (P27).
The Fast 12 was settled among Herta, Rahal, Malukas, Rasmussen, Power, Kirkwood, Palou, Lundgaard, McLaughlin, Dixon, Armstrong, and VeeKay, and in the end, VeeKay (P7), McLaughlin (P8), Power (P9), Dixon (P10), Armstrong (P11), and Rasmussen (P12) were locked in and done.
Herta, Kirkwood, Malukas, Lundgaard, Palou, and Rahal would go on to battle for pole with their fastest laps (1m00.456s by Herta) to the slowest (1m00.685s by Rahal) being separated by just 0.229s.
Herta takes back-to-back Detroit poles ahead of Malukas, Kirkwood, Lundgaard, Rahal, and Palou.
Marshall Pruett
The 2026 season marks Marshall Pruett's 40th year working in the sport. In his role today for RACER, Pruett covers open-wheel and sports car racing as a writer, reporter, photographer, and filmmaker. In his previous career, he served as a mechanic, engineer, and team manager in a variety of series, including IndyCar, IMSA, and World Challenge.
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