Hunter McElrea will line up alongside fastest qualifier Matteo Nannini for the 35-lap Indy NXT Firestone Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, road course (1pm local time). It’s Nanini’s first Firestone pole position, his previous best start was ninth at the season opener at St Petersburg.
Nannini’s top lap was 1 minute, 15.3194 seconds in the eight-minute session on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. His previous best start this season was ninth at the season opener in March at St. Petersburg. It also was the first INDY NXT by Firestone pole for the JHR team since current NTT INDYCAR SERIES standout Rinus VeeKay swept both poles for the season-ending doubleheader in September 2019 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Hunter McElrea will join Nannini on the front row after qualifying second at 1:15.4467 in the No. 27 Smart Motors car fielded by Andretti Autosport.
Rookie Louis Foster helped to put two Andretti Autpsport cars in the top three of qualifying, as he will start third in the No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car after a best lap of 1:15.5070.
Kyffin Simpson, who led morning practice, qualified fourth at 1:15.5334 in the No. 21 HMD Motorsports with CGR machine. Josh Green was the third rookie in the top five, ending up fifth at 1:15.6517 in the No. 3 HMD Motorsports with DCR car.
Series championship leader Christian Rasmussen qualified sixth at 1:15.6814 in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR machine.
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