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IndyCar Nashville: Kirkwood storms to pole as Palou struggles ahead of finale

Kyle Kirkwood scorched the field in IndyCar Series qualifying to take pole for the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.

The 25-year-old Florida native delivered two composed laps in the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda with an average of 201.520mph at the 1.33-mile oval, which was enough to beat Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden by 0.0395s. The pole was the second of Kirkwood’s career, and first on an oval.

“It’s huge for our season,” said Kirkwood. “I was a little upset that we hadn’t got a pole yet this season. This was our final chance and we got it done. Super happy. The No. 27 AutoNation Honda is absolutely on rails; Honda gave us great power.”

Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist managed to qualify third as Team Penske’s Will Power made a positive start to his last-gasp championship push by slotting fourth, just 0.2112s off pole.

The No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Santino Ferrucci ended up fifth, with David Malukas sixth in his final race with Meyer Shank Racing, moving to AJ Foyt Racing in 2025 alongside Ferrucci. 

Trouble for the championship leader

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet, Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Vanderbilt Cup, championship (Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images)

Championship leader Alex Palou was the last driver to go out on track, with the qualifying running order being set in reverse of overall points. During his run, there was a noticeable struggle for pace in his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, running at 199.532 mph to slot 15th. However, with a nine-place grid penalty for an engine change coming into the weekend, his hopes of hoisting the Astor Cup Trophy will start from 24th for Sunday’s 206-lap contest. 

“It wasn’t ideal,” Palou said. “I was a little more comfortable this morning in practice. So, don’t really know happened to the No. 10 car.

"We just have to check and see that, but first lap wasn’t too bad. But the second lap was really, really bad. So yeah, not what we wanted or what we need but we need to move from there tomorrow.”

There was also a close moment for Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi, who was left saving his No. 7 Chevrolet after going over the same bump in Turn 3 that took out team-mate Nolan Siegel in opening practice. Rossi was 20th by the end of his laps, but like Palou, will fall down nine spots due to a grid penalty for an engine change. 

“I don’t know why that’s happened to two of our cars,” Rossi said, who is running his final race with Arrow McLaren. "A bit of a mystery.”

Siegel did not run in qualifying and is not expected to run in final practice due to repairs from his crash at the start of the day.

The only other driver left to endure a nine-spot grid penalty is Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who qualified ninth.

Cla Driver # Laps Time Interval Mph
1 K. KirkwoodAndretti Global 27 2

47.5189

  201.520
2 J. NewgardenTeam Penske 2 2

+0.0395

47.5584

0.0395 201.352
3 F. RosenqvistMeyer Shank Racing 60 2

+0.1999

47.7188

0.1604 200.676
4 W. PowerTeam Penske 12 2

+0.2112

47.7301

0.0113 200.628
5 S. FerrucciA.J. Foyt Enterprises 14 2

+0.2423

47.7612

0.0311 200.497
6 D. MalukasMeyer Shank Racing 66 2

+0.2468

47.7657

0.0045 200.479
7 C. DalyJuncos Hollinger Racing 78 2

+0.2673

47.7862

0.0205 200.393
8 P. O'WardArrow McLaren 5 2

+0.2908

47.8097

0.0235 200.294
9 S. McLaughlinTeam Penske 3 2

+0.3061

47.8250

0.0153 200.230
10 L. LundqvistChip Ganassi Racing 8 2

+0.3197

47.8386

0.0136 200.173
11 C. HertaAndretti Global with Curb-Agajanian 26 2

+0.3362

47.8551

0.0165 200.104
12 R. van KalmthoutEd Carpenter Racing 21 2

+0.4299

47.9488

0.0937 199.713
13 S. DixonChip Ganassi Racing 9 2

+0.4490

47.9679

0.0191 199.634
14 M. ArmstrongChip Ganassi Racing 11 2

+0.4589

47.9778

0.0099 199.592
15 A. PalouChip Ganassi Racing 10 2

+0.4735

47.9924

0.0146 199.532
16 R. GrosjeanJuncos Hollinger Racing 77 2

+0.4880

48.0069

0.0145 199.471
17
C. RasmussenEd Carpenter Racing
20 2

+0.5664

48.0853

0.0784 199.146
18 M. EricssonAndretti Global 28 2

+0.6266

48.1455

0.0602 198.897
19 P. FittipaldiRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 30 2

+0.6296

48.1485

0.0030 198.885
20 A. RossiArrow McLaren 7 2

+0.8300

48.3489

0.2004 198.060
21 K. SimpsonChip Ganassi Racing 4 2

+1.0120

48.5309

0.1820 197.318
22 G. RahalRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 15 2

+1.2840

48.8029

0.2720 196.218
23 J. HarveyDale Coyne Racing 18 2

+1.4615

48.9804

0.1775 195.507
24 C. LundgaardRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 45 2

+1.4709

48.9898

0.0094 195.469
25 K. LeggeDale Coyne Racing 51 2

+2.0769

49.5958

0.6060 193.081
26 41 0

 

   
27
N. SiegelArrow McLaren
6 0

 

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