Lundgaard Captures NTT P1 Award at Portland; Suffers Grid Penalty

Christian Lundgaard celebrates his third career NTT P1 Award at the Portland International Raceway for the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix presented by askROI. (Photo: Penske Entertainment)

PORTLAND, Ore. – Arrow McLaren’s lead drivers set the pace during the Firestone Fast Six qualifying on Saturday afternoon for the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland presented by askROI, but the NTT P1 Award winner will not start Sunday’s race from the pole position.

Due to a six-place grid penalty for an unapproved engine change after Friday’s practice, Christian Lundgaard will roll off from the seventh starting spot. As a result, his teammate Pato O’Ward will pace the field to green at the 12-turn, 1.964-mile Portland International Raceway with his second-best overall time of 58.5343.

O’Ward is looking for a strong run this weekend in order to stay within 107 points of championship points leader Alex Palou and remain in contention for the series title with two races remaining after Portland.

“It’s a bit of a surprising qualifying considering where we were in practice,” O’Ward said. “We were still kind of inching away at trying to make it better. So many changes where we were last year to where we are.

“The car just came alive. I don’t really have an explanation for it. We didn’t really change anything from practice, but sometimes that’s just the story with these Firestone tires.”

Despite the grid penalty, Lundgaard was still credited with his third NTT P1 Award of his career after setting the best lap of 58.3939 seconds in the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. The last time the 24-year-old Danish phenom won the NTT P1 Award was in July 2023 in Toronto, where he won the race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

“As I crossed the line, I didn’t really expect it,” Lundgaard said. “I had a big push in Turn 5 and a big push in Turn 6. I didn’t really think that was it.

“This is the best-case scenario for us, obviously, with a six-place grid penalty. I’m just proud of the team. Another front-row lockout for the team, except only one of them will start there. I’m happy that we could at least help Pato on that side.”

Felix Rosenqvist will slide up into the second starting spot with a lap of 58.5583 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing Honda by virtue of the Lundgaard penalty. Despite not knowing what team he will land at for the 2026 NTT INDYCAR campaign, Team Penske’s leading driver of this season, Will Power, will roll off in third place with a lap of 58.6424 in the Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. David Malukas will start fourth with a lap of 58.6557 in the newly sponsored No. 4 Gallagher Insurance A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet.

Championship points leader Alex Palou navigates the Portland International Raceway during qualifying for the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix presented by askROI. (Photo: Penske Entertainment)

Championship points leader Palou veered off track into the Turn 11 tire barrier during his Firestone Fast Six run, bringing out a local yellow flag. As a result, Palou lost his best lap and will roll off from the fifth position in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

“Happy that we had pace,” Palou said. “Obviously not happy that I went looking for mushrooms there in the Fast Six.”

With one of the most impressive season performances in INDYCAR history, Palou needs to leave Portland with a 108-point championship points lead to clinch his third consecutive series championship and fourth in the last five years.

Alexander Rossi will round out the top six in the No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet thanks to the Lundgaard penalty.

Coverage for Sunday’s 110-lap BITNILE.COM Grand Prix presented by askROI will kick off at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, INDYCAR Radio Network and INDYCAR Nation SiriusXM channel 218.

BITNILE.COM Grand Prix presented by askROI qualifying results: