25 cars rolled out on the historic Long Beach street circuit Saturday afternoon to set the grid for Sunday’s race.
The cars were on track directly after IMSA finished their own race, meaning heaps of Michelin rubber was impacted into the tarmac to play havoc on grip levels for IndyCar’s Firestone tires.
The driver that mastered the conditions best was Felix Rosenqvist, who earned his seventh career pole with his effort.
READ MORE: IndyCar Long Beach – Full Qualifying Results
Rosenqvist’s lap was completed in 1:07.4635, which was over a second slower than last year’s pole lap but still faster than the rest of the field on this day.
Pato O’Ward very nearly took the top spot for himself, with a lap the danced back and forth on the timing screen as each corner went by.
Ultimately, he was 0.044 seconds too slow to earn pole, but was still ecstatic to line up on the front row at a track that has treated him poorly over the years.
Alex Palou locked up his left front heading into the hairpin at the end of his lap, but did not lose much time and he was able to secure the third starting spot with a solid run.
Just a bit slower was Kyle Kirkwood, who completed his lap quick enough to earn the fourth grid position.
David Malukas described his run as “all over the place” and did his best to get temperature into the brakes and tires for his single timed lap.
He was first on track during the final round, but even with the extra heat still in his car was only able to secure the fifth starting spot.
In the second round, Scott Dixon put in a heroic third sector to narrowly advance into the Fast Six round. He was not able to improve further on his final run, ultimately earning the sixth grid position.
It was the best qualifying performance of the season for the veteran, who has two victories to his name at Long Beach.
Off the pace
Will Power was on the receiving end of Dixon’s strong performance, and was relegated to the seventh starting spot. Scott McLaughlin will line up alongside his former team-mate on the fourth row.
All three Ganassi drivers made it through to the second round, with Kyffin Simpson lining up ninth after a strong qualifying performance for the team.
Marcus Armstrong had been lapping quickly in practice earlier in the weekend and looked like he was quick enough to advance into the Top 12, but he just missed out.
A small bobble on the final hairpin turn pushed him just 0.003 seconds below the cut line, meaning he will start in 13th on Sunday.
After his hard crash in practice, Romain Grosjean’s Dale Coyne Racing crew was able to get the car put back together in time for qualifying.
The Frenchman’s pace was still not up to par, however, and he could only earn the 23rd starting position.
Similarly, Nolan Siegel was able to get on track after his own practice crash. He was well off the pace during his run, earning the 25th and final starting spot in the #6 Arrow McLaren Chevy.
Despite pushing as hard as they have all weekend, all drivers managed to keep their cars free from damage due to the ever-present concrete barriers that line the course.
They did not fully stay away from them, however, and multiple new scuffs were placed on the walls as light puffs of dust and black marks betrayed just how close to the limit they were running.
One more short practice session awaits Sunday morning, followed by the 90-lap main event at 2:30 PM Pacific Time.
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