Scott Dixon qualified as the best Kiwi driver for tomorrow’s IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio and will line up out of grid position six. Scott McLaughlin starts directly behind, in eighth, while Marcus Armstrong is further back on the ninth row.
Colton Herta’s 1:06.3096 was enough for him to claim pole, pipping Graham Rahal by 0.0432 seconds. Kyle Kirkwood was close behind in third and will start next to championship leader Alex Palou.
Christian Lungaard was the other driver to qualify for the Fast Six and lines up fifth, next to Dixon.
“The first sector went really well, but the second one was kinda tight,” said Dixon. “I think the car had better speed. Honestly, I think we just went with the wrong tire strategy at the end there, using maybe the wrong set of reds. It looked like the blacks should have been the way we went because we ran a lot quicker in Q1 on a new set of blacks. I think that would have got us maybe fighting for the front there.
“Starting sixth, the car’s got good pace.”
In Fast 12 qualifying, Will Power was the fastest driver to fail to progress to the Fast Six, meaning he’ll start seventh, next to McLaughlin.
Armstrong joined Dixon in the faster Group 2 for Group Stage Qualifying, which saw Kirkwood go fastest over Dixon. Armstrong could only manage ninth-quickest in the session, with only the top six progressing.
“It was a short qauli,” said Armstrong. “Struggling a bit for pace. Felt like my lap wasn’t too bad. It was obviously very close. Felt like I could’ve done better, but I’m still trying to maximize this track.
“I feel confident now, but for whatever reason, that time wasn’t there. Going to be going for gold tomorrow.”
McLaughlin was fourth fastest in Group 1, which was interrupted by a short red flag for a stranded Pato O’Ward. He loses his best time due to causing the stoppage and will start from the rear of the pack.
Simon Pagenaud could not take to the track for qualifying following a high-speed, barrel-rolling accident in practice earlier in the morning. He walked away from the wreckage of his car but was not cleared by medics to return to the track.
Tomorrow’s Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio begins at 5.00 am and will be shown live on Sky Sport.
Header Image: Chip Ganassi Racing
