The NTT IndyCar Series took to the new tarmac at Road America for a knockout qualifying session on the historic course.
The new surface gave drivers plenty of troubles, but Colton Herta was able to overcome some difficulties to take his first pole of the season.
Herta’s fast lap was completed in 1:40.1945, which was three tenths of a second slower than the overall track record that was set by Dario Franchitti in 2000.
READ MORE: IndyCar Road America – Full Qualifying Results
The California-native overcame a few spins off course earlier in qualifying, and was able to perfect his line when it counted the most.
Pato O’Ward was 0.1698 second slower on his best lap, and earned a starting spot on the outside of the first row.
Alex Palou’s car was repaired by his Ganassi crew and was brought to pit lane just in time to participate. He did tremendously in his rebuilt ride, and advanced all the way to the final round.
It looked for a time the Palou would be able to earn pole, but he lost out in the final couple minutes and had to settle for a third place starting spot.
Starting outside the second row is Josef Newgarden, whose final attempt was thrown away with a spin through the grass.
Alexander Rossi earned the fifth starting position after topping both practice sessions earlier in the weekend.
Kyle Kirkwood advanced to the Firestone Fast Six, but was not able to participate. After putting in his fast lap in the second round, Kirkwood suffered an engine failure and had to pull to the side of the road with a small engine fire. He will start in sixth.
A pair of young drivers Christian Lundgaard and Marcus Armstrong just missed out on advancing to the final round, and will start in sixth and seventh respectively.
Both Scott Dixon and Will Power were able to take part in the session, despite their coming together in practice that left both cars wrecked just a couple hours before qualifying.
Dixon struggled to put a lap together in his backup car, however, and ended up spinning on his last attempt at advancing to the next round. He will start down in 23rd.
Power didn’t fare much better in his qualifying run, and he was blocked into the grass by Romain Grosjean. Yet another incident not of his own doing, Power was understandably upset and will start down in 22nd.
Ryan Hunter-Reay did not have a good Saturday in his new Ed Carpenter Racing ride, finding the barriers in the treacherous final corner. He will also start near the end of the pack.
As noted after Friday’s running, the new track surface is very smooth and only holds grip directly on the racing line. Any mistakes or attempts to run on other parts of the track quickly results in a trip through the grass at the very least.
That dynamic will make for an interesting race on Sunday, with the green flag flying for Sonsio Grand Prix just after noon Central Time.
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