After a near two-hour rain delay, the Indy Cars were rolled back into the fast lane for qualifying at Iowa Speedway. Will Power swept double pole position with an incredible qualifying run.
Power took Race 1 pole position, with a speed of 181.426mph and race 2 pole position with 181.578mph. When Power set this benchmark, Colton Herta sat on provisional pole. However, the Andretti Autosport driver’s speeds of 178.270mph on lap 1 and 178.026mph on lap 2 were no match for the Team Penske driver. With this result, the Toowoomba native scored his 69th and 70th pole positions of his IndyCar career.
.@12WillPower with a flyer!
Power to the top!#INDYCAR // @INDYCARatIowa pic.twitter.com/6Hm6pus6wF
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 22, 2023
Scott McLaughlin secured a front row lockout for Penkse. The Kiwi delivered a stable qualifying performance, with speeds of 180.334mph on lap 1 and 179.635mph on lap 2. Josef Newgarden experienced a mixed qualifying effort. After dominating in practice, Newgarden was listed as one of the favorites for pole. While he qualified third for race 1 it’s his speed for race 2 that frustrated the two-time IndyCar champion. A big lift into turn 1 resulted in a considerable drop-off, putting the driver from Nashville in seventh place. Chip Ganassi Racing couldn’t follow the pace set by Penske. While Dixon is in fourth for race 1, the drop of between lap 1 and 2 was considerable for all CGR machines. Championship leader Palou will line up in seventh for race 1 and twelfth for race, and Marcus Ericsson will start both races from tenth place.
Arrow McLaren SP faced the same problems from practice yesterday. Pato O’Ward was able to get the car into the top 5 for race 1. However, his teammates had a tough time. Alex Rossi and Felix Rosenqvist are well down the order for both races. For whatever reason, they just weren’t able to carry the same speed through turn 1 as other teams.
Youth versus Experience
Today’s qualifying session showed how decades of experience helps in these circumstances. Ed Carpenter was the first car on track. In unknown conditions, the IndyCar veteran delivered a good qualifying effort. Especially his second lap was excellent as it put him in fourth place for Race 2. Whilst not as experienced, David Malukas certainly got everyone on the edge of their seat. Lil Dave had a big moment on his first lap and saved it. All things considered, the 21-year-old drove an impressive qualifying effort. His Dale Coyne Racing machine lines up in ninth for race 1 and an impressive third place for Race 2.
BIG. SAVE. @malukasdavid with the HUGE save. The No. 18 sits P1 in qualifying. pic.twitter.com/rNEylH2iqO
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) July 22, 2023
Benjamin Pedersen was unable to participate in qualifying. A mechanical problem caused his A.J. Foyt machine stayed behind the wall. These problems should be solved in time for the rookie to participate in the race. With this in mind, here are the full qualifying results for both races.
The next time we see the Indy Cars on track, we go racing!
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