Will Power had to wait nearly two hours for his chance to qualify for this weekend’s IndyCar races at Iowa Speedway, but when he finally took to the track, no other driver could match his speed as he wrapped up pole positions for both races alongside his Penske team mate Scott McLaughlin.
Qualifying was delayed for an hour and 45 minutes after a heavy rain shower washed over Iowa Speedway shortly before the early scheduled start time of half past eight in the morning. Extra time and attention were needed to sweep the track completely dry before drivers could make their qualifying runs.Iowa’s qualifying format featured single-car, two-lap runs, where the average speed of the first lap determined the grid order for today’s 250-lap race, and the second lap determined the grid for tomorrow’s 300-lap encounter.
Power secured career pole position number 69 with a first lap average speed of 181.426mph (291.977kph), and number 70 with a second lap average speed of 181.578mph (292.221kph).
The only other driver to eclipse an average of 180mph in a lap was Scott McLaughlin, who qualified second-fastest for both races. For this afternoon’s Iowa 250, Penske made it a one-two-three sweep with Josef Newgarden starting in third, ahead of Scott Dixon and Pato O’Ward.
Colton Herta will start sixth ahead of IndyCar championship leader Alex Palou in seventh, with Romain Grosjean, David Malukas, and Marcus Ericsson rounding out the top ten for the Iowa 250.
Of note for today’s race, Jack Harvey qualified 18th but will start 26th after a nine-place grid penalty handed to him for causing the first-lap, first-corner collision at Toronto last week.
For the Iowa 300 tomorrow, Malukas will start third, sharing the second row with oval specialist Ed Carpenter in fourth. Herta will share the third row with Graham Rahal, whose sixth-place start was much better than his last attempt at qualifying on an oval this season – when he was bumped from the Indianapolis 500 field.
Newgarden, Helio Castroneves, Dixon, and Ericsson make up the rest of the Iowa 300 top ten starting positions. Toronto winner Christian Lundgaard will have to come from 19th and 21st on the grid in this weekend’s races after a far more pedestrian run in qualifying.
Rookie Benjamin Pedersen did not take part in the session after his car failed scrutineering before qualifying began. He’ll start 28th and last in both races.
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Iowa 250 qualifying results
| Position | Car | Driver | Team | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Will Power | Penske | Chevrolet |
| 2 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Penske | Chevrolet |
| 3 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Penske | Chevrolet |
| 4 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Ganassi | Honda |
| 5 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 6 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti | Honda |
| 7 | 10 | Alex Palou | Ganassi | Honda |
| 8 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | Andretti | Honda |
| 9 | 18 | David Malukas | Coyne/HMD | Honda |
| 10 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Ganassi | Honda |
| 11 | 11 | Takuma Sato | Ganassi | Honda |
| 12 | 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Andretti | Honda |
| 13 | 15 | Graham Rahal | RLL | Honda |
| 14 | 06 | Helio Castroneves | Meyer Shank | Honda |
| 15 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Carpenter | Chevrolet |
| 16 | 20 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Carpenter | Chevrolet |
| 17 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti | Honda |
| 18 | 33 | Ed Carpenter | Carpenter | Chevrolet |
| 19 | 45 | Christian Lundgaard | RLL | Honda |
| 20 | 7 | Alexander Rossi | McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 21 | 6 | Felix Rosenqvist | McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 22 | 60 | Conor Daly | Meyer Shank | Honda |
| 23 | 77 | Callum Ilott | Juncos Hollinger | Chevrolet |
| 24 | 78 | Agustin Canapino | Juncos Hollinger | Chevrolet |
| 25 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | Foyt | Chevrolet |
| 26 | 30 | Jack Harvey | RLL | Honda |
| 27 | 51 | Sting Ray Robb | Coyne/RWR | Honda |
| 28 | 55 | Benjamin Pedersen | Foyt | Chevrolet |
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Iowa 300 qualifying results
| Position | Car | Driver | Team | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Will Power | Penske | Chevrolet |
| 2 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Penske | Chevrolet |
| 3 | 18 | David Malukas | Coyne/HMD | Honda |
| 4 | 33 | Ed Carpenter | Carpenter | Chevrolet |
| 5 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti | Honda |
| 6 | 15 | Graham Rahal | RLL | Honda |
| 7 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Penske | Chevrolet |
| 8 | 06 | Helio Castroneves | Meyer Shank | Honda |
| 9 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Ganassi | Honda |
| 10 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Ganassi | Honda |
| 11 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 12 | 10 | Alex Palou | Ganassi | Honda |
| 13 | 11 | Takuma Sato | Ganassi | Honda |
| 14 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Carpenter | Chevrolet |
| 15 | 60 | Conor Daly | Meyer Shank | Honda |
| 16 | 6 | Felix Rosenqvist | McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 17 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti | Honda |
| 18 | 7 | Alexander Rossi | McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 19 | 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Andretti | Honda |
| 20 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | Andretti | Honda |
| 21 | 45 | Christian Lundgaard | RLL | Honda |
| 22 | 30 | Jack Harvey | RLL | Honda |
| 23 | 78 | Agustin Canapino | Juncos Hollinger | Chevrolet |
| 24 | 77 | Callum Ilott | Juncos Hollinger | Chevrolet |
| 25 | 20 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Carpenter | Chevrolet |
| 26 | 51 | Sting Ray Robb | Coyne/RWR | Honda |
| 27 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | Foyt | Chevrolet |
| 28 | 55 | Benjamin Pedersen | Foyt | Chevrolet |
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