The top of the qualifying grid was painted papaya and black on Saturday (July 4) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Quick qualifying times by Christian Lundgaard and Pato O’Ward at the close of the Firestone Fast Six gave Arrow McLaren Indycar the top two spots for Sunday’s NTT Indycar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
“It’s awesome to have the 1-2,” Lundgaard told FOX after his pole-winning lap. “We have to go finish the job (Sunday), so that’s what’s most important.”
It’ll be Lundgaard’s first pole position since three years ago in Toronto, a statement for a driver who as of earlier this week has an uncertain future for 2027. Lundgaard’s pole-winning speed of 1:04.8396 took the top spot just seconds after O’Ward’s 1:04.8649.
Saturday’s session came in the late-afternoon hours as a lightning delay put things on hold for roughly two hours or so. In a rarity, lighting failed to strike for a change when it came to Alex Palou in qualifying when he failed to advance out of the second round as he would up eighth, two spots shy of transferring. As a result, Palou’s consecutive pole-position streak ends at five. With that said, the last time Palou failed to start first was earlier this year at Long Beach, a race in which he won. It was also the first time he failed to advance to the Fast Six since 2024 at Long Beach.
Firestone Fast Six
Fast times first by O’Ward, and then by Lundgaard gave the papaya-branded tandem the top two spots for Sunday by way of their times in the final seconds of the Fast Six. Timing in behind them were Will Power and David Malukas in third and fourth, in front of Christian Rasmussen and Rinus Veekay in fifth and sixth, respectively. Rasmussen posted the fastest time of the session early, his first Fast Six appearance of the season.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Pole (seconds) |
| 1. | Christian Lundgaard | 7 | Arrow McLaren | 01:04.8396 |
| 2. | Pato O’Ward | 5 | Arrow McLaren | +0.0253 |
| 3. | Will Power | 26 | Andretti Global | +0.0382 |
| 4. | David Malukas | 12 | Team Penske | +0.0687 |
| 5. | Christian Rasmussen | 21 | Ed Carpenter Racing | +0.3773 |
| 6. | Rinus Veekay | 76 | Juncos Hollinger Racing | +0.5696 |
Round 2
Two road-course heavyweights failed to advance to the Fast Six in the second round, with both Palou and Kyle Kirkwood failing to be among the quickest six times as Palou was eighth and Kirkwood in tenth.
At the top of the board, late charges by Malukas and Rasmussen in the final half-minute put them first and second with Lundgaard, Power, O’Ward and Veekay also transferring.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 7. Marcus Ericcson | 28 | Andretti Global | +0.3213 | |
| 8. Alex Palou | 10 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +0.3348 | |
| 9. Josef Newgarden | 2 | Team Penske | +0.3434 | |
| 10. Kyle Kirkwood | 27 | Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian | +0.3961 | |
| 11. Caio Collett | 4 | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | +0.4129 | |
| 12. Graham Rahal | 15 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +0.7848 |
Round 1, Group 1
Kirkwood’s time of 1:04.893 in the final minute of the session gave him the fastest time of his group in front of Rasmussen, O’Ward, Malukas, Veekay and Graham Rahal. Felix Rosenqvist was one spot shy of advancing, and Scott Dixon‘s nightmarish run saw him not only post the slowest time of the first group, but he also got hit with an interference penalty.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 13. Felix Rosenqvist | 60 | Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian | +0.4299 | |
| 15. Nolan Siegel | 6 | Arrow McLaren | +0.4411 | |
| 17. Scott McLaughlin | 3 | Team Penske | +0.5402 | |
| 19. Louis Foster | 45 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +0.7102 | |
| 21. Romain Grosjean | 18 | Dale Coyne Racing | +1.0910 | |
| 23. Scott Dixon | 9 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +2.8420 | |
| 25. Dennis Hauger | 19 | Dale Coyne Racing | +1.0359 |
Round 1, Group 2
Palou’s single lap in the second group was good for the fastest time, ahead of Lundgaard, Marcus Ericcson, Josef Newgarden, Power, and Collett. Sting Ray Robb‘s late run of 1:05.1620 was just shy of advancing in seventh, and one spot behind him was Mick Schumacher‘s 1:05.2084 in arguably his best qualifying effort of the season so far.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 14. Sting Ray Robb | 77 | Juncos Hollinger Racing | +0.2964 | |
| 16. Mick Schumacher | 47 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +0.3428 | |
| 18. Alexander Rossi | 20 | Ed Carpenter Racing | +0.3532 | |
| 20. Kyffin Simpson | 8 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +0.3538 | |
| 22. Santino Ferrucci | 14 | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | +0.3731 | |
| 24. Marcus Armstrong | 66 | Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian | +0.4334 |
The NTT IndyCar Series takes the green flag in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday (July 5) at 12:30 p.m. on FOX.
Brad joined Frontstretch.com in 2020 and contributes to the site's 5 Points To Ponder column and other roles as needed. A graduate of the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has covered sports in some capacity for more than 20 years with coverage including local high school sports, college athletics and minor league hockey. Brad has received multiple awards for his work from the Georgia Press Association.
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