IndyCar qualifying from Laguna Seca was a record-setting affair, with lap times tumbling way lower than they have been in recent years.
The new pavement provided plenty of grip, and allowed the 27 drivers to really stand on the throttle as they motored around the historic course.
The driver with the fastest lap was Felix Rosenqvist, who beat out other drivers who were more favored to take the top spot.
READ MORE: IndyCar Laguna Seca – Full Qualifying Results
The Swede put together a complete lap on the tricky course, and completed his final run with a time of 1:06.6416.
The previous pole record at Laguna Seca was 1:07.722 by Helio Castroneves in 2000, well over a second slower than the time set this Saturday.
Rosenqvist earned his second pole of the season with Arrow McLaren, after it was announced earlier in the week that he would be leaving the team to race with Meyer Shank Racing in 2024.
Scott McLaughlin earned the outside front row with a lap of his own that was nearly perfect, but a small mistake at the start of the lap proved to be key to him losing out on the top spot by less than 0.01 seconds.
Christian Lundgaard and Josef Newgarden filled out the second row, and the team-mates of Scott Dixon and Alex Palou earned the fifth and sixth spots respectively.
Lundgaard technically leaves the session with the new track record, completing a lap of 1:06.4610 with fresh tires in the second round
Juri Vips put on an incredible show in his second ever IndyCar event, qualifying in seventh position. The 21-year-old was on the provisional pole for a time, before he slipped down outside the Fast Six just as time expired.
There were a few incidents, but not nearly as many interrupted running as did during the two practice sessions earlier in the weekend.
Ryan Hunter-Reay was the first to spin and bring out the red flag in the first segment, and Helio Castroneves put his car into the gravel during his fast attempt.
Both drivers had their fast laps disallowed, and were not able to continue due to the disruptions they caused.
Pato O’Ward also spun while making his final attempt in the second round, and was forced to settle for a 12th place grid slot.
Despite having what looked to be the fastest car early in the weekend, Colton Herta was only able to manage a lap good enough to put him 15th on the grid.
He will need to drive through the field with his special throwback livery if he is to salvage a good result this weekend.
One final warm-up session will be available Sunday morning, ahead of the final race of the season, which begins at 12:00 Pacific Time.
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