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Alex Palou Wins 2nd Pole of 2024 at Laguna Seca

Defending NTT IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou won the pole for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey during Saturday’s (June 22) qualifying session at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Kyle Kirkwood will start second, his best qualifying effort of 2024 thus far. Felix Rosenqvist qualified an impressive third to continue an ambitious run of strong showings for Meyer Shank Racing.

“It was really tough, really tight all qualifying,” Palou said of the challenge to maintain consistency and pace throughout the day. “It was really tricky with the track conditions. As soon as there was some wind you couldn’t really finish the lap, because there was no grip.

“But yeah, really happy. The car was on rails today; the best starting position for tomorrow.”

Firestone Fast Six

The setting of the Fast Six might as well have been somewhere in Japan; only one Chevrolet, driven by Alexander Rossi, advanced to the final round. The American drove his No. 7 Arrow McLaren entry through a sea of Hondas to a fifth-place result, slotting between fourth-placed Colton Herta and sixth-fastest Christian Lundgaard.

PositionDriverNumberTeamTime
1Alex Palou10Chip Ganassi Racing1:07.1465
2Kyle Kirkwood27Andretti Global+0.0739s
3Felix Rosenqvist60Meyer Shank Racing+0.1452s
4Colton Herta26Andretti Global+0.1507s
5Alexander Rossi7Arrow McLaren+0.2129s
6Christian Lundgaard45Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing+0.3647s

Round 2

Scott McLaughlin put the proverbial bow on a day to forget for Team Penske with a seventh-place run. Lundgaard bested the New Zealander by 0.0269 seconds to make his way into the Fast Six, sweeping the Penske Chevrolets out of the final round just two weeks after they swept the podium at Road America.

Nearly two months after being dropped by Arrow McLaren, David Malukas drove the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Chevrolet to a 12th-place starting spot on his return to IndyCar competition. Malukas admitted to feeling “fatigued being out of the car so long” but was relieved to finally have his feet back on the ground in the series.

Romain Grosjean was competitive on pace throughout Round 2, but was caught up behind other cars on his flying laps. Grosjean didn’t mince his words after being eliminated.

PositionDriverNumberTeamTime from Advancing
7Scott McLaughlin3Team Penske+0.0269s
8Romain Grosjean77Juncos Hollinger Racing+0.0561s
9Pato O’Ward5Arrow McLaren+0.1175s
10Scott Dixon9Chip Ganassi Racing+0.2149s
11Marcus Armstrong11Chip Ganassi Racing+0.2418s
12David Malukas66Meyer Shank Racing+0.4697s

Round 1 Group 1

Championship implications took the spotlight early in the day when two-time series champion and current points leader Will Power failed to advance out of the first round. This elimination means Power will line up 15th for Sunday’s race.

PositonDriverNumberTeamTime from Advancing
13Agustin Canapino77Juncos Hollinger Racing+0.0721s
15Will Power12Team Penske+0.1923s
17Santino Ferrucci14A. J. Foyt Enterprises+0.2089s
19Graham Rahal 15Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing+0.2667s
21Christian Rasmussen20Ed Carpenter Racing+0.5456s
23Nolan Siegel6Arrow McLaren+0.853s
25Sting Ray Robb 41A. J. Foyt Enterprises+1.3049s

Round 1 Group 2

Team Penske’s frustrations continued into Group 2 as Josef Newgarden failed to advance to the top 12. Lundgaard, like with McLaughlin, went one spot better than Newgarden with a late lap which pushed the driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet out of the top six. Newgarden will start 14th in the race.

PositionDriverNumberTeamTime from Advancing
14Josef Newgarden2Team Penske+0.1159s
16Linus Lundqvist8Chip Ganassi Racing+0.1969s
18Marcus Ericsson28Andretti Global+0.3146s
20Rinus VeeKay21Ed Carpenter Racing+0.3810s
22Kyffin Simpson4Chip Ganassi Racing+0.5484s
24Pietro Fittipaldi30Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing+0.5737s
26Jack Harvey18Dale Coyne Racing+0.8643s
27Luca Ghiotto51Dale Coyne Racing w/ RWR+0.8991s

2024 IndyCar Laguna Seca Qualifying Results

The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey will kick off at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 23, with coverage on the USA network and Peacock.

Alex is the IndyCar Content Director at Frontstretch, having initially joined as an entry-level contributor in 2021. He also serves as Managing Director of The Asia Cable, a publication focused on the international affairs and politics of the Asia-Pacific region which he co-founded in 2023. With previous experience in China, Japan and Poland, Alex is particularly passionate about the international realm of motorsport and the politics that make the wheels turn - literally - behind the scenes.