Kyle Kirkwood Dominates Nashville Qualifying With Shock Pole Position

Alex Harrington | Sep 14, 2024

Jul 21, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood (27) during the Honda Dealers Indy at Streets of Toronto. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Kyle Kirkwood stunned the IndyCar world by securing the pole position at the Nashville Superspeedway, ahead of the eagerly anticipated season finale. The Andretti Global Honda driver piloted his No. 27 Honda to an impressive average speed of 201.520 mph, beating Josef Newgarden by a mere 0.0395 seconds. This achievement marks Kirkwood's second career pole position and his first on an oval track.

“It’s huge for our season. I was a little upset that we hadn’t got a pole yet this season. This was our final chance and we got it done. Super happy. The No. 27 AutoNation Honda is absolutely on rails; Honda gave us great power,” an elated Kirkwood shared.

Coming in second was Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, followed by Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing, demonstrating strong performances but unable to dethrone Kirkwood from the top spot. Will Power, another contender from Team Penske, secured the fourth position, while AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci rounded out the top five. David Malukas, also representing Meyer Shank Racing, clinched the sixth spot and is set to move to AJ Foyt Racing in 2025.

However, not everyone had a smooth run in qualifying. Championship leader Alex Palou struggled, managing only the 15th position with a speed of 199.532 mph in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

“It wasn’t ideal. I was a little more comfortable this morning in practice. So, don’t really know happened to the No. 10 car. We just have to check and see that, but first lap wasn’t too bad. But the second lap was really, really bad. So yeah, not what we wanted or what we need but we need to move from there tomorrow,” Palou commented on his underwhelming performance.

To further compound his troubles, Palou will face a 9-place grid penalty, relegating him to start from the 24th position.

Other drivers also faced challenges. Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren had a close call with a bump in Turn 3, nearly losing control of his No. 7 Chevrolet. He finished in 20th position and will also face a 9-place grid penalty. Reflecting on the incident, Rossi remarked:

“I don’t know why that’s happened to two of our cars. A bit of a mystery.”

This race will be Rossi's final outing with Arrow McLaren.

In addition, Arrow McLaren was dealt another blow with Nolan Siegel crashing in the opening practice and ultimately failing to compete in the qualifying session. Siegel's car is not expected to be ready in time for the final practice, leaving his race participation in question.

Scott McLaughlin, another strong contender from Team Penske, managed only the ninth position and will also be penalized, starting nine places back.

Kyle Kirkwood's pole position is a significant milestone, not just for his career, but for the entire Andretti Global Honda team. As the season finale looms, this could be an intense showdown from pole.