IndyCar News: Palou beats McLaughlin for pole at Barber
Chip Ganassi ace Alex Palou turned a lap of 1m07.2918s to win the pole position for the 2025 Children’s of Alabama GP NTT IndyCar Race at Barber Motorsports Park.
Palou leads the point standings and he is looking to extend his lead.
Scott McLaughlin was 2nd for Team Penske with a lap of 1m07.4387s, just 0.14s behind Palou.
Andretti Global driver Colton Herta, who is under immense pressure to finish high enough in this year’s IndyCar championship to earn enough Super License Points to qualify for an F1 driver’s license, was third, 0.16s behind Palou.
McLaughlin’s Penske Teammate Will Power was 4th, 0.27s behind Palou.
Rinus VeeKay qualified fifth at 1:07.9103 in the No. 18 askROI Honda fielded by Dale Coyne Racing.
Palou has won two of the first three races of this season, finishing second in the other, and has built a 34-point lead over Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global in the standings.
“What an amazing day for the 10 car,” Palou said. “This is such a special place for us here. We got our first race win in INDYCAR back in 2021.
“It was super close. I don’t think my first lap (in the Firestone Fast Six) was very good. I was just hoping to get a perfect lap on the second one on the alternates (Firestone Firehawk tires). So, yeah, cannot wait for tomorrow now.”
The winner in Long Beach, Kyle Kirkwood will start only 18th in the No. 27 PreFab Honda of Andretti Global after winning the pole and the race last month at the most recent event, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Six-time series champion Scott Dixon went off track into the gravel trap on his last flying lap in
2025 IndyCar Barber Qualifying Results
|
Rank |
Car |
Driver Name |
Engine |
Time |
Speed |
Session |
|
1 |
10 |
Palou, Alex |
Honda |
1m07.2918 |
123.046 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
2 |
3 |
McLaughlin, Scott |
Chevy |
1m07.4387 |
122.778 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
3 |
26 |
Herta, Colton |
Honda |
1m07.4576 |
122.744 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
4 |
12 |
Power, Will |
Chevy |
1m07.5616 |
122.555 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
5 |
18 |
Veekay, Rinus |
Honda |
1m07.9103 |
121.926 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
6 |
6 |
Siegel, Nolan |
Chevy |
1m08.0470 |
121.681 |
Round 3 / Firestone Fast Six |
|
7 |
7 |
Lundgaard, Christian |
Chevy |
1m07.6950 |
122.313 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
8 |
5 |
O’Ward, Pato |
Chevy |
1m07.7056 |
122.294 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
9 |
2 |
Newgarden, Josef |
Chevy |
1m07.7684 |
122.181 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
10 |
8 |
Simpson, Kyffin |
Honda |
1m07.8806 |
121.979 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
11 |
66 |
Armstrong, Marcus |
Honda |
1m08.2031 |
121.402 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
12 |
45 |
Foster, Louis (R) |
Honda |
1m08.4427 |
120.977 |
Elimination Round 2 / Top 12 |
|
13 |
14 |
Ferrucci, Santino |
Chevy |
1m07.8228 |
122.083 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
14 |
60 |
Rosenqvist, Felix |
Honda |
1m07.7483 |
122.217 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
15 |
20 |
Rossi, Alexander |
Chevy |
1m07.8807 |
121.979 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
16 |
90 |
Ilott, Callum |
Chevy |
1m07.7733 |
122.172 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
17 |
21 |
Rasmussen, Christian |
Chevy |
1m07.8874 |
121.967 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
18 |
27 |
Kirkwood, Kyle |
Honda |
1m07.8239 |
122.081 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
19 |
76 |
Daly, Conor |
Chevy |
1m08.0017 |
121.762 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
20 |
4 |
Malukas, David |
Chevy |
1m07.8459 |
122.041 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
21 |
15 |
Rahal, Graham |
Honda |
1m08.0106 |
121.746 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
22 |
77 |
Robb, Sting Ray |
Chevy |
1m08.1802 |
121.443 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
23 |
28 |
Ericsson, Marcus |
Honda |
1m08.0146 |
121.739 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
24 |
83 |
Shwartzman, Robert (R) |
Chevy |
1m08.2584 |
121.304 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
25 |
51 |
Abel, Jacob (R) |
Honda |
1m08.3762 |
121.095 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 1 |
|
26 |
9 |
Dixon, Scott |
Honda |
1m08.8715 |
120.224 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
27 |
30 |
DeFrancesco, Devlin |
Honda |
1m09.0373 |
119.935 |
Elimination Round 1 / Group 2 |
|
(R) Rookie |
