The NTT IndyCar Series took to Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday afternoon to set the grid for Sunday’s race.
A standard knockout format was on tap, and the earlier rain showers moved out enough to allow the entire session to take place on dry tires.
It was a tight battle at the front with five different teams advancing to the final Firestone Fast Six round.
READ MORE: IndyCar Barber – Full Qualifying Results
Nobody could fend off Alex Palou, however, and the Spaniard laid down the fastest time to claim his first pole of the season.
Palou’s lap of the 2.38-mile course was completed in 1:07.2918, over a tenth of a second ahead of the rest of the field.
Scott McLaughlin, the winner of the previous two races at Barber, qualified on the outside of the front row. His chances for a three-peat are still very much alive.
Colton Herta and Will Power set times good enough to fill the second row of the grid, each happy to have found good pace when it mattered most.
Rinus VeeKay had a stellar run and placed his #18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda into the fifth starting position. Nolan Siegel rounded out the Fast Six with a respectable run of his own.
Just missing out on the final round was the rest of the Arrow McLaren trio, with Christian Lundgaard and Pato O’Ward securing the seventh and eighth grid positions respectively.
Kyffin Simpson had a standout performance by putting his #8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda onto the fifth row.
Damp and slick
Multiple drivers were seen sliding around on the track, with the rear end of their cars stepping out and complaining with the demands put upon them.
Although the track was dry, it was still damp enough to cause small issues for a few of the contenders.
Christian Rasmussen was the first to spin sideways while cresting over the hill at Turn 12. He slid sideways across the timing line, and was eliminated in the first round.
Scott Dixon also had an off-track excursion and was similarly knocked out in the first round. The veteran will start in 26th.
The only driver to start further down the order will be Devlin DeFrancesco, as the RLL driver simply could not get a handle on his car throughout the afternoon.
While rain was in the forecast for Saturday, and drivers navigated a damp track all day, Sunday has nothing but blue skies on the docket.
The 90 lap race takes place at 12:30 PM central time.
