Kirkwood dethrones Newgarden at Nashville

Qualifying Results

Kyle Kirkwood and Andretti Global delivered a mighty qualifying effort Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway, edging oval master Josef Newgarden to win the NTT P1 Award for the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls.

Kirkwood earned his first pole of the season and fourth of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with a two-lap average speed of 196.852 mph in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda. That dramatic run, the second-to-last in the qualifying order, validated the speed Kirkwood showed by leading practice Saturday morning on the 1.33-mile concrete oval.

“Quite honestly, it’s the car that Andretti gives me here,” Kirkwood said. “We were quick in practice. We’ve been good here the past couple of years.

“I did the same as everybody else is doing, right? You just hold it flat, and you hope your car goes fast. They built a really good car around me, did everything right. I managed the tools a little bit, got aggressive with some trim. It worked out well.”

This is the second career oval pole for Florida native Kirkwood. He also won the top spot for this event in 2024, with Newgarden also qualifying second.

Newgarden took the top spot today on a steamy afternoon with his two-lap average of 196.642 in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet, looking to remind everyone why he is the dominant oval racer of recent years in the series. He has won 13 of the last 30 circle-track events, including this race last year.

But four drivers later, Kirkwood blasted out of the gates with an opening lap of 197.382 – the only lap in the entire session faster than 197 mph – and hung on to seize the pole from Nashville-area native Newgarden, still recovering from a foot injury suffered in a crash in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

“We have a great car here,” Newgarden said. “We started earlier this morning really well. The team did everything they could today, and we have a good viewpoint for tomorrow now.”

Team Penske took two of the top three spots on the starting grid as Scott McLaughlin qualified third at 196.087 in the No. 3 Odyssey Battery Team Penske Chevrolet. Reigning and four-time series champion Alex Palou will join McLaughlin on the second row after qualifying fourth at 196.050 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon continued a strong performance for Chip Ganassi Racing, as he qualified fifth at 195.802 in the No. 9 PNC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi rounded out Row 3 at 195.664 in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet.

All drivers coped with tricky, stifling conditions during qualifying. The air temperature was 94 degrees, with track temperatures reaching 130.
David Malukas, who has scored more oval points than any driver this season, did not attempt to qualify in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet after a heavy crash in practice this morning.

Malukas climbed from the car with assistance from the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team, but he was transported to a local hospital via private vehicle for further testing. His status for the 300-lap race Sunday remains undecided, and the No. 12 car will start last in the 25-car field.

The race is scheduled to start at approximately 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday, subject to the end time of the FIFA World Cup Final. FOX, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls will provide live coverage.