McLaughlin and Penske dominate IndyCar qualifying from Portland

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McLaughlin led a Team Penske contingent at the head of the order. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

The NTT IndyCar Series took to the short Portland International Raceway course for a knockout qualifying session under cloudy skies.

Much like the previous sessions of the weekend, it was Team Penske that dominated the front of the order throughout all three qualifying rounds.

Scott McLaughlin put in the fastest lap of all, however, and earned his third IndyCar pole and his first on anything other than a street course.

The Kiwi’s lap was completed in 58.2349 seconds, which was a full half of a second faster than last year’s qualifying time.

Overall, Team Penske was dominant during the entire session, mirroring what happened during the morning’s practice session.

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Josef Newgarden put in the second fastest time in the final session, but will have to start from down in eighth on account of his grid penalty.

Will Power was the third fastest driver, with only his team-mates ahead of him.  He will start on the front row on account of Newgarden’s penalty.

Christian Lundgaard once again put in a standout performance, logging the fourth fastest time around the short Oregon course.

Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward rounded out the drivers that advanced to the Fast 6, with each overcoming some difficulties earlier in the weekend to put in a solid run.

O’Ward’s team-mate Felix Rosenqvist missed out on the Fast 6 by just 0.009 seconds, but still was pleased with his performance after having a poor effort in practice.

Rinus VeeKay took a trip through the grass, but was able to keep his car out of the barriers. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

Colton Herta had a narrow escape when he clipped the barrier inside of turn 1 just as the qualifying got underway.  He bent a toe-link, but his Andretti Autosport crew was able to repair his car enough for him to advance.

He was not quite able to dial in enough pace to make it to the Fast 6, however, and will start from seventh for Sunday’s race.

There were no Andretti Autosport drivers that advanced to the final round, but they will look to dial in their setups and move through the field.

Another driver that had a really close call was Rinus VeeKay, who went wide coming out of turn 3 in the opening round.  He drove his way through the grass, narrowly stayed off the guardrail, then went on to make it to the next round.

There is one final practice session later in the afternoon, followed by the race on Sunday afternoon when warmer temperatures are forecast.

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