Scott McLaughlin has earned his first career NTT P1 Award by leading the Firestone Fast Six with a lap of 59.4821 seconds taking the top starting spot for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. The pole also came in his first race working with Team Penske engineer Ben Bretzman.
“I love qualifying, and you’ve got to put it all on the line,” McLaughlin said. “I’m working really well with Ben Bretzman. The DEX Imaging Chevy, the car is just phenomenal. I’m super proud of everyone. I just feel confident, and now I’m so happy.”
McLaughlin’s pole was part of a front-row lockout by Team Penske. Will Power – who has won the pole nine times for this event – qualified second at 59.6058 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, losing the top spot on McLaughlin’s final trip around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit.
Three-time Australian V8 Supercars McLaughlin will lead the field of 26 cars to the green flag for the first time in his open-wheel career. His best start in 2021 was fifth for the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, but that was his only single-digit qualifying performance on a street or road course all season.
“I’m a competitive bloke, so I hate starting at the back,” McLaughlin said. “At the end of the day, it’s a new thing for me, starting from the front and leading a group into the first corner. I’m used to braking with people in front of me, so I’m going to have to make sure I don’t overshoot it like an idiot. I can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s going to be big.”
Colton Herta was the leading Honda-powered driver in qualifying, as he will start third after turning a top lap of 59.7104 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. Rinus VeeKay qualified fourth at 59.8102 in the No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet.
Romain Grosjean rebounded from an accident during practice Saturday morning to qualify fifth at 59.8116 in the No. 28 DHL Honda. Simon Pagenaud rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1 minute, .2041 of a second in the No. 60 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES action will start at 8:45 a.m. (ET) Sunday with a 30-minute final practice, with live coverage on Peacock Premium.
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Qualifying Results
Qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:
1/ (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 59.4821 (108.940 mph)
2/ (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 59.6058 (108.714)
3/ (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 59.7104 (108.524)
4/ (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 59.8102 (108.343)
5/ (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 59.8116 (108.340)
6/ (60) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 1:00.2041 (107.634)
7/ (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 59.7579 (108.438)
8/ (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 59.8241 (108.318)
9/ (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 59.8862 (108.205)
10/ (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 59.9584 (108.075)
11/ (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 59.9870 (108.023)
12/ (14) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevrolet, 1:00.2616 (107.531)
13/ (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 59.9931 (108.012)
14/ (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 59.9521 (108.086)
15/ (30) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 1:00.0276 (107.950)
16/ (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 1:00.0021 (107.996)
17/ (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 1:00.1426 (107.744)
18/ (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 1:00.0850 (107.847)
19/ (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 1:00.2121 (107.620)
20/ (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 1:00.1921 (107.655)
21/ (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 1:00.3918 (107.299)
22/ (51) Takuma Sato, Honda, 1:00.2930 (107.475)
23/ (45) Jack Harvey, Honda, 1:00.5333 (107.049)
24/ (18) David Malukas, Honda, 1:00.4601 (107.178)
25/ (11) Tatiana Calderon, Chevrolet, 1:00.9391 (106.336)
26/ (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 1:01.0273 (106.182)
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