MCLAUGHLIN WINS RECORD POLE AS PENSKE SWEEPS FRONT ROW
Get out the brooms – for Team Penske and Chevrolet.
Scott McLaughlin won the NTT P1 Award in Firestone Fast Six qualifying for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, leading only the second front row sweep by one team in the history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Team Penske first achieved the feat in 1988, with Rick Mears on the pole, Danny Sullivan starting second and Al Unser third.
SEE: Starting Lineup | Qualifying Results
It was the first career Indianapolis 500 pole for McLaughlin, who also set the fastest four-lap average pole speed in the history of the race of 234.220 mph in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet. McLaughlin’s best qualifying position in three previous Indianapolis 500 starts was 14th in 2023.
“Welcome to the party,” McLaughlin said. “The Pennzoil Chevy was unreal. There’s so much pride in being able to do it. I’m working hard. Indy hasn’t been kind to me, and a lot of it was my doing. I need to work on things. This is the first step. The Thirsty 3’s, baby, we’re coming.”
Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2018 “500” winner Will Power will start second after his run of 233.917 in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet. Reigning “500” winner and two-time series champion Josef Newgarden will round out the front row after his run of 233.808 in the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet.
It was the record-extending 19th Indianapolis 500 pole for Team Penske in the hottest day of this year’s event, with air temperatures reaching 91 degrees and track temperatures topping out at 129 degrees.
Chevrolet-powered drivers swept the top eight spots in the 33-car field for the race Sunday, May 26.
Among other qualifiers in the Firestone Fast Six were Alexander Rossi, who will start fourth at 233.090 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, rookie and 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson fifth at 232.846 in the No. 17 Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and Santino Ferrucci sixth at 232.692 in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet fielded by A.J. Foyt Enterprises.
Felix Rosenqvist was the fastest Honda-powered qualifier, starting ninth after a run of 232.305 in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing.
Katherine Legge, Marcus Ericsson and Graham Rahal earned the final three starting spots in Last Chance Qualifying.
Legge qualified 31st at 230.092 in the No. 51 e.l.f. Cosmetics Honda. 2022 “500” winner Ericsson qualified 32nd at 230.027 in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of Andretti Global, and Rahal avoided being bumped from the field for the second consecutive year by earning the final starting spot at 229.974 in the No. 15 United Rentals Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
“I’ve been there – last year, it still stings,” Rahal said. “It’s not much better being 33rd, I can tell you that. At least we’re in the field, and we’re going to go racing.”
Rookie Nolan Siegel failed to qualify. INDY NXT by Firestone standout Siegel, who was bumped earlier during Last Chance Qualifying, crashed in the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda on the final attempt of the session. He was unhurt.
“I wish we could have shown that we deserve to be in the ‘500,’” Siegel said. “But we’ve had a difficult couple of days, and we pulled through it as a team. We did everything we possibly could. I feel like we maximized the runs today. That’s all you can do.”
The 33-car field average speed is 231.943, the second fastest in history. Last year’s record field average was 232.184.
Up next is a practice session for the 33 starters from 1-3 p.m. ET Monday, with live coverage on Peacock.
The 108th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 26 (11 a.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, Universo, INDYCAR Radio Network).
KYLE LARSON QUALIFIES FOR INDY 500, WILL TRY INDY-CHARLOTTE DOUBLE
Kyle Larson will be the fifth driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day after qualifying for the Indy 500 on Sunday.
Larson, 31, will start fifth in his Indy 500 debut next Sunday and join John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch as the only drivers to attempt the Indy-Charlotte Double, also called the Memorial Day Double — the 108th Indy 500 during the day and then the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Larson will be on the second row of the starting grid at the Indy 500 after posting a four-lap average speed of 232.846 in qualifying.
“Just a great team, really, they prepared an awesome race car that stuck to the race track and also had speed,” Larson told reporters. “Qualifying went a lot better than I could have ever hoped or anticipated.”
