Written by Jake O’Callaghan
IndyCar took to the Iowa Speedway for qualifying, which would be the first competitive session on an oval for IndyCar’s brand-new hybrid power units. Drivers can go flat out around this 0.875 mile short oval. Following a repave of the track earlier this year, many drivers were discontented with how the track handled. The repave only covered parts of the track, and the transition between new and old tarmac caused multiple incidents for drivers in practice, including a major crash for Marcus Ericsson.
Pato O’Ward said on Friday that due to the nature of the repave, he feared that it would be a one-groove race and said that he worried qualifying would determine the finishing positions of the race. That gave an extra sense of urgency for teams going into this session.
It is a unique qualifying format as it is a doubleheader weekend. Drivers complete two laps on their runs, with the first setting their position for race one, and the second setting their position for race two.
Run-by-Run
Jack Harvey was the first driver to set his laps. Battling back pain throughout the weekend as he did in Mid-Ohio, it was a struggle for Harvey to take to the track, particularly on a track where drivers are battling five to six Gs of force. He did so regardless, and set speeds of 178.561mph and 180.389mph. His car was difficult to handle, with oversteer forcing him to lift in the corners. On his physical condition, he stated to NBC that: “it’s been agony… it is difficult to string together multiple laps.”
Next up was Harvey’s Dale Coyne Racing teammate Katherine Legge. It is Legge’s first race since the 2024 Indy 500 and her first visit to Iowa in over a decade. She went second with speeds of 176.225mph and 177.862mph.
Next was Sting Ray Robb. Robb was disqualified during last year’s Iowa weekend after his team failed to secure his tyre properly during a pitstop. With a new team this year, he intends to prove himself on these tracks. He went second for race one and top for race two as it stood, with speeds of 177.530mph and 181.069mph.
David Malukas subsequently lined up to set his laps. In his third weekend with Meyer Shank Racing, he had previously impressed in Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio. He blew the previous times out of the water, logging speeds of 184.151mph and 185.595mph. Comparing them to practice, the times he set would be good enough to top some of those sessions.
Kyffin Simpson was next for Chip Ganassi Racing. He showed underwhelming speed, logging 175.866mph and 178.972mph as his speeds, almost 10 miles an hour slower than David Malukas on his first lap.
Owner-driver Ed Carpenter was next to step up. He had a massive moment on his second lap, losing the rear and compromising his lap. Understeer out of turn 2 forced him into the dirty part of the track, dirtying his tyres and ruining his lap. Speeds of 176.838 and 169.209 was all he could manage.
Agustin Canapino similarly struggled with balance issues in his laps. Despite this, he showed good speed, logging a 183.632mph and 185.212mph.
Next was Miami-born Brazilian Pietro Fittipaldi. His team Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) have had major struggles on ovals in recent history, though he proved an upward trend with the team on these tracks, inputting respectable speeds of 183.623 and 183.561.
Rinus VeeKay then went to the top on the race one times with a 184.336mph lap, a 184.136mph time in his second lap was good enough for third as it stood.
After VeeKay went Chip Ganassi Racing rookie Linus Lundqvist. Lundqvist struggled with balance issues as many others have. Despite this he showed good speed, with speeds of 184.659mph and 184.665mph.
Graham Rahal showed great speed on his runs, topping both tables despite an understeering car. Impressive speeds of 184.810 and 185.690 with a difficult-handling car show there is plenty of speed to unlock for RLL.
Rookie Nolan Siegel went fifth and fourth as it stood with his laps, with speeds of 183.749 and 185.014.
CGR’s Marcus Armstrong was next, going top in run 1 with a 185.337. His second lap was ruined after understeering into the wall at turn two. He continued on and finished the lap, though a speed of 173.682 left him second-to-last.
Next was the Swiss-born Frenchman Romain Grosjean. His first lap was okay, with a speed of 183.453, similarly his second lap was a 183.800. He would line up behind his Juncos Hollinger Racing teammate Agustin Canapino.
Santino Ferrucci had high expectations as he always performs well on ovals. He showed brilliant speed, a first lap time of 185.405 put him top. He had a self-described “massive moment” in his second lap, a 181.408 leaving him sitting in the middle of the pack for race two.
Marcus Ericsson was next, driving a practically new car after his massive accident on Friday. He struggled with balance issues again, the rear end dancing around on each lap. A first lap of 185.271 was impressive but a huge slide on lap two meant he could only manage a 181.029.
RLL’s Christian Lundgaard was next up. His car was more stable than others, but did not have much raw speed. Times of 181.521 and 182.268 meant he languished near the back.
