IndyCar Iowa: Herta and McLaughlin in pole position despite hybrid engine problems

The format of the double-header events provided that each driver could complete two laps in a single-seater, the first determining his position for the opening race on Saturday evening and the second determining his place for Sunday’s event. The order of qualification was in reverse order of the participants’ points.

Herta, driving the No. 26 Andretti Global Honda, set a fast opening lap of 187.655 mph to clinch his first oval pole. He will start fourth for the second race.

Herta almost tried his luck again after learning he had encountered deployment problems during his race.

Scott McLaughlin’s No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet posted a first lap of 187.526 mph to place second in race one, but his second lap of 188.248 mph earned him the pole for race two and set a new track record.

Behind Herta and McLaughlin in third for Race 1 is two-time defending champion Alex Palou, with Team Penske’s Will Power in fourth.

Palou will start second for Race 2, with his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon third and Herta fourth.

Scott McLaughlin, Penske Chevrolet Team

Photo by: Geoffrey M. Miller / Motorsport Images

What happened during a strange qualifying session

Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas was the fourth driver to take to the track and managed to post a solid first lap of 184.151 mph and an even more impressive 185.595 mph to set the benchmark.

Malukas set the fastest times early in the race until Graham Rahal, the 11th driver to take to the track, set two consecutive fastest laps, at 184.810 mph and 185.690 mph respectively. Rahal was penalized nine places on the grid in Race 1 for an engine change.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong started 13th and quickly hit a first lap of 185.337 mph, but then hit the wall exiting Turn 2 on his second lap and eventually faded to 173.682 mph.

The No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Santino Ferrucci started 15th and posted a sporty first lap of 185.405 mph before settling into a second lap of 181.408 mph.

Josef Newgarden struggled during his run, only setting two laps at 182.763 mph and 184.154 mph, respectively, during his qualifying lap in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet. He said “that’s all we had” and explained that the balance wasn’t right during the run.

The No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda of Jack Harvey, who is battling significant back pain that led to Conor Daly being sidelined, was given another chance to qualify after 18 cars went out after it was learned his hybrid unit was not engaged in his initial race.

Harvey set a first lap at 182.661 mph and a second at 182.263 mph. He was seen struggling to get out of the car.

After Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist started 19th and set his pace with a solid 185.196 mph on lap one and then an impressive 186.835 mph on lap two, Penske’s McLaughlin followed and forced himself into the conversation with a remarkable run of 187.526 mph on lap one and 188.248 mph on lap two to break the track record.

Herta finished 23rd in the order and set a fast lap of 187.655 mph just before a second lap of 186.980 mph. He explained that “the battery didn’t deploy” during his lap despite being first and second at the time, so race director Kyle Novak allowed him to make another qualifying attempt.

After IndyCar granted Harvey and Herta another round of attempts, Scott Dixon was finally allowed to start from pit lane. The six-time IndyCar champion set a fast first lap of 186.208 mph and 187.162 mph to place third and fourth provisionally.

The 25th driver to retire was Pato O’Ward, who took the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to 186.075 mph and 185.857 mph, to finish temporarily fourth and sixth.

Team Penske’s Will Power, who has won seven pole positions at Iowa, started 26th and had a first lap of 186.328 mph before a second lap saw him hit the wall and left him running at 179.302 mph for 22nd.

Championship leader Palou was the last rider to come out of the unsanctioned attempts and pushed his No. 10 CGR Honda to 186.841 mph on the first lap before setting 187.572 mph to sneak into second for race two.

Herta, who was on provisional pole in the first race and fourth in the second, was strapped into his car and ready to go, but was pulled off the line and abandoned his second attempt.

This left Harvey with a third and final attempt, with his times once again reduced. He set a fast lap of 183.556 mph on the first lap and set a lap of 183.331 mph on the second lap to finish 19th and 18th respectively.

The first race begins at 8 p.m. ET tonight, with coverage on NBC, Peacock and IndyCar Radio Network.

Iowa IndyCar Race 1 Starting Grid

Iowa IndyCar Race 2 Starting Grid