Colton Herta and Scott McLaughlin snatched poles for the IndyCar Series double-header at Iowa Speedway, after a bizarre qualifying session that was impacted by hybrid issues on its oval debut.
The format for the double-headers saw each driver receive two single-car laps, with the first setting their position for the opening race on Saturday night and the second determining their spot for Sunday’s event. The qualification order went in reverse of entrant points.
Herta, driving the #26 Andretti Global, stormed to a quick first lap of 187.655mph to take his first pole on an oval. He will start fourth for the second race.
Herta nearly went out for another attempt, after it was learned he encountered deployment issues during his run.
McLaughlin's Team Penske machine ran a first lap of 187.526mph to slot second for the first race, but his second lap of 188.248mph was good enough to secure pole for the second race and set a new track record.
Behind Herta and McLaughlin in third for Saturday's race was reigning champion Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing), with Penske’s Will Power in fourth.
Palou will start second for race two, with Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon third and Herta fourth.
What happened in a bizarre qualifying session
Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas was the fourth driver to go out and managed to put together a stout opening lap of 184.151mph and an even more impressive 185.595mph to set the early pace.
His benchmark held until it was bettered by Graham Rahal, the 11th driver to go out, however he is carrying a nine-spot grid spot penalty for race one for an engine change.
Ganassi Marcus Armstrong rolled out 13th and quickly sped to an opening lap of 185.337mph, but then touched the wall at the exit of Turn 2 on his second lap and ended up faltering to 173.682mph.
The No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Santino Ferrucci was next to set the pace for the opening race, but this was blown away by McLaughlin's remarkable run of 187.526mph on the first lap and 188.248mph on the second to break the track record.
Herta went out 23rd and delivered a 187.655mph flying lap immediately before a second of 186.980mph. He shared that “the battery didn’t deploy” during his run despite ending up first and second at the time, so Race Director Kyle Novak allowed him to have another qualifying attempt - although he was pulled back from the line and opted to keep his existing times.
This followed a similar problem for Jack Harvey's Dale Coyne Racing entry. The Briton, who is battling significant back pain that has led to Conor Daly being on standby, got another chance to qualify but was seen struggling getting out of his car after securing 18th and 19th places.
Following his strong opening effort, Power tapped the wall on his second lap which him running 179.302mph to slot 22nd.
