IndyCar | Qualifying | Iowa | Newgarden and Palou take poles for doubleheader - Motorsport

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Qualifying for rounds 11 and 12 of the 2025 IndyCar season is in the books as the grid has been set for the Iowa doubleheader, full report and results below.

Scott McLaughlin was fastest in practice. Could Team Penske convert that pace into pole positions?

The qualifying order was reversed based on entrant points as every driver did two flying runs to set the grid for races 1 and 2 later today and tomorrow. Jacob Abel went first.

Abel did a 175.255mph on his first lap, with a 177.145 for his second attempt. Callum Ilott smashed that as he did 181.257 and 182.214 across his two laps.

Devlin DeFrancesco was up next and the RLL driver was slower on his second lap, unlike the aforementioned drivers. He did a 181.097 and 180.664 for his runs.

Ilott’s teammate Robert Shwartzman usurped the Brit. Laps of 181.319mph and 182.443 were good enough for P1 in both races at that very early point.

It was a terrible run for Sting Ray Robb. A wiggle on his second lap led to speeds of 178.885 and 177.683 to put him only ahead of Abel.

A winner at Iowa in Indy NXT last year, Louis Foster did 182.381 and 181.805 on his two runs. P1 for race 1, P3 for race 2 at the time he put down his laps.

Graham Rahal was the last of the RLL runners to go. He did laps of a 181.478 and 182.489. The second lap was enough for P1 for race 2 after seven drivers had run.

Marcus Ericsson was next and he had a relatively disappointing run. Laps of 181.463 and 182.154 only put him 3rd and 4th respectively.

Josef Newgarden lays down a marker

Following a horror show of a campaign to date, Josef Newgarden went early. To the surprise of nobody, 183.999 and 183.316 laps put him P1 for both races. Plenty of challengers were still to come, however.

Short oval specialist Conor Daly ran after the Penske driver. He did 183.714 and 182.943 across his two laps to put him P2 behind Newgarden for both races at that stage.

Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel was up next. A 182.807 was good enough for 3rd on his opening attempt, with a 183.194 putting him 2nd for race 2.

After an amazing performance at Gateway, Christian Rasmussen will be looking to cut through the field like he did there. 181.107 and 181.681 across his two laps was very disappointing as he only went 9th for both.

Unfortunately for Kyffin Simpson, it was even worse for him. Laps of 179.966 and 181.589 were only good enough for 11th and 10th respectively.

Alex Rossi fared better than his Danish teammate. A 181.939 and 181.846 put him 5th and 8th.

The first big scares came of Rinus VeeKay. Although he registered laps of 177.157 and 170.822, the Dutchman clipped the wall on the exit of turn 4 at the end of his first lap. In turn 3 on his second lap, he had a huge moment and had to get properly out of it to avoid crashing.

Following a 182.596 on his first lap to put him P4, David Malukas found big speed on lap two as he logged a 183.369 to take over from Josef Newgarden at the top for the race 2 grid.

A very costly crash for Scott McLaughlin

Quite unbelievably, Scott McLaughlin lost the rear into turn 1 starting his first lap as the car let go really quickly and he crashed into the safer barrier. After stopping an initial snap, it let go again and had no chance to save it.

He will be at the back for both races after going fastest in practice. It is even questionable if he will make race 1 with the damage sustained.

Following great work by the AMR safety team to clear the debris and McLaughlin’s car, Santino Ferrucci was up. Laps of a 182.756 and a 181.205 were good enough for 4th and 13th. He had a huge drop-off on his second run.

The last of the Team Penske drivers to go was Will Power. His laps of 182.824 and 183.072 put him 3rd and 4th.

Unfortunately for Colton Herta, he had a dreadful fun. Laps of 179.270 and 181.472 saw him go only 16th and 14th.

Felic Rosenqvist shines

Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong was next up. He did very consistent laps of a 182.483 and 182.409 to be P7 and P8 on the charts. His teammate Felix Rosenqvist followed and the Swede flew. 183.635 and 183.975 laps put him 3rd and 1st respectively for the two races at that stage.

Oval struggles continue for Christian Lundgaard. The Dane could only manage 179.975 and 180.920 on his attempts to be 17th and 18th.

Six-time champion Scott Dixon was next and the car looked tricky to drive. Ultimately his laps of a 182.924 and 182.664 put him 4th and 7th.

One of the favourites for pole or both poles was Pato O’Ward. However, the Arrow McLaren driver came up short. 183.096 and 182.645 on his two fliers put him P4 and P8.

No running in standard practice was always going to leave Kyle Kirkwood on the back foot. So it happened. Laps of a 181.130 and 181.181 left him 17th and 20th.

Alex Palou strikes back after Mid-Ohio blunder

Dominant championship leader Alex Palou was last to run. He delivered. A 183.596 on his first lap will see him start P4 later. However, he will be off pole for race 2 as a 184.014 snatched it away from Felix Rosenqvist.

It means Josef Newgarden and Alex Palou split the poles for the two Iowa races.