Pato O’Ward elated after ‘best Indy 500 qualifying run I’ve ever had’
Arrow McLaren’s 4 drivers all qualified for the Indianapolis 500 on Saturday
When a thrilling Full-Field Qualifying session came to a close Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, all four Arrow McLaren drivers had qualified for the Indianapolis 500.
And two of those drivers still have a shot at pole position.
Both Nolan Siegel and NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson — who is attempting “the double” again this year after a rain delay in last year’s Indianapolis 500 caused him to miss the Coca-Cola 600 — qualified inside the Top 30, with Larson set to start in P21 and Siegel finishing in P26.
But both Pato O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard finished inside the top 12, with both drivers advancing to Sunday’s Fast 12.
“It was a good day,” said Lundgaard in the team’s post-qualifying report. “I think we started a bit on the back foot, but we had a very good second run which got us into the Fast 12 for tomorrow. I’m very happy and think we can carry that momentum into tomorrow. We’ll see if we can find some speed in the car and make tomorrow interesting.”
Larson admitted he was “nervous” after his first qualifying run, but the NASCAR driver hooked up the No. 17 on his second attempt to move up to P21.
“After the first run, I was a bit nervous that I might be one of the guys battling for the final spots,” said Larson. “Obviously, we’d love to be in the Fast 12 again, but overall a good day with two runs in. I felt pretty balanced, but that comes with a compromise of a bit of speed.
“I had a bad restart last year and fell back toward this starting position, and we were able to fight our way forward. We’ll be ready to execute some good laps and have a good result.”
Siegel, who fell short last year in his attempt to qualify for last year’s 500 driving for Dale Coyne Racing, booked a spot in his first Indianapolis 500 with an effort good for 26th. While Siegel called the day “disappointing and confusing,” he believes his No. 6 car will be stronger on race day.
“It was a bit of a disappointing and confusing day for us. We’re in the show, and we’ll be fine come race day, but I’m not sure why we were so slow. The balance was good. I did four laps flat, and we’re just missing something on outright speed,” said Siegel. “I don’t think that will translate to race day, though, and I have full confidence we’ll figure it out, but we’re not where we want to start.”
Then there is O’Ward, who currently sits fourth in the IndyCar standings and is coming off a second-place finish in the Sonsio Grand Prix last week. O’Ward finished fourth on the speed charts Saturday, and called his qualifying session the “best Indy 500 qualifying run” of his career.
“We didn’t really feel the need to practice this morning; I felt the car was pretty stout,” said O’Ward. “I’m happy with the work that we’ve done all month. The guys and girls at Arrow McLaren and Team Chevy have really given me a fantastic car to work with and I got it to where I needed it. I don’t know how much more consistent we can get than that.
“It was the best Indy 500 qualifying run I’ve ever had.”
Both O’Ward and Lundgaard will drive in Sunday’s Fast 12, which gets underway at 4:05 p.m. Eastern. Each of the Top 12 cars from Saturday’s Full-Field Qualifying is guaranteed one qualifying attempt, with the order based on Saturday’s times, working from slowest to fastest.
This means Lundgaard will be the first driver to roll off the line on Sunday during the Fast 12.
The top six advance to the Firestone Fast Six with a shot at pole position on the line, while the bottom six in the Fast 12 will fill out spots 7 through 12 on the grid for the 109th Indianapolis 500.