Penske drivers Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden each claimed a pole position for this weekend’s doubleheader at the Milwaukee Mile.
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McLaughlin set an impressive opening lap with an average speed of 261.263 kph, about 1.1 kph quicker than his team mate. His pace dropped more on the second lap, though, and Newgarden recorded the fastest second-lap time by a razor-thin 0.03 kph.
Without penalties the Penske pair would have locked out the front row for both races. However Newgarden faces a nine-place grid penalty for exceeding the allowed number of engine changes, which will cost him his second-place start for race one.
As a result, McLaughlin will start race one from pole alongside David Malukas. Alexander Rossi moves up to third after running fourth-fastest in his McLaren, with Linus Lundqvist lining up fifth.
Will Power boosted his championship bid by out-qualifying points leader Alex Palou for both races. Power will start today’s race from fifth on the grid.
Palou and team mate Scott Dixon both struggled to find a comfortable balance on the bumpy oval, while Marcus Armstrong was the quickest of the Ganassi drivers, setting the seventh-fastest time in qualifying for race one. Armstrong, however, is one of seven drivers in the 27-car field who will take engine-change penalties.
Those penalties promote several drivers up the grid for race one. Pato O’Ward, Marcus Ericsson and Felix Rosenqvist will all benefit, while Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta — third in the standings — move into the top 10. Palou will be promoted to 12th on the starting grid.
For race two, Newgarden credited an “aggressive set-up” after taking pole ahead of McLaughlin and Armstrong. Power completed three Penskes in the top four for the second race, followed by Linus Lundqvist and Rossi. O’Ward, Malukas, Rosenqvist and Palou round out the top 10 for tomorrow’s 250-lap contest.
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Qualifying result
Race one
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 22.5082 |
| 2 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | 22.6058 |
| 3 | 66 | David Malukas | 22.6358 |
| 4 | 7 | Alexander Rossi | 22.7619 |
| 5 | 8 | Linus Lundqvist | 22.7721 |
| 6 | 12 | Will Power | 22.8169 |
| 7 | 11 | Marcus Armstrong | 22.8316 |
| 8 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | 22.8720 |
| 9 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | 22.9697 |
| 10 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | 22.9817 |
| 11 | 77 | Romain Grosjean | 22.9922 |
| 12 | 26 | Colton Herta | 23.0429 |
| 13 | 10 | Alex Palou | 23.0586 |
| 14 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 23.1438 |
| 15 | 18 | Jack Harvey | 23.1478 |
| 16 | 20 | Christian Rasmussen | 23.2871 |
| 17 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | 23.3218 |
| 18 | 78 | Conor Daly | 23.3441 |
| 19 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | 23.3665 |
| 20 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 23.3910 |
| 21 | 51 | Katherine Legge | 23.4468 |
| 22 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | 23.4738 |
| 23 | 41 | Sting Robb | 23.4739 |
| 24 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 23.5530 |
| 25 | 4 | Kyffin Simpson | 23.5646 |
| 26 | 45 | Christian Lundgaard | 23.7751 |
| 27 | 30 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 24.1751 |
Race two
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | 22.6980 |
| 2 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 22.7080 |
| 3 | 11 | Marcus Armstrong | 22.8085 |
| 4 | 12 | Will Power | 22.8462 |
| 5 | 8 | Linus Lundqvist | 22.8538 |
| 6 | 7 | Alexander Rossi | 22.9780 |
| 7 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | 23.0536 |
| 8 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | 23.0537 |
| 9 | 66 | David Malukas | 23.0602 |
| 10 | 10 | Alex Palou | 23.1164 |
| 11 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | 23.1223 |
| 12 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | 23.1697 |
| 13 | 18 | Jack Harvey | 23.1742 |
| 14 | 77 | Romain Grosjean | 23.2114 |
| 15 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 23.2750 |
| 16 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | 23.2862 |
| 17 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 23.2962 |
| 18 | 26 | Colton Herta | 23.3342 |
| 19 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | 23.3613 |
| 20 | 78 | Conor Daly | 23.4080 |
| 21 | 41 | Sting Robb | 23.4241 |
| 22 | 51 | Katherine Legge | 23.4630 |
| 23 | 20 | Christian Rasmussen | 23.5776 |
| 24 | 4 | Kyffin Simpson | 23.6228 |
| 25 | 45 | Christian Lundgaard | 23.8450 |
| 26 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 24.0050 |
| 27 | 30 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 24.7289 |
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