– In qualifying for the IndyCar oval race in Nashville, Mick Schumacher (Rahal-Honda) took 16th place in the two-lap time trial on Saturday. Of the 25 registered drivers, only 23 went out on the track in qualifying.
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As in the oval qualifying sessions in Phoenix (early March) and St. Louis (early June), Schumacher had to go directly as the first into the time trial again due to his position in the IndyCar overall standings. As in Phoenix and St. Louis, but unlike in Indianapolis, two flying laps in a row had to be driven on the Nashville oval.
In Schumacher’s case, the first lap (23.971 seconds) was faster than the second (24.074 seconds). Thus, Schumacher will start the 300-lap race on Sunday from the eighth row as the best-placed of the three Rahal drivers.
Mick Schumacher second fastest rookie
Compared to the 1st Free Practice, which preceded qualifying, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) was somewhat better positioned in the time trial. However, this only applies as long as the cars were running. Louis Foster was slower than Schumacher and placed 20th. Graham Rahal, however, could not even attempt his two flying laps because there was a problem with the fuel pressure in his car.
Among the three rookies in the field, Schumacher was the second fastest. Dennis Hauger (Coyne-Honda) took 23rd in qualifying, while Caio Collet (Foyt-Chevrolet) earned 15th. Both Hauger and Collet know the Nashville oval from last year when they both raced in the Indy-NXT series. For Schumacher, however, it is the only oval on the IndyCar calendar that he had never driven before the race weekend, not even for test runs.
Pole for Kyle Kirkwood
The fastest in Nashville qualifying was Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti-Honda), who had already led the timesheet in FT1. Thanks to his best qualifying time, Kirkwood will start from pole on Sunday. It is the fourth pole of his IndyCar career and his second on the Nashville oval after 2024.
Second fastest in qualifying was local hero and last year’s winner Josef Newgarden (Penske-Chevrolet), who is still suffering from his foot injury from the Indy 500 and therefore still relies on crutches outside the cockpit.
Scott McLaughlin (Penske-Chevrolet), points leader Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda), and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, who will switch from Chip Ganassi Racing to McLaren after the season, rounded out the top 5 in qualifying results.
David Malukas skips qualifying – race participation still open
Two drivers received grid penalties due to engine changes made to their respective cars before the start of running. However, one of the two affected drivers initially made headlines for other reasons on Saturday.
Just hours before qualifying, Malukas had a heavy crash in the 1st Free Practice. The 24-year-old American got out of his damaged Penske car under his own power. After examination at the track’s medical center, he underwent further examinations at a nearby hospital. Until the end of qualifying, there was no update on Malukas from either IndyCar or Penske.
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The fact is: Malukas skipped qualifying. Conor Daly, who currently does not have an IndyCar cockpit, was on standby at Penske as a replacement for Malukas but did not drive. This was partly because the backup car was not yet fully assembled. But there was another reason. Because if Daly had driven, Malukas would not be allowed to start the race even with medical clearance (which is still pending).
With qualifying, IndyCar running on Nashville Saturday is not yet finished, as the “High-Line Practice” to get used to the upper groove follows, and the final session of the day, the final practice (FT2). Whether Malukas will be ready for FT2, and if not, whether he can race on Sunday, is currently unknown.
Grid penalties for Lundgaard and Malukas (or Daly)
What is certain is that Malukas must start from the very back if he participates in the race on Sunday. Because completely independent of the accident-related switch to the backup car, the #12 Penske-Chevrolet is one of two cars in the field that received a grid penalty for an engine change. The other car is the #7 McLaren-Chevrolet driven by Christian Lundgaard.
Because this weekend is on an oval, the grid penalties do not mean the usual six-place drop on road courses but a nine-place drop. This difference, depending on the track type, has been written into the IndyCar regulations for years.
McLaren driver Lundgaard, who qualified 19th, will start Sunday from 24th due to his penalty. The 25th starting position will be taken by the driver of the #12 Penske-Chevrolet, with it still open whether it will be regular driver David Malukas or replacement driver Conor Daly.
The Nashville race is scheduled to start on Sunday at 23:40 CEST (Central European Summer Time). However, there is a possibility that the race start will be delayed to 00:20 or even 00:40 CEST.
Because both the FIFA World Cup final and the IndyCar race are broadcast live by the same US TV station (Fox), not only the broadcast but also the race itself will definitely start only after the game ends.
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If the FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and Spain on Sunday goes into extra time, the start of the IndyCar race will be delayed by 40 minutes. If there is even a penalty shootout in East Rutherford (New Jersey), the race in Nashville (Tennessee) will start a whole hour later than originally planned (IndyCar Nashville: schedule, TV, track data, livestream and more).
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