Saturday afternoon at the Milwaukee Mile was set aside for IndyCar qualifying, with drivers completing two solo laps in order to set the grid for Sunday’s race.
Drivers generally improved as the session went out, with later laps having the benefit of more rubber built up on the concrete surface.
When the line of cars on pit lane was emptied, however, it was the inevitable Alex Palou that had the fastest time of the afternoon.
READ MORE: IndyCar Milwaukee – Full Qualifying Results
Palou’s two laps were completed in 44.8422 seconds, which gave him an average speed of 162.971 MPH. His laps were nearly three quarters of a MPH faster than any other driver.
David Malukas had a good chance at earning his first career IndyCar pole, and was in the provisional top spot for most of the final portion of the event.
He was seen getting his hopes up as his time stood up, but then disappointment hit when Palou, who was the final qualifier, knocked him out of the top position.
Pato O’Ward also had a good set of laps and earned the third grid position, just ahead of Scott McLaughlin in fourth.
The other members of Team Penske had solid runs as well, with Will Power qualifying sixth and Josef Newgarden setting the eighth best time.
Grid penalties and disappointment
Three drivers were assessed grid penalties ahead of qualifying, with all three entries needing an engine change which pushed them over the number allowed.
Kyffin Simpson and Scott Dixon each lost an engine at the team’s test at Milwaukee last week, and Louis Foster’s engine failed at the beginning of practice earlier in the day.
All three were Honda engines, and the most consequential was the penalty for Dixon.
The veteran qualified with the fifth best time, but he will roll away from the 14th position.
Simpson and Foster were well down the order, and will take up the final two positions on the grid on Sunday.
Colton Herta was simultaneously extremely unlucky and lucky, and the Californian’s skills saved his Andretti crew from having to rebuild the #26.
The rear of his car stepped out on his first flying lap, but quick hands and deft throttle control allowed him to control his car while in an extreme slide. He remarkably brought the car to rest without touching any walls at all.
Herta’s time was obviously way off the pace, and he will start Sunday’s event from the rear of the field.
Felix Rosenqvist also had a sudden case of oversteer, but he was not able to save his car from taking damage.
His #60 MSR Honda slid into the Turn 4 wall and impacted it squarely with the rear attenuator, damaging his rear wing and suspension in the process.
With the grid set, drivers will hit the track in anger on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM central time for 250 laps around the flat oval.
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