Alex Palou scored his third INDYCAR pole of his career. (Photo: Wayne Riegle | The Podium Finish)
Once again, it’s “Hello Palou” during INDYCAR qualifying.
Alex Palou scored his second straight NTT P1 Pole Award after setting a time of 61.8592 seconds (95.734 mph), good enough to lead the 27-car field to green for tomorrow’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
“That was a good lap,” said Palou. “We had a lot of speed since Practice 1. The track evolved a lot, but it seemed like our car kept on evolving, even during qualifying. I just had lots of confidence to go out there.
“I thought it was going to be a bit tighter in Fast Six. Pretty happy that we were able to get that first pole position on a street course.”
The Spaniard’s pole run marked his third career INDYCAR pole as he’s been on a roll in qualifying. He snagged the pole two weeks ago for the 107th Indianapolis 500 with the fastest four-lap average, and now, he’s the first man to win the pole in the revived Streets of Detroit.
Such sudden qualifying momentum has left Palou pondering what’s clicked for him but also noted how close he’s been to winning more poles.
“We’ve always been really close. We had a lot of Fast Six appearances, but we were not able to get the most of it from the used alternate tires. At IMS we had to do that,” said Palou. “Here, it seemed like we did a step. IMS road course, for example, we lacked again. We lost pole position there. We started third. I think we’ve always been there, just not fast enough on Fast Six. This was the first time we were able to get all of it.”
Starting alongside Palou is Scott McLaughlin, who lost out on the pole by 0.3000 seconds as he’s looking to capture his second win of the season. A win would also put him a step closer to the $1 million bonus as part of the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge, where the first driver to win on all three different type of circuits (road course, street course and oval) will earn the team $500,000 and $500,000 toward a charity of choice.
Sunday’s race is also important for Team Penske as Chevrolet, the team’s manufacturer, is based in Detroit and sponsoring the race.
McLaughlin explained that Sunday’s race is crucial for him to bring home a victory, especially with the team having momentum after fourth-place starter Josef Newgarden won last Sunday’s Indy 500. That said, his mindset won’t change.
“I always put more pressure on myself than anyone could put on me. It’s not just Chevy, it’s Roger Penske. Home race,” said McLaughlin. “A lot of partners here this weekend. I’m sponsored by a very big company that has a massive presence here, Gallagher, with Detroit Tigers. It’s a big town for them.
“Doesn’t change how much I want to win this race or the pressure to win every race that we go out in.”
With this weekend being a new venue as the series returned to racing in downtown Detroit for the first time since 1991, a lot of buzz and concerns wreaked havoc in the paddock and on social media. The 1.645-mile street course is bumpy and narrow, and the double pit lane has raised some eyebrows.
However, McLaughlin’s biggest question mark is how the outside line will race during the 100-lap event. Otherwise, drivers said that they’ve enjoyed leaving Belle Isle and that the new Detroit Grand Prix should be a fun challenge.
“It’s not the track I’m worried about, it’s just the outside. Everyone on the outside line, it’s going to be interesting,” said McLaughlin. “We’ll be all right. With the track, there’s been a lot of noise I’ve seen on Twitter, from other drivers and stuff. At the end of the day, this is a new track, new complex. I think what everyone has done to get this going, like, the vibe is awesome. Belle Isle was getting old. We had to do it.
“First-year problems, it’s always going to happen. It’s just going to get better from here. The racetrack for the drivers is a blast. We don’t even know how it races yet. Everyone is making conclusions already. They probably just need to relax and wait for tomorrow.”
Live coverage of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC. Defending champion Will Power will roll off seventh as he’ll look to return back to victory lane for the first time since that race.
2023 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Starting Lineup
- 10 – Alex Palou
- 3 – Scott McLaughlin
- 28 – Romain Grosjean
- 9 – Scott Dixon
- 2 – Josef Newgarden
- 8 – Marcus Ericsson
- 12 – Will Power
- 60 – Simon Pagenaud
- 6 – Felix Rosenqvist
- 5 – Pato O’Ward
- 11 – Marcus Armstrong (R)
- 27 – Kyle Kirkwood
- 7 – Alexander Rossi
- 21 – Rinus VeeKay
- 20 – Conor Daly
- 77 – Callum Ilott
- 29 – Devlin DeFrancesco
- 45 – Christian Lundgaard
- 55 – Benjamin Pedersen (R)
- 78 – Agustin Canapino (R)
- 18 – David Malukas
- 14 – Santino Ferrucci
- 06 – Helio Castroneves
- 26 – Colton Herta
- 30 – Jack Harvey
- 51 – Sting Ray Robb (R)
- 15 – Graham Rahal
