The IMS road course hosted a knockout qualifying session Friday afternoon, and it was Alex Palou that turned the fastest lap of the field.
The reigning series champion logged a lap of 1:09.0004, and was barely able to hang on as Will Power laid down a power slide in the final corner that cost him the top spot.
Christian Lundgaard set the second fastest time, and was disappointed with the effort despite earning a front row starting spot just ahead of two Team Penske veterans.
READ MORE: IndyCar IMS – Full Qualifying Report
Graham Rahal, after taking a new Honda engine earlier in the day, had clutch issues that forced his RLL crew to push him away from his pit stall. He was still able to advance to the second round and qualified ninth.
A short warmup practice session is scheduled for Saturday morning, followed by the Sonsio Grand Prix at 3:30 PM eastern time.
| # | Driver | Time | Gap | Avg. Speed (MPH) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Palou | 01:09.0004 | – | 127.251 |
| 2 | Christian Lundgaard | 01:09.0921 | 0.0917 | 127.083 |
| 3 | Will Power | 01:09.1636 | 0.1632 | 126.951 |
| 4 | Josef Newgarden | 01:09.2528 | 0.2524 | 126.788 |
| 5 | Pato O’Ward | 01:09.3320 | 0.3316 | 126.643 |
| 6 | Scott Dixon | 01:09.5270 | 0.5266 | 126.288 |
| 7 | Alexander Rossi | 01:09.0801 | – | 127.105 |
| 8 | Marcus Armstrong | 01:09.1175 | – | 127.036 |
| 9 | Graham Rahal | 01:09.1491 | – | 126.978 |
| 10 | Felix Rosenqvist | 01:09.2923 | – | 126.715 |
| 11 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 01:09.3698 | – | 126.574 |
| 12 | Rinus VeeKay | 01:09.3915 | – | 126.534 |
| 13 | Scott McLaughlin | 01:09.1378 | – | 126.999 |
| 14 | Kyle Kirkwood | 01:09.1712 | – | 126.937 |
| 15 | Agustin Canapino | 01:09.2578 | – | 126.779 |
| 16 | Santino Ferrucci | 01:09.2637 | – | 126.768 |
| 17 | Jack Harvey | 01:09.3254 | – | 126.655 |
| 18 | Theo Pourchaire | 01:09.3816 | – | 126.552 |
| 19 | Linus Lundqvist | 01:09.3385 | – | 126.631 |
| 20 | Christian Rasmussen | 01:09.4190 | – | 126.484 |
| 21 | Marcus Ericsson | 01:09.3936 | – | 126.53 |
| 22 | Luca Ghiotto | 01:09.4519 | – | 126.424 |
| 23 | Romain Grosjean | 01:09.4283 | – | 126.467 |
| 24 | Colton Herta | 01:09.5391 | – | 126.266 |
| 25 | Kyffin Simpson | 01:09.5613 | – | 126.225 |
| 26 | Tom Blomqvist | 01:09.6264 | – | 126.107 |
| 27 | Sting Ray Robb | 01:10.0399 | – | 125.363 |
