By: Spencer Neff
August 22, 2026
Alex Palou stormed his way to his seventh pole for Sunday’s inaugural Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., extending his lead and earning another point as he draws closer to clinching his fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver notched a lap at 56.8993 seconds (107.558 mph) on the 1.7-mile, seven-turn street circuit in the United States’ capital. He will start tomorrow’s 147-lap race from the front of the 25-car grid.
Palou draws even with Danny Sullivan and Josef Newgarden for 16th all-time with his 19th career INDYCAR pole. He also eclipses his 2025 mark of six poles, becoming the 22nd driver to win seven or more poles in a season. He also gives CGR their 113th INDYCAR pole.
Starting alongside Palou is Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood. Palou (St. Petersburg, Long Beach and Detroit) and Kirkwood (Arlington) won the first four street course races of 2026.
Starting on the second row behind the Honda-powered duo will be Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen, who earns his career-best qualifying effort in his 46th NTT INDYCAR SERIES appearance.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong and Team Penske’s David Malukas filled out Row 3 in a Fast Six that was split at three apiece between the engine manufacturers with five teams being represented. (Only Team Penske had multiple drivers in the Fast Six).
Round 3-Fast Six
Kirkwood (57.4661-106.496) was first of the half-dozen on track, followed by Palou’s blistering lap. McLaughlin solidified his place on the second row afterward. Armstrong then qualified a half-second back of McLaughlin.
During his run, Malukas suffered multiple lockups and would run a lap at 1m10.6709 (86.599 mph). Rasmussen ended the Fast Six with a lap at 57.8892 (105.719 mph).
Round 2-Fast 12
Kirkwood (56.8291-107.691 mph) led the field into the Fast Six after the second round. McLaughlin, Palou, Armstrong, Malukas and Rasmussen would join him in the run for the pole.
Patricio O’Ward, Dennis Hauger, Christian Lundgaard, Felix Rosenqvist, Caio Collet and Nolan Siegel rounded out the Fast 12. They will start the race in seventh through 12th.
Round 1
Group 1: Kirkwood (56.7729 -107.798 mph) led the dozen cars who made the first runs of Saturday’s qualifying sessions. He would advance to the Fast 12 with Armstrong, Palou, Lundgaard, O’Ward and Rosenqvist.
Missing out on the second round were Will Power, Marcus Ericsson, Alexander Rossi, Rinus VeeKay, Romain Grosjean and Graham Rahal.
Power, Ericsson and VeeKay all had contact with the wall during the opening session which impeded their chances.
Group 2: Malukas (57.2293-106.938 mph) led the way in a session that was halted by a late red flag when Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyffin Simpson hit the wall outside Turn 6.
By prompting a red flag, Simpson (running sixth at the time) was docked his two best laps, relegated to 13th and last in the session as well as being unable to advance to the second round.
Joining Malukas in the Fast 12 were Collet, Rasmussen, McLaughlin, Siegel and Hauger.
After missing the cut, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Louis Foster, Mick Schumacher, Santino Ferrucci (six-place grid penalty for engine change pending), Sting Ray Robb line up on the outside of rows 7-12.
Up Next
Here is the on-track schedule for tomorrow. Stay with IndyCar1909.com for the latest on the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
At-track schedule (All Times Local/Eastern Time):
Sunday, Aug. 23
9:15-9:45 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1
11:30 a.m. – FOX Pre-Race Show on air
1:06 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
1:13 p.m. – Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. (147 laps/250 miles), FOX (Live)
Header Image By Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR
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