The NTT P1 Award changed hands four times in the final 40 seconds of Saturday’s qualifying session for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park. Ultimately, series points leader Alex Palou secured the top spot.
Alex Palou Takes Top Spot
Palou, a three-time and two-time reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion, earned his first pole of the season and the seventh of his career with a fastest lap of 1 minute, 7.2918 seconds in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda during the Firestone Fast Six. Having won two of the first three races this season and finished second in the other, Palou holds a 34-point lead over Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global in the standings.
“What an amazing day for the 10 car,” Palou said. “This is such a special place for us here. We got our first race win in INDYCAR back in 2021.
“It was super close. I don’t think my first lap (in the Firestone Fast Six) was very good. I was just hoping to get a perfect lap on the second one on the alternates (Firestone Firehawk tires). So, yeah, cannot wait for tomorrow now.”
The 90-lap race is set for 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday and will be broadcast live on FOX, the FOX Sports app, and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Palou will seek his first victory on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile natural-terrain road course since his inaugural series win with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021. He competed as a rookie for Dale Coyne Racing in 2020.
Top Qualifiers and Career Milestones
Two-time reigning Barber winner Scott McLaughlin narrowly missed out on back-to-back poles, qualifying second with a best lap of 1:07.4387 in the No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet.
Colton Herta will start third after posting a 1:07.4576 lap in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global. Two-time Barber winner Will Power joins Herta in the second row, qualifying fourth at 1:07.5616 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. This marked Power’s best qualifying performance of the season, improving on previous bests of 13th at St. Petersburg and Long Beach.
Rinus VeeKay qualified fifth with a time of 1:07.9103 in the No. 18 askROI Honda fielded by Dale Coyne Racing. This was VeeKay’s first appearance in the Firestone Fast Six on a road or street circuit since winning the pole at this event in April 2022.
Nolan Siegel achieved a career milestone by qualifying sixth with a best lap of 1:08.0470 in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. It was the first time Siegel reached the Firestone Fast Six in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career, which began midway through last season.
Surprising Early Exits
Two notable drivers failed to advance past the opening round of the three-segment qualifying format. Kyle Kirkwood, who won both the pole and race last month at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, will start 18th in the No. 27 PreFab Honda of Andretti Global.
Six-time series champion Scott Dixon went off track into the gravel trap on his final flying lap in the opening segment, preventing him from advancing. He will start 26th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, marking his worst start since qualifying 26th at the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix in August 2021 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course.
