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On Friday afternoon, Scott McLaughlin’s race car was in the paddock, the front end in tatters after he crashed during practice for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
Fast-forward 24 hours, and McLaughlin was holding the NTT P1 Award.
McLaughlin earned the 11th pole of his career during Firestone Fast Six qualifying Saturday, turning a top lap of 59.4624 seconds in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet. He won this race from the pole in 2022, the first victory and No. 1 qualifying spot of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career.
“Huge amount of respect; we have so much trust in each other, and they trusted I could do the job today,” McLaughlin said. “The guys and girls on this team, they’re stars. I had to repay them. I made a little silly mistake there, and I was glad to come back with them.
“I just wanted to get pole first race of the year. Good vibes. It’s just great vibes – immaculate vibes, we like to say. I’m very excited.”
The 100-lap race starts at noon ET Sunday on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary circuit (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). A 30-minute warmup begins at 9 a.m. ET (FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
2021 St. Petersburg winner Colton Herta will share the front row with McLaughlin, qualifying second at 59.6393 seconds in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global.
Meyer Shank Racing produced one of its best days in team history, locking out the second row as the only team to place two drivers in the Firestone Fast Six. Felix Rosenqvist qualified third at 59.6989 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda, followed by new teammate Marcus Armstrong at 59.8278 in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda.
Christian Lundgaard got off to a good start in his first race with Arrow McLaren, qualifying fifth at 59.8663 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 59.9216 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
The thrilling Firestone Fast Six session featured the pole exchanging hands twice in the last minute. Rosenqvist was on pole with one minute to go before Herta snatched the top spot with 30 seconds remaining. Then McLaughlin came through with his pole run on his final lap, with mere seconds to spare on the session clock.
There was just as much drama in the first two rounds of qualifying, as a number of high-profile drivers failed to advance. Two-time St. Petersburg winner Josef Newgarden was eliminated in the round of 12 and will start 10th in his No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Two-time reigning series champion Alex Palou also was ousted in the second round and will start eighth in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Eliminated in the first round were two-time series champion Will Power, who has won the pole nine times in the last 15 years at this race, and defending race winner Pato O’Ward. Power will start 13th in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, while O’Ward will take the green flag from the 23rd starting spot in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
