On Saturday afternoon, the NTT IndyCar Series took to the roller coaster that is Mid-Ohio to settle the starting order for Sunday’s race.
A typical knockout format was in place, with the fastest drivers advancing through successive sessions until only six remained to shoot it out for the top spot.
Pole was not settled until the very end, and Herta was able to jump into the top spot and second consecutive pole as time expired.
READ MORE: IndyCar Mid-Ohio – Full Qualifying Results
He crossed the line with a time of 1:06.3096 in his Andretti Autosport Honda, and was four-tenths of a second faster than the pole time set last year by Pato O’Ward.
Graham Rahal took the outside front row position, and was in position to take a momentous pole until the very last moment.
It is still the first front row start for the veteran in four years, and gives him plenty to smile about in what is his team’s home race.
Once again, forecasts for rain didn’t materialize. A brief downpour an hour before qualifying was long gone by time the drivers hit the track.
The sun was even out for the final rounds, and the hot and humid conditions seemed to benefit the Honda engines carried by half the field.
In a rare occurrence for the ultra-competitive series, all six drivers who made it to the final round were powered by Honda engines.
Kyle Kirkwood and Alex Palou earned positions on the second row, with Christian Lundgaard and Scott Dixon filling out the third row.
Palou had been quick all weekend, and earned the fourth starting spot. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
Just missing out on the Fast Six were both remaining members of Team Penske. Will Power and Scott McLaughlin earning the seventh and eighth spots respectively.
For Power, he continues his streak of missing out on the final round of qualifying for the entire season. It’s an unfamiliar position for the driver with the most poles all-time.
Their Team Penske team-mate Josef Newgarden didn’t even make it to the second round, and will start from down in 15th.
Pato O’Ward had a rough qualifying, and it was all down to a single mistake. In the first round, The Mexican driver was a little too heavy-footed coming out of turn 2, and looped his Arrow McLaren Chevy.
He needed assistance to remove himself from the grass, and that meant he was disallowed from advancing. O’Ward will start from 25th on Sunday.
The #60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda did not take the track at all, with Simon Pagenaud not yet cleared to race following his spectacular crash in morning practice.
The veteran will be evaluated again Sunday morning, and a final decision for the race will be made at that time.
Drivers will get one more practice session on Sunday morning, then the Honda Indy 200 gets under way at 1:30 PM Eastern Time.
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