After qualifying, Larson took a helicopter ride to Indianapolis International Airport and flew to North Carolina. He then took another flight to Wilkes County Airport and hopped in another helicopter to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race, where he finished fourth.
Larson, who leads NASCAR’s championship standings and posted a win at Kansas Speedway on May 5, will take the same route and transportation next Sunday to Charlotte, where he won in 2021.
Stewart is the only one of the four drivers to previously attempt The Double and finish every lap of both races when he achieved the feat in 2001.
JOEY LOGANO CRUISES TO FINISH LINE AT ALL-STAR RACE
Polesitter Joey Logano dominated by putting his No. 22 Ford out front for 199 of 200 laps to snare a $1 million purse on Sunday night, winning the NASCAR Cup Series’ prized All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, N.C.
Without another set of soft tires, Logano stayed out when NASCAR threw its final planned caution with 50 laps left, while many in the field took on new rubber.
The 2016 All-Star Race winner then stayed ahead of Denny Hamlin to win the non-points race by 0.636 seconds.
Chris Buescher, who was involved in two dramatic endings over the past two weeks, came in third.
Following a day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, defending All-Star Race winner Kyle Larson arrived at the speedway by helicopter about 90 minutes before the green flag. He came home fourth, while Ryan Blaney finished fifth.
In its second consecutive appearance at the 0.625-mile short track, the 40th annual All-Star Race weekend had its two heat races washed out. The field was then set by NASCAR’s rule book, except for Team Penske’s Logano, who won the top spot in Saturday’s qualifying session.
On Sunday, after Kyle Busch was squeezed into the wall with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. just ahead of him, Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet caught Stenhouse’s No. 47 and turned it into the Turn 2 wall on Lap 2 for the first caution.
An angry Stenhouse then parked his damaged Chevrolet in Busch’s pits and confronted crew chief Randall Burnett.
After the race, Stenhouse briefly fought with Busch near the No. 8 team’s hauler.
Logano, Buescher, Blaney and Brad Keselowski — all drivers who stayed out on the soft tires after the Stenhouse caution — paced the field through 50 laps.
Logano’s Ford stayed out front, but Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota fought door-to-door with Logano for 25 laps to stay on the lead, and it did when the second yellow flag, a scheduled one, waved at the halfway point for mandatory pit stops.
With the five cars on soft tires running equal or better times compared to everyone else, teams opted for the softer tires during the stop, just like they did to start the 200-lap race.
Logano and Christopher Bell ran side-by-side with 92 laps to go, but Hamlin slipped into the mix and gained second behind Logano. All-Star Open winner Ty Gibbs then spun for the third caution on Lap 119 after Busch tapped him.
TY GIBBS, BUBBA WALLACE DRIVE WAY INTO ALL-STAR RACE
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs led every lap Sunday to win the NASCAR Cup Series’ The Open and advance to the evening’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, N.C.
Following Austin Cindric’s wreck on Lap 59, Gibbs raced away from a tight group of cars, eventually beating Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 by 1.572 seconds.
The pair of Toyota drivers moved into the Sunday night headliner, the non-points All-Star Race that featured a $1 million purse.
Gibbs raced into the All-Star Race for the second straight year, while Noah Gragson rounded out the 20-car field by way of the All-Star fan vote.
Josh Berry, Justin Haley and Gragson completed the top five.
In a 100-lapper that would finalize the field for the All-Star Race, Gibbs’ No. 54 Camry XSE jumped out front from the high side and led Wallace around the 0.625-mile short track.
The JGR driver extended the lead to 1.80 seconds by Lap 20, but Wallace was able to keep his 23XI Racing ride at the same margin over the next 25 circuits around the refurbished speedway.
With a scheduled caution flying at Lap 50, the entire field pitted for service, and the top five emerged as Gibbs, Alex Bowman, Wallace, Chase Briscoe and Berry.
The second caution flew when Cindric’s No. 2 Ford made hard contact into the frontstretch wall to set up the mad dash to the end.