The NTT IndyCar Series held a knockout qualifying session on the brand new Markham street course Saturday evening.
The session was run much later in the day than planned due to Friday’s track build problems, meaning drivers cruised around with sun in their faces and a cool track surface on account of long shadows.
On account of the cool track, drivers immediately went out on the softer compound tire.
READ MORE: IndyCar Markham – Full Qualifying Results
Usually the top drivers attempt to make it through the first round on the harder compound, but that was not the case this time as everyone use a set of red-walled tires right away.
Advancing through to the final round and taking pole was Louis Foster in the #45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing entry.
The sophomore driver has been locked into the new course all weekend, seemingly dancing right up to the limit easily to take his second career pole.
Foster completed his lap in 1:13.2383, which was nearly four tenths of a second quicker than anyone else in the final round.
Christian Lundgaard was second quick, putting his Arrow McLaren Chevy onto the front row.
Scott McLaughlin was third fastest, and seemed to get away with a light touch of the barriers on this final push lap.
Fourth quick was Marcus Ericsson, followed by Dennis Hauger and Rinus VeeKay to round out the Fast Six.
Evening romp on the streets
Times tumbled quickly as the shadows grew longer throughout the session. By time the second round was underway, drivers were setting new fast laps left and right.
Multiple drivers were over a full second a lap quicker than the fastest practice times, and the skill level required to run at the quicker speeds was on display for all to see.
David Malukas was quick in his #12 entry but was just 0.077 seconds too slow to make the cut for the final round, meaning he will line up in seventh on the grid.
Alexander Rossi was eighth quick, but a grid penalty for an excessive engine change will push him down to 14th for Sunday’s race.
He was followed by veteran Scott Dixon on the charts. The Ice Man set his fastest lap as time expired, but just missed out on advancing further.
Graham Rahal was tenth quick, just ahead of his RLL team-mate Mick Schumacher on the timesheets.
Unfortunately for the championship leader Alex Palou, the second round brought disaster.
The Spaniard lost control over the big bump into Turn 10, and spun into the concrete barriers.
Instead of advancing and fighting for pole, Palou instead earned the 12th starting position and will be looking to move forward on Sunday.
More damaging runs
Josef Newgarden clipped the tire barriers at Turn 10 during his first round runs, which ripped the right front wheel off his Team Penske Chevy.
He brought his car around to pit lane before coming to a stop, but he was still in an unsafe position and IndyCar officials had to throw a red flag out of caution.
Newgarden’s times were deleted and he will be relegated to the rear of the grid.
Two drivers suffered large amounts of damage in the second practice session, and crews for both teams were able to get the cars turned around in time to make qualifying.
Caio Collet’s car was barely ready in time to make the start of qualifying after his AJ Foyt Racing crew worked hard for a couple hours to make it happen.
Unfortunately, the rookie stopped on course after turning a few laps due to a fuel pickup issue. He will also start from the back of the pack.
Similarly, Will Power’s repaired Andretti Global Honda was quick, but a small mistake saw him spin in Turn 4 towards the end of the first session.
The veteran expertly kept his car out of the wall and avoided more damage, but the red flag was displayed and he lost the times he had earned earlier. He will start near the back of the field.
Kyle Kirkwood was affected by Power’s red flag, which meant he had to abandon his fast lap. He was disappointed to be relegated out in the first round.
Sunday’s race is scheduled for 90 laps, which will test driver’s skills as they vie to become the first winner in Markham. Green flag is scheduled for noon eastern time.
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