O'Ward earns pole position at Thermal Club Grand Prix

Pato O'Ward secured his sixth career pole position during qualifying for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at The Thermal Club. This marks his first pole since July 2022. O'Ward, driving for Arrow McLaren, posted a best lap of 1 minute, 39.9567 seconds. O'Ward's teammate, Christian Lundgaard, qualified second with a time of 1:40.1245. This is Lundgaard’s best starting position since May of last year. The two drivers locked out the front row, marking Arrow McLaren's first 1-2 start since returning to the series in 2020. O'Ward's strong performance came after a disappointing 23rd-place finish in the season opener earlier this month. He expressed gratitude to his team for making adjustments that improved the car's performance. Lundgaard was also confident, having been the fastest in pre-qualifying practice. Three-time champion Alex Palou qualified third with a time of 1:40.3092. He was fast early but held back on his final lap to conserve tire wear for the race. Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson rounded out the top five. In a surprising turn, Team Penske did not advance past the first round of qualifying, which is the first time this has happened in over three years. Josef Newgarden was the quickest of the Penske drivers, qualifying 17th. Will Power and Scott McLaughlin qualified 21st and 25th, respectively. The 65-lap race will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, following a 25-minute warmup at 11 a.m.