Palou qualifying streak ends as he misses Fast Six

With five consecutive pole positions to his credit and pole for last year’s Mid-Ohio race on his growing list of achievements, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou was expected to be in the hunt for another pole during the Firestone Fast Six on Saturday, but the Spaniard didn’t just miss out on starting first; he failed to make it into the Fast Six at all.

“Did a big mistake in Turn 1 on my first push lap, and then kind of couldn't really put my best lap together, so yeah, it's a shame,” said Palou who showed plenty of speed through the previous knockout qualifying rounds before settling for eighth. “We had a really fast car, but I was trying very hard. I knew it was going to be very, very tight, but yeah, I overdid it.”

The championship leader wasn’t alone in starting farther back than anticipated as Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood, who holds third in the standings, was seen as a contender to make the Fast Six until crossing the finish line in 10th. Second-place David Malukas of Team Penske qualified fourth and has a chance to carve into Palou’s 60-point advantage and build upon the single point he holds over the Andretti driver.

“We had a super fast car all weekend and at the test here,” Kirkwood said. “We were quickest through every single session, minus the second round of qualifying. We qualified 10th, which isn’t a horrendous starting spot, but definitely not the capability of the Sam’s Club Honda here today. So, we’ll go into the race starting inside the top 10 and work from there.”