As the NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads to World Wide Technology Raceway, Alex Palou has been the dominant force for much of the season, winning the majority of the races so far.
How Oval Qualifying works
- The qualifying order is determined by the reverse of the championship standings.
- Each driver gets just one qualifying run.
- Every run consists of two warm-up laps followed by two timed laps.
- The starting grid is set by the average speed of the two timed laps.
Qualifying Order
- Mick Schumacher
- Christian Rasmussen
- Sting Ray Robb
- Caio Collet
- Romain Grosjean
- Nolan Siegel
- Louis Foster
- Will Power
- Dennis Hauger
- Santino Ferrucci
- Kyffin Simpson
- Alexander Rossi
- Rinus VeeKay
- Marcus Ericsson
- Scott Dixon
- Marcus Armstrong
- Graham Rahal
- Josef Newgarden
- Scott McLaughlin
- Felix Rosenqvist
- Pato O’Ward
- Christian Lundgaard
- David Malukas
- Kyle Kirkwood
- Alex Palou
Qualifying Results
🥇 Pole Position — Alex Palou
🥈 2nd — David Malukas
🥉 3rd — Kyle Kirkwood
Top 10:
4. Felix Rosenqvist
5. Scott McLaughlin
6. Marcus Armstrong
7. Scott Dixon
8. Josef Newgarden
9. Pato O’Ward
10. Alexander Rossi
Notable Results:
- Graham Rahal
- Marcus Ericsson
- Rinus VeeKay
- Kyffin Simpson
- Santino Ferrucci
- Christian Lundgaard
- Louis Foster
- Mick Schumacher (R)
- Christian Rasmussen
- Caio Collet (R)
- Will Power
- Nolan Siegel
- Romain Grosjean
- Dennis Hauger (R)
- Sting Ray Robb
With pole secured by Alex Palou, the championship leader will lead the field to green at World Wide Technology Raceway, while David Malukas and Kyle Kirkwood complete the front row battle for the start of the race.
Image Credit: Penske Entertainment by Chris Owens
Race
The race was brought forward slightly because of the weather forecast. Before the race even started, Dennis Hauger retired after a fuel leak was discovered on the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda, forcing the team to return the car to the garage.
Alex Palou led the opening stages before Marcus Ericsson took the lead on Lap 47 after gaining 11 places. Scott Dixon then moved into the lead on Lap 54 as teams approached the expected pit-stop window between Laps 46 and 60.
Caution coming out for Siegel
A caution came out on Lap 55 after Nolan Siegel hit the wall following contact with Palou. Racing resumed on Lap 64 with Ericsson leading. Rain was expected within around half an hour from Lap 94, but race control later decided that no further action would be taken over the contact between Palou and Siegel.
Collet moved into the lead on Lap 111 before Dixon regained the lead on Lap 114. On the same lap, another caution was triggered when Graham Rahal lost control and hit the wall. More drama followed on Lap 125 when Kyffin Simpson stopped just before pit entry after running out of fuel. A red flag was shown on Lap 137. After a delay, many drivers pitted between Laps 138 and 141 during the caution period for fuel and tyres. Simpson’s car was brought back to the pits on Lap 142 for refuelling because the No. 8 team could not refuel during the red flag.
Restarts after restarts.
The race restarted on Lap 143 with Ericsson leading. Between Laps 144 and 146, Josef Newgarden passed Collet for second place. Newgarden took the lead from Ericsson on Lap 177. After Newgarden made a pit stop, Collet inherited the lead. A caution on Lap 197 turned into a red flag on Lap 200. During the caution, Palou nearly ran out of fuel like his teammate Simpson but managed to reach the pit lane. Although he briefly ran out of fuel, the team got him back out on track.
Green-flag racing resumed on Lap 213 with Newgarden leading. Christian Rasmussen took the lead on Lap 215, and he and Newgarden traded the lead several times on Laps 219 and 220.
Another caution came out on Lap 227 when Collet retired with mechanical problems. The race restarted on Lap 234, and after the final run to the finish, Josef Newgarden won at Gateway. Marcus Ericsson finished second, while Christian Rasmussen completed the podium in third ahead of Rinus VeeKay in fourth.
There were also a couple of penalties during the race. On Lap five, Kyffin Simpson (No. 8) received a drive-through penalty for being out of line at the start, whilst teammate Scott Dixon (No. 9) was sent to the back of the field at the Lap 201 restart after receiving emergency service on his car.
Top Ten:
- Josef Newgarden
- Marcus Ericsson
- Christian Rasmussen
- Rinus VeeKay
- Scott McLaughlin
- Kyle Kirkwood
- David Malukas
- Will Power
- Marcus Armstrong
- Christian Lundgaard
IndyCar heads to Road America June 19th – June 21st, with the race starting at 2pm ET.
Featured Image Credit: Penske Entertainment by Chris Owens
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