Scott McLaughlin will start tomorrows Big Machine Music City Grand Prix from pole position, pipping Romain Grosjean with his final lap of the session. Fellow Kiwi Scott Dixon starts down the order, managing only the 14th fastest time.
The 11-corner, 2.1 mile street circuit in Nashville, Tennessee saw McLaughlin set his fastest time with his final run in the Firestone Fast Six, eclipsing the time set by former Formula 1 driver Grosjean by .14 of a second.
This is the second career pole for McLaughlin, who also claimed the top qualifying result at the season-opening Grand Prix of St Petersburg, where he went on to claim line honours in the event.
The elimination format of qualifying saw Dixon unable to run with the leaders, his 1.15.32 time not being enough to qualify from Group 2. Should he have been in Group 1 this time would have been easily sufficient to make the Top 12 for Elimination 2.
Dixon will need to rely on race pace in the Grand Prix tomorrow to challenge the top 10, whilst McLaughlin will need to hold off 2021 IndyCar champion Alex Palou who starts on the row behind in fourth.
Championship leader Will Power will start in eighth whilst championship second-place sitter Marcus Ericsson could only manage the 18th fastest time.
Todays qualifying was delayed by 90 minutes due to a lightening storm in the vicinity of the track. A number of drivers also complained about the heat and humidity post-practice earlier in the day, conditions McLaughlin is all too familiar with following his time in Australia.
McLaughlin currently sits in seventh in the standings, with Dixon ahead in fourth. The mixed grid for this event and close proximity of the top seven drivers in the standings mean we could see a new championship leader come tomorrow.
The Music City Grand Prix starts at 7am (NZ time) tomorrow, and will be shown live on Sky Sport Select (050). The race will cover 80 laps for a total of 168 miles.
