Alex Palou takes fourth straight pole of ’26 at Gateway

MADISON, Ill. — Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou continued his era of dominance in the NTT IndyCar Series by taking his fourth straight pole of the 2026 season for Sunday night’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The four-time IndyCar champion took pole position with the fastest two-lap average speed of 174.353 mph. Palou finished his qualifying run 1.1 mph faster than second-place qualifier, David Malukas (173.244 mph).

In the post-qualifying press conference, the Spanish driver noted that his fourth consecutive pole and fifth pole of the year are more meaningful to the No. 10 team than many might believe, given that achieving this level of success is “the norm” for them.

“I think this pole, it actually means a lot more than what people might think.” Palou shared, “People might think it’s just another pole. For me, means a lot. Yeah, I’ve been preparing a lot for this race and for this qualifying. I’m very, very happy that it worked out.”

Qualifying underway

Mick Schumacher was the first driver to qualify as he finished his first lap with an average speed of 170.288 mph. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver set the pace with a two-lap average speed of 170.290 mph. 

Christian Rasmussen took to the track next with a first-lap average speed of 170.150 mph. As the Danish driver trailed behind Schumacher, Rasmussen slotted below the RLL driver with a two-lap average speed of 170.106 mph. 

Sting Ray Robb started his qualifying run with an apparent power issue, with a first-lap average speed of 167.525 mph. Robb finished third with a two-lap average speed of 168.063 mph.

Rookie Caio Collet started his run with a first-lap average speed of 168.063 mph and finished his run with a two-lap average speed of 170.104 mph. The Brazilian driver slotted in third place between Rasmussen and Robb. 

Romain Grosjean headed out to qualify with a hand injury suffered in a late-race crash in last weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix after making contact with Alexander Rossi. The Frenchman’s first lap average speed was 168.943 mph, and his final two-lap average speed was 169.017 mph. Grosjean finished fourth after his run.

Nolan Siegel started his qualifying run with a first-lap average speed of 168.927 mph, then slotted into fourth place with a two-lap average speed of 169.067 mph.

Foster to the top

Louis Foster headed out with a first-lap average speed of 170.819 mph. The British driver tracked ahead of his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammate, Mick Schumacher. Foster topped the charts with a two-lap average speed of 170.569 mph. 

Will Power headed out with his No. 26 Andretti Global Honda with a first-lap average speed of 169.402 mph. The Australian driver finished in fifth place with a two-lap average speed of 169.670 mph. 

Dennis Hauger started his qualifying run with a first-lap average speed of 168.609 mph. The Dale Coyne Racing driver finished in eighth with a two-lap average speed of 168.731 mph. 

Santino Ferrucci made it to the track with a first-lap average speed of 170.628 mph. The AJ Foyt Racing driver trended near Foster as he topped the charts with a two-lap average speed of 170.988 mph. 

Kyffin Simpson started his qualifying run with a first-lap average speed of 170.612 mph as he tracked near Ferrucci. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver took the top spot with a two-lap average speed of 171.149 mph. 

Rossi takes provisional pole

Alexander Rossi started his qualifying run with a first-lap average speed of 172.142 mph, tracking ahead of Kyffin Simpson as he topped the grid with a two-lap average speed of 171.923 mph. 

Rinus VeeKay headed out with a rebuilt car after a crash in practice. The Dutchman’s first-lap average speed was 171.284 mph. VeeKay finished second fastest with a two-lap average speed of 171.200 mph.

Marcus Ericsson headed to the track with a first-lap average speed of 170.910 mph. The Swedish driver was able to come back after his second lap as he finished with a two-lap average speed of 171.384 mph. 

Scott Dixon started with a first-lap average of 172.851 mph as he tracked to provisional pole position. The six-time IndyCar champion finished on top with a two-lap average speed of 172.478 mph. 

Armstrong to the top

Marcus Armstrong started his qualifying run with a first-lap average speed of 172.596 mph. The Meyer Shank Racing driver set the pace with a two-lap average speed of 172.483 mph.

Graham Rahal headed out with a first-lap average speed of 171.341 mph. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver tracked just behind Armstrong as he finished in fourth place with a two-lap average speed of 171.479 mph.

Josef Newgarden started his run with a first-lap average speed of 172.904 mph. Although the Team Penske driver trended close to Armstrong, Newgarden finished third with a two-lap average speed of 172.415 mph. 

Scott McLaughlin started with a fast first-lap average speed of 173.444 mph. The Team Penske driver continued his show of force in qualifying by taking the top spot with a two-lap average speed of 172.869 mph. 

Rosenqvist sets the pace

Felix Rosenqvist started his run with a first-lap average speed of 173.349 mph. The 110th Indianapolis 500 champion trended near Scott McLaughlin as the Swedish driver topped the leaderboard with a two-lap average speed of 172.953 mph. 

Pato O’Ward headed out after topping the charts in Practice 1 early on Saturday. The Mexican driver’s first lap average was 171.486 mph, and he finished in sixth place with a two-lap average speed of 171.992 mph. 

Christian Lundgaard started his run with a first-lap average speed of 171.247 mph. The Arrow McLaren driver tracked to qualify 10th, but he actually finished 13th fastest with a two-lap average speed of 170.956 mph.

David Malukas headed out with a stellar first lap with an average speed of 173.729 mph. The Team Penske driver took provisional pole position with a two-lap average speed of 173.244 mph. 

Kyle Kirkwood started his run with a first-lap average speed of 173.242 mph. The Andretti Global driver was four one-hundredths of a second away from provisional pole, finishing second with a two-lap average speed of 173.206 mph.

Palou takes pole position

Championship leader Alex Palou headed out to the track with the fastest first-lap average speed of 174.965 mph. Then, the Spanish driver took pole position from David Malukas with a two-lap average speed of 174.353, setting a blistering pace 1.1 mph faster than Malukas. 

Prime-time coverage of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at the World Wide Technology Raceway begins on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.