The New Zealander rocketed to the top spot with a two-lap average of 179.972 mph around the 1.25-mile oval based just outside of St. Louis, Missouri. The pole marks his fourth of the season and ninth of his career.
“I’m so stoked,” McLaughlin said. “We rolled out of the truck, the DEX Imaging Chevrolet has been great. I’m really proud of (it), we had a procedure and went through it and then got it done. It just makes me proud of everyone. At the end of the day, tomorrow is payday, and we’ll make sure that we were on top of things”
McLaughlin’s pace outmatched the Meyer Shank Racing duo of Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas, who were second and third when the session came to an end. Rosenqvist, who was a narrow 0.0489s off the pole mark, won’t start second after receiving a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change ahead of the weekend.
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
Josef Newgarden, a four-time winner at Gateway, ended up fourth, ahead of Team Penske team-mate Will Power in fifth.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood was sixth. Championship leader Alex Palou, who also received a nine-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change, was seventh in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Romain Grosjean was eighth, followed by Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson in ninth.
Six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon was 10th, but will also lose nine spots for the race for an unapproved engine change.
Herta “just broke loose” in qualifying shunt
The biggest incident of qualifying came after Colton Herta, pressing with a run to challenge for pole after a first lap of 179.909 mph, lost the backend of his No. 26 Andretti Global Honda and slid into the Turn 2 wall on the second lap. He was able to continue, but at a reduced pace with the rear wing noticeably bent.
“Just broke loose,” Herta said. “It’s unfortunate. I think that first lap was decent. I don’t think it would have gotten us the pole, but I do think it could have gotten us in the top five there. And then second lap, yeah, I don’t know if we just wore the tires too much or what happened, and it just let go pretty early and that’s all she wrote, unfortunately. Sucks.”
Herta will start 25th, ahead of Dale Coyne Racing’s Jack Harvey and Katherine Legge. Harvey had a suspected hybrid issue impact his run, while Legge wasn’t able to qualify after her No. 51 Honda failed technical inspection.
