Alex Palou Clinches Pole at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou captured pole position for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on the 1.7‑mile, 7‑turn Formula 1–style street circuit with a flying 56.899‑second lap.
Palou’s performance marked the fifth event of the IndyCar season where he topped the grid, bringing his pole count to seven and his first since Road America in June.
Fast Six Seal the Starting Grid
Kyle Kirkwood opened the Fast Six in Andretti Global’s No. 27, sliding through the gears on used alternates and posting 57.466‑seconds before a brief lock‑up.
Palou followed in the same set of tires, pushing close to the walls before delivering the fastest lap of the round at 56.899 seconds.
Scott McLaughlin finished third on a similar alternates‑set, posting 57.620‑seconds after a slight wheel‑spin.
Marcus Armstrong, David Malukas and Christian Rasmussen all completed their warm‑ups with times of 58.815, 1:10.671 and 57.889 seconds respectively.
Palou described the qualification: “Incredible, man… it was tough during qualifying, there was a lot of traffic. I was happy there was no traffic in Fast Six… my car was on rails. Super fun lap, super fun car to drive.”
Round of 12 Pursues Transfer Spots
In the fast‑moving transfer race, Kirkwood led from the front, recording a 56.629‑second clock before the flag fell, edging McLaughlin by 0.041 seconds.
Palou finished third with a 56.899‑second lap, slightly behind Kirkwood.
Christian Rasmussen, Armorp has finished 4th in the transfer group and secured the final spot. Dennis Hauger, Christian Lundgaard, Felix Rosenqvist, Caio Collet and Nolan Siegel completed the top‑12 grid.
A red flag late in the race after Kyffin Simpson clipped the wall in Turn 6 halted Dixon’s final attempt. Simpson lost his two fastest laps and fell to 13th, promoting Hauger to the last transfer position, while Dixon missed out by 0.009 seconds on his earlier lap.
End‑of‑Round Group Dynamics
Group 1 saw Kirkwood finish 56.773, Armstrong 56.839 and Palou 56.900 (the 0.066 second margin between Kirkwood and Armstrong was decisive).
Group 2 had Malukas as the front‑runner in 57.229, followed by Collet 57.261, Rasmussen 57.326 and McLaughlin 57.372.
And the final group showcased Josef Newgarden as the fastest with 57.248, Ludo Foster at 57.280 and Mick Schumacher 57.301.
The field narrowed to ten top‑12 qualifiers with Alexander Rossi, Graham Rahal and 12th‑place Juncos Hollinger’s Sting Ray Robb completing the lineup.
Looking Ahead: The 250‑mile Battle Begins Tomorrow
Palou acknowledged the challenge ahead: “Looking forward to tomorrow. 250 miles here. It’s going to be rough.” While the drivers will battle for championship glory, the longer race will test traffic avoidance, car setup and endurance tactics.
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