Written by Jake O’Callaghan
Today, the IndyCar Series took to the historic Portland International Raceway for the final road course qualifying of the season. Graham Rahal took pole last year, his most recent pole to date. It is important to secure good track position in qualifying here in order to avoid the melee that is typical of the first chicane at this track.
Going into this session Rahal, along with David Malukas and Kyle Kirkwood, knew they each had a 6 place grid penalty for unapproved engine changes hanging over them.
Round 1, Group 1
Times in this first group were already threatening last year’s fastest laps, including those times set on primary tyres. The new hybrid units in these IndyCars were giving teams a big speed boost on the long straights of Portland.
In the end of the session, there were multiple intriguing storylines following some shock exits and transfers. Christian Lundgaard topped the session for Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL), he was ahead of Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood. Santino Ferrucci finished an impressive third for AJ Foyt Racing. Colton Herta was fourth, with Graham Rahal fifth and Scott Dixon sixth.
David Malukas was eliminated after running wide and onto the grass in his final run, finishing tenth out of 14 drivers. Another shock exit in Group 1 was Pato O’Ward, the championship contender finished a lowly 12th in session and will start the race 23rd. His Arrow McLaren car was plagued with balance issues in his final push laps. On his qualifying, O’Ward said: “I thought we had a chance for at least the top six, we just couldn’t get the car to switch on on the reds.”
Toby Sowery continued punching above his weight in this session. The young British driver put his typically-backmarking Dale Coyne Racing car 11th in session and 21st overall. He outqualified several IndyCar veterans such as O’Ward and Conor Daly.
Round 1, Group 2
Group 2 was plain sailing for last year’s Portland winner Alex Palou, topping the session from the get-go and improving with each lap he logged. He finished just one hundredth of a second ahead of Team Penske’s Will Power. Behind them, the other drivers that transferred were Marcus Armstrong, Marcus Ericsson, Romain Grosjean, and Josef Newgarden.
The shock exit in group 2 was Scott McLaughlin. The 2022 Portland winner only managed seventh, missing out on the Fast 12 by just four hundredths of a second. “The car was good now, I just didn't find the gap that I should’ve,” said the New Zealander.
Other surprising names to depart qualifying were Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi and Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist.
Fast 12
Early in the session, Alex Palou had an off at turn 11. He ran wide onto the grass, lightly hitting the wall square-on. He avoided major damage, and was able to continue on in the session. He lost his fastest lap up to that point for bringing out the yellow flags, but his quick thinking in reversing out of the runoff area meant he avoided bringing out a red flag, which would have prevented him from advancing to the Fast Six.
Will Power topped the session with an impressive 58.1196. Kyle Kirkwood was second, and was joined by Palou, Lundgaard, Ferrucci, and Rahal in the Fast Six.
Josef Newgarden was the first driver eliminated in seventh. Championship contender Colton Herta was the final driver to cross the line, the start of his final push lap was compromised after he ran onto the grass in turn 7 on his out-lap. He had severe wheelspin in that same corner on his fast lap and was eliminated by half a tenth of a second. He ended up 10th.
Behind Herta was Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who could only manage an 11th place qualifying position.
Fast Six
Alex Palou topped the timings after the first banker laps in this session, using alternate tyres. Graham Rahal sat just one hundredth off after a lap on primary tyres. Kyle Kirkwood and Santino Ferrucci opted to only do one run instead of the standard two.
Santino Ferrucci beat Palou’s previous lap by a massive three tenths of a second. Ferrucci secured the first pole position of his career in an incredible performance for AJ Foyt Racing. Will Power just missed out on pole, finishing second place and a tenth adrift of Ferrucci. Alex Palou was third.
“I think it’s no secret how hard we’ve been working this year,” said the Connecticut native. “I’m not known for being the best qualifier and today we just felt it. Feels great to put it together [...] It’s just a glimpse of what we’ve got.”
Referencing his ongoing contract negotiations, he jokingly said: “I’m auditioning for a job [...] I’ve got some more bargaining power for next year!”
2024 IndyCar Grand Prix of Portland Qualifying Order
Santino Ferrucci
Will Power
Alex Palou
Christian Lundgaard
Kyle Kirkwood
Graham Rahal
Josef Newgarden
Romain Grosjean
Marcus Armstrong
Colton Herta
Scott Dixon
Marcus Ericsson
Pietro Fittipaldi
Scott McLaughlin
Rinus VeeKay
Juri Vips
Christian Rasmussen
Alexander Rossi
David Malukas
Felix Rosenqvist
Toby Sowery
Linus Lundqvist
Pato O'Ward
Nolan Siegel
Sting Ray Robb
Kyffin Simpson
Conor Daly
Jack Harvey
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