IndyCar Iowa: Herta, McLaughlin take poles as hybrid woes impact qualifying

The format for the double-headers saw each driver receive two single-car laps, with the first setting their position for the opening race on Saturday night and the second determining their spot for Sunday’s event. The qualification order went in reverse of entrant points.

Herta, driving the No. 26 Andretti Global Honda, stormed to a quick first lap of 187.655mph to take his first pole on an oval. He will start fourth for the second race.

Herta nearly went out for another attempt after it was learned he encountered deployment issues during his run.

The No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet of Scott McLaughlin ran a first lap of 187.526mph to slot second for the first race, but his second lap of 188.248mph took the pole for the second race and set a new track record.

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

Palou will start second for Race 2, with Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate Scott Dixon third and Herta fourth.

What happened in a bizarre qualifying session

Meyer Shank Racing’s David Malukas was the fourth driver to go out and managed to put together a stout opening lap of 184.151mph and an even more impressive 185.595mph to set the benchmark.

Malukas set the early fastest times until Graham Rahal, the 11th driver to go out, pulled out quicker back-to-back laps of 184.810mph and 185.690mph respectively. Rahal is carrying a nine-spot grid spot penalty for Race 1 for an engine change.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Armstrong rolled out 13th and quickly sped to an opening lap of 185.337mph, but then touched the wall at the exit of Turn 2 on his second lap and ended up faltering to 173.682mph.

The No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Santino Ferrucci went out 15th and rocketed a sporty first lap of 185.405mph before settling to a second lap of 181.408mph.

Josef Newgarden struggled during his run, only pushing out two laps of 182.763mph and 184.154mph, respectively during his qualifying bout in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet. He stated “that’s all we had” and shared 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 has led to Conor Daly being on standby, got another chance to qualify after 18 cars went out after it was learned that his hybrid unit wasn’t engaged during his initial run.

Harvey delivered a first lap of 182.661mph and a second at 182.263mph. He was seen struggling getting out of the car.

After Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist went out 19th and established his pace with a strong showing of 185.196mph on lap 1 and then an impressive 186.835mph on his second lap, Penske’s McLaughlin followed and asserted himself into the conversation with a remarkable run of 187.526mph on the first lap and 188.248mph on the second to break the track record.

Herta ran 23rd in the order and delivered a 187.655mph flying lap immediately before a second of 186.980mph. He shared that “the battery didn’t deploy” during his run despite ending up first and second at the time, so Race Director Kyle Novak allowed him to have another qualifying attempt.

After IndyCar granted another set of attempts for Harvey and Herta, Scott Dixon was finally allowed to launch off pit lane. The six-time IndyCar champion put down a quick opening lap of 186.208mph and 187.162mph to slot third and fourth, provisionally.

The 25th driver to roll off was Pato O’Ward, who put the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet 186.075mph and 185.857mph, to temporarily end up fourth and sixth.

Team Penske’s Will Power, who has seven pole positions at Iowa, went out 26th and nailed an opening lap of 186.328mph before a second lap saw him tap the wall and left him running 179.302mph to slot 22nd.

Championship leader Palou was the last driver to go out of the non-allowed re-attempts and pushed his No. 10 CGR Honda to 186.841mph on lap 1 before setting a 187.572mph to sneak into second for the second race.

Herta, who was on provisional pole in the opening race and fourth for the second race, was strapped into his car and prepped to go out, but was pulled back from the line and opted out of his second attempt.

This situation left Harvey with a third and final attempt, with his times once again pulled. He snuck a quick run of 183.556mph on the opening lap and grabbed a 183.331mph second-lap run to slot 19th and 18th, respectively.

Race one begins at 8 pm ET tonight, with coverage on NBC, Peacock and the IndyCar Radio Network.

Iowa IndyCar Race 1 starting grid

 Iowa IndyCar Race 2 starting grid