Saturday afternoon at Laguna Seca was reserved for the NTT IndyCar series, and the 27 entrants wasted no time getting on track to set the order for Sunday’s race.
The sun was out and air temperatures were higher than expected, leading to a track temperature that climbed above 130F (55C).
Nearly all the drivers struggled with the softer red walled tires in the heat, leading to multiple drivers taking a trip through the gravel and others yet getting knocked out early in the running.
READ MORE: IndyCar Laguna Seca – Full Qualifying Results
The driver that managed the conditions best was Alex Palou, as the Spaniard took his second pole of the season with a lap of 1:07.1465.
Palou was seen slipping around a bit early in qualifying, but he managed to find the perfect balance when it counted most in the final round.
Earning a position on the outside of the front row was Kyle Kirkwood. The Andretti Global driver was satisfied with his run, knowing that it is difficult to pass around the 2.24-mile course.
Felix Rosenqvist continued his strong season, putting in the time fast enough for the third starting spot. Colton Herta will start alongside, and continues to be a favorite on his home track.
Alexander Rossi qualified in fifth, and was the only Chevrolet representative in the Fast 6. Christina Lundgaard was just behind, and earned a position on the outside of the third row.
Scott McLaughlin was just bumped out of the Fast 6, with Rossi setting a lap as time expired good enough to push him down to the fourth row.
Starting in eighth will be Romain Grosjean, who complained to television crews after he climbed from the car about the slow laps drivers were doing before their push laps.
The problem did not appear to be any worse than other race tracks, however, and the Juncos Hollinger Racing driver will need to expect that sort of traffic during qualifying if he is to manage it better.
Putting forth a strong effort in his return from injury, David Malukas was able to advance to the second round in his Meyer Shank Racing Honda.
Malukas will start from the 12th position as he looks to show that he is healthy enough to put in a good performance.
Agustin Canapino could not quite match the pace of his Juncos Hollinger Racing team-mate, and was the first driver to fail to advance into the second round. He will start from 13th.
Two of the three Team Penske drivers struggled to get up to speed, with Josef Newgarden and Will Power both failing to advance out of the first round.
They were among a group of drivers that really struggled to get a handle of the softer red tires, and they will start on the seventh and eighth rows.
Nolan Siegel took advantage of others problems to earn the 23rd starting position. The 19-year-old rookie was recently promoted from an IndyNXT ride to a seat with Arrow McLaren for the rest of the season.
Siegel has started a couple IndyCar races earlier in the year when they did not conflict with his IndyNXT duties, but the young talent begins his IndyCar journey in earnest on Sunday.
The green flags for the Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will wave at 3:30 PM pacific time, with forecasts predicting only marginally cooler conditions.
