IndyCar Series Photo
DETROIT (Saturday, May 31, 2025) – While it appeared since the first
practice Andretti Global was a favorite for the pole position for the
Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear, Colton Herta ended the
suspense about which one of the team’s drivers would end up on top.
Herta repeated as the NTT P1 Award winner for this race on the streets
of downtown Detroit, earning his first pole of the season and 15th of
his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with a best lap of 1 minute, .4779 of a
second in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda during the Firestone Fast Six.
The pole came after a bit of a gamble in the final qualifying segment,
as Herta was the only driver to start the session on used primary
Firestone Firehawk tires before switching to a new set of the softer but
grippier alternate tires early in the session. The other five drivers
ran the entire Firestone Fast Six session on a combination of new and
used Firestone Firehawk alternates.
“It was such an unknown, and we were not really strong, to be
completely honest, yesterday with the softer tires,” Herta said.
“The guys did a great job overnight. The Gainbridge Honda was super
fast today.
“Happy to start P1 tomorrow – the best seat in the house. Now we
just need a nice, easy race – no yellows, go back to how it was before
Indy – and make it easy on us.”
Up next is the warm-up session at 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX Sports
app, INDYCAR Radio Network), followed by the 100-lap race at 12:30 p.m.
ET (FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
David Malukas continued his recent hot streak for A.J. Foyt Enterprises,
following his runner-up finish in the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented
by Gainbridge last Sunday with a career best-tying second qualifying
spot at 1:00.6492 in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet. That
was Malukas’ best career qualifying performance on a road or street
circuit, as his two previous second-place starts came on ovals.
Kyle Kirkwood continued the strong weekend for Andretti Global by
qualifying third at 1:00.7312 in the No. 27 Siemens AWS Honda. Kirkwood
led practice Friday, while Herta paced the practice session this morning
on the nine-turn, 1.645-mile street circuit.
Christian Lundgaard will join Kirkwood in Row 2 after qualifying fourth
at 1:00.8938 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Starting on the inside of Row 3 will be Graham Rahal, who qualified
fifth at 1:01.0651 in the No. 15 JJ Curran Crane Company Honda. That
strong effort continued Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s recent unlocking of
more speed on circuits with left and right turns, as Rahal qualified
second earlier this month for the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway Road Course.
Series points leader Alex Palou rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at
1:01.4680 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou has won
five of the first six races this season, including the Indianapolis 500
presented by Gainbridge last Sunday for his first career oval victory.
While sixth tied Palou’s second-worst qualifying performance this
season, it was a solid recovery from the first two practices in which he
ranked 15th and 12th, respectively. Palou leads second-place Pato
O’Ward of Arrow McLaren by a staggering 112 points – more than two
races’ worth – after just six of 17 races this season.
O’Ward failed to advance out of the first round of qualifying and will
start 18th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.