Qualifying around the quick and demanding Barber Motorsports Park was an exciting affair, with the winner of IndyCar pole coming down to the final turns of the session.
Drivers were pushing the limit all throughout the knockout sessions, dust flying from multiple drivers’ Firestone tires as they tried to get back on the asphalt without lifting.
Will Power deftly advanced to the Firestone Fast Six and looked like he put in a good enough lap for the top spot. So much so that he backed off on his second push lap.
READ MORE: IndyCar Barber – Full Qualifying Results
That choice proved to be costly, however, as his team-mate Scott McLaughlin had just started his own lap at the end of the session.
The top position swapped back and forth a couple times throughout McLaughlin’s lap, but he was just ahead when he crossed the timing line, taking pole in the process.
The Kiwi completed his lap in 1:05.9490, just 0.097 seconds ahead of Power, earning the sixth pole of his IndyCar career. The two team-mates will roll away from the front row on Sunday.
Christian Lundgaard was the third fastest, putting his RLL Honda in the mix for a solid points weekend.
The fourth fastest time was put in by Pato O’Ward, followed closely by Felix Rosenqvist, who had a brand new engine installed between practice and qualifying.
Impressing with his first Fast Six appearance was sophomore driver Marcus Armstrong. He was not able to move any higher than sixth, but was still happy with his effort.
Graham Rahal was extremely frustrated with his team after getting knocked out in the second round.
He climbed from his car and immediately started yelling at his crew over the communication he received regarding information about whether he had another lap in the session. He starts seventh.
Josef Newgarden reported that he simply had a bad lap, and that was the only thing preventing him from making the Fast Six.
Rinus VeeKay, who was the fastest driver in the morning practice, suffered engine problems during his run.
His crew had him bring the car into pit lane early, and he will start from down in the 27th and final position. The ECR team may well have to change the engine overnight as well.
A quick warm-up session is on tap Sunday morning, followed by a 90-lap race at 12:30 in the afternoon.
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