Alex Palou continued his dominant 2025 IndyCar campaign by securing pole position for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, with a dramatic lap that came in the final seconds of a wildly competitive qualifying session.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver posted a time of 1:07.2918 in the Firestone Fast Six shootout, edging out Scott McLaughlin by a fraction to take his first pole of the season and seventh of his IndyCar career. It also marked a full-circle moment for Palou at Barber, where he earned his maiden series win in 2021.
“It was super close,” said Palou. “I don’t think my first lap was very good. I was just hoping to get a perfect lap on the second one on the alternates. So, yeah, cannot wait for tomorrow now.”
Palou enters Sunday’s 90-lap race with two wins and one second-place finish from the opening three races of the year, holding a 34-point lead over Kyle Kirkwood in the standings.
McLaughlin, Herta and Siegel shine while Dixon struggles
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, a two-time winner at Barber, narrowly missed back-to-back poles for the event and will start P2 after clocking a 1:07.4387. Colton Herta will line up third, while Will Power grabbed P4, his best qualifying result of the season after difficult outings in St. Petersburg and Long Beach.
Rinus VeeKay and rookie Nolan Siegel rounded out the Firestone Fast Six. For Siegel, who drives for Arrow McLaren, it marked his career-best qualifying in IndyCar, an impressive feat in just his second full season.
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“I think it was just execution to be honest,” Siegel said. “We were calm, collected, and made good small changes… and that’s what it takes.”
On the flip side, both Kyle Kirkwood and Scott Dixon failed to advance past the first round. Kirkwood, who won last time out in Long Beach, will start 18th, while Dixon had an off-track excursion that ruined a promising run, relegating him to P26, his worst qualifying since 2021.
Meanwhile, Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward both missed out on the Fast Six. O’Ward, who crashed in FP2 earlier in the day, will start P8, while Christian Lundgaard lines up alongside in P7.
You can watch the race live on Sunday, May 4 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX and via the INDYCAR Radio Network.
