Alex Palou makes it three poles in a row in Detroit
DETROIT – Alex Palou will start from the pole position for the third straight race in a row as he claims the top spot for the Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit presented by Lear.
This is his 16th career NTT INDYCAR Series pole and his third of the season.
A Chip Ganassi Racing Honda has embarrassed Chevrolet in their backyard once again as they sweep the front row.
To nobodies surprise, different track styles do not faze Palou. He has set a new career best of three straight poles on three different track types with his poles at the INDY GP, INDY 500, and now the street circuit of Detroit.
His 1:01.902 edged out Will Power’s time of 1:02.125 as he leads the Andretti Global brigade to green for the race.
While the front row is nice, his last non-oval pole came in 2022. Which was the same weekend where he overtook Mario Andretti for the INDYCAR Series pole record at Laguna Seca.
Scott McLaughlin will start third. His time of 1:02.456 was good enough to lead not only Team Penske but the rest of the Chevrolets too.
The second row is all Scott. Scott Dixon will lineup alongside McLaughlin from fourth after he set a 1:02.609 for the place.
Christian Lundgaard’s crew changed his engine prior to the session. They successfully completed the change in around 50 minutes which provided Lundgaard with the power for the great grid slot of fifth.
Finally, Kyle Kirkwood will start sixth. The odds-on favorite to win had a great lap going in the Firestone Fast Six before the lap got away from him. It all went south in the hairpin after locking up the tires and adjusting the front brake bias.
Top 12
The Top 12 session was less dramatic than the previous round.
Pato O’Ward started the round with an amazing bank lap. The team were so confident that they parked him for a few minutes in the session. In the end he slid outside the fast six.
Marcus Armstrong delivered another good lap when it counted most. Unfortunately, he could not equal the same leap he made in the first round as he will settle for eighth on the starting grid in Detroit.
Marcus Ericsson almost mirrored his round one mishap when nearly threw it all away in turn seven. He thankfully got away with it once again but had to settle for tenth on the grid.
Below are the six drivers who failed to advance out of the Top 12.
- Pato O’Ward: 1:01.596
- Marcus Armstrong: 1:01.697
- Christian Rasmussen: 1:01.712
- Marcus Ericsson: 1:01.777
- Louis Foster: 1:01.834
- Graham Rahal: 1:01.983
Round One
GROUP ONE
Unlike his competitors on the softer red compounded tires, Pato O’Ward found immense speed on the harder black tire compound. The more laps he ran on the compound, the faster his laps were. He finished second in the first group as he pushed his way into the Top 12.
The 2026 Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year Mick Schumacher found the wall late in the session. The German driver struggled to get up to grips with the street circuit all weekend and he wrecked out of qualifying.
With the late red flag coming with two and a half minutes to go and the harder tire compound providing faster times, most teams were forced to stick with the softer reds for their final runs.
Marcus Armstrong surged to lead the group from his great final run after time expired. He was to only driver below the cutline to jump into the Top 12 by the end of the session.
Josef Newgarden was unable to advance out of the group. He is actively recovering from his foot injury he suffered during his hard crash in last week’s Indianapolis 500.
Below are the six drivers who failed to advance out of group one.
- Nolan Siegel: 1:02.765
- Dennis Hauger: 1:02.824
- Kyffin Simpson: 1:03.339
- Caio Collet: 1:03.344
- Josef Newgarden: 1:03.403
- Mick Schumacher: 1:07.449
GROUP TWO
The second group was undoubtedly the tougher of the two groups. Then, combine the qualifying pedigree with the added knowledge from the first group meant faster times for everyone.
The damage Kyle Kirkwood sustained in the earlier practice session did not faze the team. In the end, he led the second group with Alex Palou in close pursuit in second.
The session concluded with David Malukas finding the barriers. He was outside the advancing six and two tenths to the good before his hard crash.
After the hard impact, The No. 12 team made the decision to go to a backup car for the grand prix.
Marcus Ericsson nearly mimicked the Malukas incident in the session. He slammed the inside wall in turn seven but he was able to bounce off the barrier and continued onto the next session.
Both Juncos Hollinger drivers changed engines prior to the session. While they gained reliability for the race, both were unable to advance out of the session.
Below are the seven drivers who failed to advance out of group two.
- Alexander Rossi: 1:02.161
- Felix Rosenqvist: 1:02.186
- Rinus VeeKay: 1:02.280
- Romain Grosjean: 1:02.319
- David Malukas: 1:02.382
- Santino Ferrucci: 1:02.411
- Sting Ray Robb: 1:02.797
Below is the full starting lineup for the NTT INDYCAR Series as they take on the streets of Detroit for the Chevrolet Grand Prix of Detroit presented by Lear.
Starting Lineup
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Ryan Kemna View All
Ryan Kemna is a photojournalist for The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2025.
Currently residing in the Minneapolis, MN, area, Kemna brings his passion for motorsports, photography, and a good story to readers.