Foster Claims First IndyCar Pole in Stunning Road America Breakthroug
Rookie Louis Foster has stormed to his maiden NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position, delivering a standout performance in qualifying at Road America to lead the field into Sunday’s XPEL Grand Prix.
The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver clocked a best lap of 1:44.5141 in the #45 Droplight/Desnuda Tequila Honda, becoming the second rookie to take an INDYCAR pole in 2025 and the first to do so on a road or street course since Linus Lundqvist at the same venue last year.
“I still can’t believe it,” Foster said. “We went fast on old and new tyres. I told the guys not to even put reds on because I didn’t think we’d make the Fast Six — I was wrong.”
The 2024 INDY NXT champion now joins Robert Shwartzman as a first-year pole winner in a season that is already becoming one for the record books. It marks the first time since 2019 that two rookies have taken poles in the same year.
Foster’s speed was set on lightly used Firestone alternate tyres, part of a complex mix of strategies in the Fast Six that saw teams grapple with rising heat and track temperatures above 50 degrees. Notably, Foster was the only driver in the final segment to skip the harder primary tyre altogether.
Championship leader Alex Palou rebounded from two tough weekends to qualify second with a 1:44.6300 in the #10 Chip Ganassi Honda, while back-to-back race winner Kyle Kirkwood will start third. Scott McLaughlin joins Kirkwood on the second row after a strong 1:45.0137 effort for Team Penske.
Christian Lundgaard, who topped Saturday’s final practice, will start fifth in the Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, with Graham Rahal making it two Rahal Letterman Lanigan entries in the Firestone Fast Six.
Second-in-points Pato O’Ward had a tougher run, ending up 11th on the grid, and now sits 73 points behind Palou in the standings.
IndyCar XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Qualifying
| Position | Driver | Time | Gap to Pole |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis Foster | 01:44.5141 | |
| 2 | Alex Palou | 01:44.6300 | -0.1159 |
| 3 | Kyle Kirkwood | 01:44.8523 | -0.3382 |
| 4 | Scott McLaughlin | 01:45.0137 | -0.4996 |
| 5 | Christian Lundgaard | 01:45.0828 | -0.5687 |
| 6 | Graham Rahal | 01:45.4877 | -0.9736 |
| 7 | David Malukas | 01:45.0906 | -0.5765 |
| 8 | Will Power | 01:45.1220 | -0.6079 |
| 9 | Callum Ilott | 01:45.2532 | -0.7391 |
| 10 | Josef Newgarden | 01:45.2834 | -0.7693 |
| 11 | Pato O’Ward | 01:45.3704 | -0.8563 |
| 12 | Felix Rosenqvist | 01:45.4532 | -0.9391 |
| 13 | Nolan Siegel | 01:45.0722 | -0.5581 |
| 14 | Marcus Ericsson | 01:45.1984 | -0.6843 |
| 15 | Marcus Armstrong | 01:45.2288 | -0.7147 |
| 16 | Colton Herta | 01:45.2235 | -0.7094 |
| 17 | Robert Shwartzman | 01:45.3051 | -0.7910 |
| 18 | Santino Ferrucci | 01:45.2816 | -0.7675 |
| 19 | Devlin DeFrancesco | 01:45.3317 | -0.8176 |
| 20 | Christian Rasmussen | 01:45.4283 | -0.9142 |
| 21 | Conor Daly | 01:45.3526 | -0.8385 |
| 22 | Rinus VeeKay | 01:45.5780 | -1.0639 |
| 23 | Kyffin Simpson | 01:45.3673 | -0.8532 |
| 24 | Alexander Rossi | 01:45.6771 | -1.1630 |
| 25 | Scott Dixon | 01:46.6468 | -2.1327 |
| 26 | Sting Ray Robb | 01:46.0251 | -1.5110 |
| 27 | Jacob Abel | 01:46.3837 | -1.8696 |
Image: Penske Entertainment/Joe Skibinski
