Overnight rain delayed qualifying for the Hy-Vee IndyCar Weekend at Iowa Speedway by almost an hour, and once the unique session was complete, pole for today’s 250-lap race was earned by Team Penske’s Will Power with a lap of 181.426mph, and pole for Sunday’s 250-lapper was taken by Power as well with a 181.578mph blast around the 0.875-mile oval in the No. 12 Chevy.
IndyCar’s all-time record holder for poles went into the session with 68 and left with 70, his first of the season. Power has teammate Scott McLaughlin alongside him on the front row for both rounds as the Chevy-powered duo were unstoppable.
“Great job by the [team],” Power said. “I’ve been trying to win at this track for a long time and we’ll do our best today.”
With drivers completing two laps of qualifying where the first set the order for Race 1 and the second set the grid for Race 2, the challenge of posting similar speeds was seen as most were quick on one lap but lost pace on the other. Select few were able to qualify up front for both races, with Power and McLaughlin serving as the only two to set matching positions for the doubleheader.
Teammate Josef Newgarden was a prime example as he was disappointed to claim third for Saturday and seventh for Sunday. Dale Coyne Racing’s David Malukas was another who was dissatisfied with ninth on his first lap but impressed with a recovery to third on the second.
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For this afternoon’s Race 1, the top 10 is led by Power, McLaughlin, Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Pato O’Ward, Colton Herta, Alex Palou, Romain Grosjean, Malukas, and Marcus Ericsson.
Race 2 features a top 10 of Power, McLaughlin, Malukas, Ed Carpenter, Herta, Graham Rahal, Newgarden, Helio Castroneves, Dixon, and Ericsson.
All cars were placed in an impound after qualifying and cannot be modified ahead of the race start.
UP NEXT: Race 1, 3pm ET, aired on NBC and streamed on Peacock.