Drivers of the NTT IndyCar Series took to Portland International Raceway Saturday afternoon to set the grid for Sunday’s race.
After three rounds of knockout sessions, it was Christian Lundgaard that was quickest of all 27 drivers.
Lundgaard completed his final lap in 58.3939 seconds, which was over a tenth of a second quicker than the rest of the field.
READ MORE: IndyCar Portland – Full Qualifying Results
Lundgaard is one of four drivers with a six-place grid penalty, however, meaning he will line up down in seventh for Sunday’s main event.
The main benefactor of the penalty is his Arrow McLaren team-mate Pato O’Ward.
The popular Mexican driver qualified second but will line up as the point man as he attempts to keep his championship hopes alive.
Felix Rosenqvist qualified third and Will Power was fourth, with the two drivers lining up second and third for Sunday’s race after the penalty.
David Malukas was fifth, placing his AJ Foyt Chevy high into the order and continuing the team’s strong qualifying runs at Portland.
Alex Palou made a rare mistake in the final corner while trying to set a fast lap in the final round.
He slid through the grass and into the tire barriers, which ended his run and placed him sixth on the time sheets. Palou will start fifth on Sunday.
Alexander Rossi just missed out on advancing to the Fast Six by 0.0163 seconds, landing him seventh on the time sheets. He will start sixth after Lundgaard’s penalty.
Josef Newgarden used his newly fitted engine to qualify ninth, but will have to start from 15th on account of a penalty from said new engine.
The third member of Team Penske was Scott McLaughlin, who narrowly missed out on advancing to the second round and qualified 13th.
Down the order
On the other end of the spectrum, there were a few teams that wish they could have a second shot at their qualifying setups.
Andretti Global fit into that category the most, with two of the team’s three drivers eliminated in the first round.
Colton Herta qualified down in 16th while Kyle Kirkwood was even slower and was 20th on the timesheets.
The results were surprising considering the team’s pace earlier in the weekend. Kirkwood blamed the team’s understanding of the softer red tires for the disappointing run.
Marcus Ericsson earned the 11th starting position, saving some face for the historic team.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was also disappointed, with all three drivers eliminated in the first round.
Sunday’s race is predicted to be run under excruciatingly hot conditions, giving drivers even more troubles when they are forced to run the softer compound tires for at least a small portion of the 110-lap race.
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