Next was six-time Iowa winner Josef Newgarden. It has always been known as one of his best tracks but his car was exceptionally difficult to drive on his laps. He had a major moment coming out of turn four on lap one. He lined up 12th for race one and sixth for race two as it stood.
Jack Harvey was next. He set a time earlier but due to an IndyCar hybrid software issue, he was granted a second run, perhaps cruel given his physical pain. His first lap put him 13th with a 182.661. His second lap was a 182.263 and put him 11th in race two, very impressive speed given his circumstances.
Felix Rosenqvist has been one of IndyCar’s best qualifiers this season. His MSR team has shown impressive oval speed in the past. His first lap was a great 185.195, and a second speed of 186.835 was about one mph faster than the second-placed driver.
Scott McLaughlin, who topped final practice on Friday, set an eye-watering first lap of 187.526. His second lap was an even more astonishing 188.248. Both laps were good enough to set all-time lap records. He made a real statement with these laps, which would be exceptionally difficult to beat.
Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi was next. His laps were impressive and consistent, with a 186.039 and 186.029.
Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood has shown good speed on ovals in the past. He was another driver who did not have ideal handling, despite this his times of 183.504 and 184.797 were more than respectable.
Up next was Kirkwood’s teammate Colton Herta. Herta has 12 pole positions in IndyCar, but has never started on pole at an oval track. His car was much better with regard to handling. He went to the top on lap one with a 187.655. His second lap was a 186.980. He complained of a hybrid regen issue on his run, but regardless his times were very competitive. Herta said “it wasn’t Andretti’s problem,” implying he had a similar issue to Jack Harvey. Andretti had lengthy discussions with IndyCar race director Kyle Novak and were given the option of a second run, as part of this ruling the No.18 car of Jack Harvey was also given another run as the issues that plagued Harvey’s car in his first run also impacted his second.
There was a lengthy delay as these problems were investigated by IndyCar. Following this delay, the next driver to run was Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon. His first lap was good enough for third, with a 186.208. His second lap put him solidly in second, with a 187.162.
Next was Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, bringing all the momentum into this weekend after a triumphant win last week in Mid-Ohio. His first run was a good 186.074 putting him fourth. His second run was impacted by severe understeer, yet he still managed a sixth place time with a 185.857.
Will Power was next. Team Penske have been up and down with speed this weekend. His first lap put him third with a 186.328. His second lap was disastrous, as the floor bottoming unsettled his car and he grazed the wall out of turn two. A 179.302 left him in a lowly 22nd for race two.
The last driver to run in the normal order was championship leader Alex Palou. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver went third in his first lap with a 186.841. His second lap put him second, with a 187.572.
Despite the normal running order being completed, both Colton Herta and Jack Harvey were yet to run. This would have been a major risk for Andretti as Herta was sitting in first for race one and second for race two. His previous times would be voided by taking this extra run. There was extensive debate between Andretti personnel over whether to run or not before they decided to pull his car out of line, settling with his great starting spots of first and fourth, solidifying a first-ever oval pole position for Colton Herta in IndyCar.
The final run was put in by Jack Harvey for Dale Coyne Racing. His first lap was a really solid 183.556. His second lap was an equally solid 183.331. It was a cruel fate that the driver most struggling with physical pain had to put in three runs instead of the expected one, but he put in a very respectable performance, lining up in 19th for race one and 18th for race two.
IndyCar Iowa 250s - Unofficial Starting Orders
Race 1
Colton Herta
Scott McLaughlin
Alex Palou
Will Power
Scott Dixon
Pato O’Ward
Alexander Rossi
Santino Ferrucci
Marcus Armstrong
Marcus Ericsson
Felix Rosenqvist
Graham Rahal
Linus Lundqvist
Rinus VeeKay
David Malukas
Nolan Siegel
Agustin Canapino
Pietro Fittipaldi
Jack Harvey
Kyle Kirkwood
Romain Grosjean
Josef Newgarden
Christian Lundgaard
Sting Ray Robb
Ed Carpenter
Katherine Legge
Kyffin Simpson
Race 2
Scott McLaughlin
Alex Palou
Scott Dixon
Colton Herta
Felix Rosenqvist
Alexander Rossi
Pato O’Ward
Graham Rahal
David Malukas
Agustin Canapino
Nolan Siegel
Kyle Kirkwood
Linus Lundqvist
Josef Newgarden
Rinus VeeKay
Romain Grosjean
Pietro Fittipaldi
Jack Harvey
Christian Lundgaard
Santino Ferrucci
Sting Ray Robb
Marcus Ericsson
Will Power
Kyffin Simpson
Katherine Legge
Marcus Armstrong
Ed Carpenter
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