Palou goes four in a row with pole at WWTR

“Oh my goodness, that’s good,” said Alex Palou as he mollywhopped the field on his way to earning pole position by a full 1.1mph at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Team Penske’s David Malukas held pole at 173.244mph in the No. 12 Chevy as Palou went out in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda as the last qualifier for Sunday’s 260-lap Bommarito Automotive Group 500, and while the Penske newcomer looked like he’d set a standard that couldn’t be beaten, Palou soared on his first lap with a 174.965mph tour around the 1.25-mile oval and backed it up with a 173.745mph lap to average 174.353mph and take his fourth consecutive pole position.

“The team I have around me, it's incredible,” Palou added. “Honestly, my car, it was on rails today. It was incredible. [WWTR is] a place that I struggled the most so far. Hopefully, we can change it tomorrow. I knew this morning that our car is super quick. The No. 10 Honda had a lot of power, but I did not really expect to get the pole here today. Honestly, it's just incredible. Super proud, and can't wait for tomorrow.”

After Palou and Malukas, it was Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood making it a 1-2-3 in qualifying for the drivers holding 1-2-3 in the championship with a 173.206mph in the No. 27 Honda. Meyer Shank Racing’s Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist was fourth in the No. 60 Honda at 172.953mph and had Penske’s Scott McLaughlin behind him in fifth with the No. 3 Chevy at 172.869mph. Rosenqvist's MSR teammate Marcus Armstrong closed out the top six with a 172.483mph in the No. 66 Honda.

Elsewhere, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was disappointed to qualify ninth after leading practice a few hours earlier, and Rinus VeeKay made the most of a repaired Juncos Hollinger Racing car to take 13th. Andretti’s Will Power — on pole at WWTR in 2025 — was dismayed to earn 21st in a machine that was bottoming and understeering, which was the primary complaint from most drivers who struggled for speed.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Mick Schumacher was the first to qualify and held first place with a lap of 170.290mph after Christian Rasmussen, Sting Ray Robb, Caio Collet, Romain Grosjean and Nolan Siegel went. Teammate Louis Foster eventually topped Schumacher to give the team a temporary 1-2 in qualifying after seven of the 25 drivers made their runs.

Foster held first at 170.569mph after Will Power and Dennis Hauger ran, then Santino Ferrucci pushed pole to 170.988mph for AJ Foyt Racing. It didn’t last long, as Ganassi’s Kyffin Simpson went to P1 at 171.149mph before ECR’s Alexander Rossi took the lead at 171.923mph.

Rossi held on as VeeKay and Marcus Ericsson ran, but Ganassi’s Scott Dixon shot to P1 with a 172.478mph after 15 of the 25 qualifiers made their two-lap tours. Armstrong soon took the lead at 172.483mph and survived runs by Graham Rahal and Penske’s Josef Newgarden before McLaughlin took the pole to a new standard of 172.869mph. Yet again, it didn’t hold, as MSR’s Felix Rosenqvist took over P1 at 172.953mph.

O’Ward was next and fell short, followed by teammate Christian Lundgaard, but Penske’s David Malukas deposed Rosenqvist for first with a 173.244mph.

Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood was the penultimate qualifier and came close to take P2, as championship leader Alex Palou waited to close time trials.

Pole. A full 1.1mph faster than Malukas at 174.353mph. Ridiculous.

UP NEXT: High-line practice at 8:05 p.m., followed by final practice at 9 p.m. ET.

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