Scott Dixon was the best of the Kiwis in this morning’s IndyCar qualifying, putting his Chip Ganassi Racing entry fifth on the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Long Beach. Scott McLaughlin will start in ninth, with Marcus Armstrong on the row behind in 12th.
Kyle Kirkwood claimed his first-ever series pole, narrowly pipping Marcus Ericsson in the Fast Six shootout. Romain Grosjean was third quickest, with Alex Palou fourth and Pato O’Ward sixth.
All three Kiwis were in Q1’s Group 2 of the knockout-style qualifying, each setting a time fast enough to end the session in the top six to progress to Q2. Dixon was the fastest here, with Armstrong fourth and McLaughlin sixth.
Dixon then scraped through to the Fast Six by setting the sixth fastest time in Q2, just .0644 seconds above the safety zone. McLaughlin could only manage ninth, knocking him out of pole contention. Armstrong didn’t get an opportunity to set a competitive flying lap, bringing out the red flag after running into the Turn 9 tyre wall late in the session. His progression to Q2 means he will still start 12th tomorrow.
It wasn’t until the final minutes of the Fast Six shootout that times began to tumble, the order shuffling as the clock wound down. Ultimately, Kirkwood’s 1:06.2878 pipped Ericsson by .0375 seconds, with the remaining four contenders some two-tenths off the pace.
Tomorrow’s 85-lap race starts at 7 am and is being shown live on Sky Sport 5.
Header Image: Team Penske
