For the second year in a row, a rookie is on the pole at Road America as Louie Foster (01:44.5141) will start Sunday’s race from the pole position for the first time in his short IndyCar career.
The driver of the No.45 DropLight Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is the 2024 Indy
NXT by Firestone champion in only his eighth IndyCar start. Linus Lundqvist won the pole at Road America in 2024, after winning the 2022 Indy NXT title.
Foster is also the second rookie this season to win the pole after Robert Shwartzman did so for the Indianapolis 500.
“If I’m honest, we kind of struggled a little bit throughout the free practices,” Foster said about his qualifying run. “When we got through to the Fast 12, I was surprised because I messed up my lap. We were sitting there before the group stage, the Fast 12 stage. I said to the guys, I don’t think I have the car to make it through the Fast Six. ‘Do you want to throw some used tires on and maybe get a sport or two and see how it goes?’ They were confident in the ability of the car and myself to be able to push into the Fast Six, which obviously was the right call in the end. When we did the last run, again, we were just conserving reds.
“Top six starting spot for us is awesome alone. We just ran out, did out-lap and pushed on the used reds. By the time I went through turn one, I was about 2/10ths up, then maintained that throughout the lap. Gained about a 10th or so in a couple corners. The reds held on really, really well, clearly.
“The boys have been working their asses off, I’ll be honest. We had a crash in Detroit with the suspension failure. Then last weekend at St. Louis. Massive props to the No.45 boys. They needed this to kind of push themselves through the summer stretch. All credit to them because, yeah, they worked endlessly these last two weeks. They’ve rebuilt the car twice.”
Foster bolstered a double fast six appearance for the RLL crew, with Graham Rahal (01:45.4877) starting in sixth driving the No.15 Hendrickson Honda. Saturday’s result is the third straight fast six start on a natural-terrain road course for Rahal.
SEE: XPEL Grand Prix Starting Grid
Foster beat series points leader Alex Palou (01:44.6300) to the pole position, leaving Palou to settle for second, looking for his third win at the four-mile road course.
Kyle Kirkwood (01:44.8523) starts third, looking to continue his post-Indianapolis 500 form, aiming for a third win in a row. Joining Kirkwood in row two is Scott McLaughlin (01:45.0137) as the Team Penske driver looks to build momentum in an otherwise underwhelming season.
Christian Lundgaard (01:45.0828) starts fifth in his No.7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Drivers continued to battle the treacherous heat, with temps soaring into the mid-90’s. Similar conditions were seen in the race at The Thermal Club on March 23, making the red, alternate tire the preferred tire for the race.
If history has a say, Sunday will favor the likes of Palou, Lundgaard and Kirkwood, who all had good showings at the California track when the red tire was preferred. Palou took home the win, Lundgaard in third and Kirkwood in eighth.
Unlike Thermal, Road America will give drivers periods throughout the race to cool off due to several long straights. Most of the drivers use coolsuits, devices that regulate the drivers body temperature. The suit features tubes that have cold water running through them, in order to prevent overheating.
“It’s been really warm at the track with the suit and everything,” Palou said. “You can rest quite a lot on the straight. It’s probably one of the best tracks to have the warmest weekend.”
Drivers will get a warmup early on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. CT) with the race going green at 1:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. CT)