MotorSport
Kyle Kirkwood scorched the field in IndyCar Series qualifying to take pole for the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway.
The 25-year-old Florida native delivered two composed laps in the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda with an average of 201.520mph at the 1.33-mile oval, which was enough to knock off Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden by 0.0395s. The pole was the second of Kirkwood’s career, and first on an oval.
“It’s huge for our season,” said Kirkwood. “I was a little upset that we hadn’t got a pole yet this season. This was our final chance and we got it done. Super happy. The No. 27 AutoNation Honda is absolutely on rails; Honda gave us great power.”
Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist managed to qualify third. Team Penske’s Will Power made a positive start to his last-gasp championship push by slotting fourth, just 0.2112s off pole.
The No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Santino Ferrucci ended up fifth, with David Malukas sixth in his final race with Meyer Shank Racing, moving to AJ Foyt Racing in 2025 alongside Ferrucci.
Trouble for the championship leader
Championship leader Alex Palou was the last driver to go out on track, with the qualifying order being set in reverse of overall points. During his run, there was a noticeable struggle for pace in his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, running at 199.532 mph to slot 15th. However, with a nine-place grid penalty for an engine change coming into the weekend, his hopes of hoisting the Astor Cup Trophy will start from 24th for Sunday’s 206-lap contest.
“It wasn’t ideal,” Palou said. “I was a little more comfortable this morning in practice. So, don’t really know happened to the No. 10 car. We just have to check and see that, but first lap wasn’t too bad. But the second lap was really, really bad. So yeah, not what we wanted or what we need but we need to move from there tomorrow.”
There was also a close moment for Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi, who was left saving his No. 7 Chevrolet after going over the same bump in Turn 3 that took out teammate Nolan Siegel in opening practice. Rossi was 20th by the end of his laps, but like Siegel, will fall down starting positions due to a nine-spot grid penalty for an engine change.
“I don’t know why that’s happened to two of our cars,” Rossi said, who is running his final race with Arrow McLaren. “… a bit of a mystery.”
Siegel did not run in qualifying and is not expected to run in final practice due to repairs from his crash at the start of the day.
The only other driver left to endure a nine-spot grid penalty is Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who qualified ninth.
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