With second place secured in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings this season, Pato O’Ward has a new goal Sunday in the season-ending Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by WillScot.
“I’ve never won a race from pole,” O’Ward said. “That’s on my to-do list this weekend.”
The Mexican is off to a great start on that quest after winning the NTT P1 Award on Saturday with a two-lap average speed of 202.621 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. It is his second pole this season, joining his top spot in March at The Thermal Club. This is O’Ward’s seventh career pole but first on an oval.
SEE: Qualifying Results
O’Ward has nine career victories, including two this season, but they have come from someplace besides the No. 1 starting spot. O’Ward, who led practice this morning, won from the second starting position in 2022 at Barber Motorsports Park and in 2024 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
“The car was great,” O’Ward said. “Felt really comfortable in practice and didn’t give me any scares or anything. I was happy with that. Very good.”
David Malukas qualified second at 201.922 in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet fielded by A.J. Foyt Enterprises as he fell just short of his first career pole for the second straight week. Malukas was the 17th of 27 drivers to qualify, and he held the provisional pole until O’Ward made his run as the second-to-last driver in line.
Last weekend at the Milwaukee Mile oval, Malukas was on pole until four-time series champion Alex Palou snatched it from him on the last qualifying attempt of the event.
O’Ward’s teammate Christian Lundgaard (photo, above) qualified third at 201.713 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. It was his career-best oval qualifying effort, topping his eighth-place grid spot from the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in May.
Reigning series champion Palou qualified fourth at 201.603 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, falling short as the last qualifier and the only driver who could topple O’Ward from the top spot.
Six-time series champion Scott Dixon ended up fifth at 201.437 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon won three consecutive races on this 1.33-mile concrete oval from 2006-08.
Two-time series champion and Nashville native Josef Newgarden will join Dixon on the third row of the starting grid Sunday after qualifying sixth at 201.390 in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet.
Coverage of the 225-lap race starts at 2 p.m. ET Sunday (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
