The final qualifying session of the 2026 IndyCar season took place on Saturday at Laguna Seca.
Scott McLaughlin set a blazingly fast final lap to secure his third pole of the season, lapping in 1:09.1363 at an average speed of 116.535 MPH.
Alex Palou was just a hair slower, and earned a spot on the outside of the front row. The second row was populated by efforts from Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi.
READ MORE: IndyCar Laguna Seca – Full Qualifying Report
Pato O’Ward just missed out on advancing out of the first round, and had to settle for a 13th place grid position. He did not have an explanation for why he was off the pace.
Running way slower than his Team Penske team-mates, Josef Newgarden was also eliminated from the first round and will start on the 10th row.
Drivers will have one more practice session this afternoon, then will line up for the 95-lap race at noon pacific time on Sunday.
| # | Driver | Time | Gap | Avg. Speed (MPH) | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott McLaughlin | 01:09.1363 | — | 116.535 | Fast Six |
| 2 | Alex Palou | 01:09.1540 | 0.0177 | 116.505 | Fast Six |
| 3 | Felix Rosenqvist | 01:09.1931 | 0.0568 | 116.439 | Fast Six |
| 4 | Alexander Rossi | 01:09.3247 | 0.1884 | 116.218 | Fast Six |
| 5 | Christian Lundgaard | 01:10.2227 | 1.0864 | 114.732 | Fast Six |
| 6 | David Malukas | 01:12.8461 | 3.7098 | 110.600 | Fast Six |
| 7 | Kyle Kirkwood | 01:09.5726 | 0.4230 | 115.804 | Top 12 |
| 8 | Marcus Ericsson | 01:09.6961 | 0.5465 | 115.599 | Top 12 |
| 9 | Kyffin Simpson | 01:09.6993 | 0.5497 | 115.594 | Top 12 |
| 10 | Marcus Armstrong | 01:09.9951 | 0.8455 | 115.105 | Top 12 |
| 11 | Louis Foster | 01:10.1123 | 0.9627 | 114.913 | Top 12 |
| 12 | Caio Collet | 01:10.1446 | 0.9950 | 114.860 | Top 12 |
| 13 | Pato O’Ward | 01:09.5544 | 0.1454 | 115.835 | First Round |
| 14 | Will Power | 01:09.8617 | 0.7219 | 115.325 | First Round |
| 15 | Mick Schumacher | 01:09.5721 | 0.1631 | 115.805 | First Round |
| 16 | Nolan Siegel | 01:09.8620 | 0.7222 | 115.324 | First Round |
| 17 | Scott Dixon | 01:09.6184 | 0.2094 | 115.728 | First Round |
| 18 | Christian Rasmussen | 01:09.8726 | 0.7328 | 115.307 | First Round |
| 19 | Rinus VeeKay | 01:09.8411 | 0.4321 | 115.359 | First Round |
| 20 | Josef Newgarden | 01:09.9549 | 0.8151 | 115.171 | First Round |
| 21 | Santino Ferrucci | 01:09.9460 | 0.5370 | 115.186 | First Round |
| 22 | Graham Rahal | 01:09.9593 | 0.8195 | 115.164 | First Round |
| 23 | Romain Grosjean | 01:10.3840 | 0.9750 | 114.469 | First Round |
| 24 | Dennis Hauger | 01:09.9611 | 0.8213 | 115.161 | First Round |
| 25 | Sting Ray Robb | 01:10.1619 | 1.0221 | 114.832 | First Round |
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