Full IndyCar starting order for 2025 Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix after Alex Palou takes pole

Alex Palou took the pole position at the 2025 Children's of Alabama IndyCar Grand Prix with a laptime of 1:07:2918. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver beat the 2024 race winner, Scott McLaughlin, to the top spot by a little over a tenth.

The pole position for Palou was the first one for the Spaniard in the 2025 IndyCar season.

The week after the Indy 500 open test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the teams and drivers took to the Barber Motorsport Park. Marcus Ericsson topped the first practice session, but was involved in a crash in the second practice session under damp conditions. David Malukas topped the second practice session with Alex Palou following close behind.

Pato O'Ward also had a huge shunt in practice 2, and his teammate Christian Lundgaard finished the session in P3. The grid was divided into two groups depending on the driver's finishing position in the second practice.

2025 Alabama IndyCar Grand Prix qualifying highlights

The qualifying session began with Will Power having a few issues as he exited the pitstop, going over the speed limit. Christian Rasmussen in the ECR had a huge moment as his car was sent spinning, but he avoided the barrier.

With five minutes to go, Power's car lost the rear end and he was sent spinning. Alex Palou topped the timing sheets after the first stints. Scott McLaughlin and Power also looked strong after the first runs for Group 1.

Pato O'Ward was one of the first to complete a lap on the primary tires and took the top spot. Marcus Armstrong, Alex Palou, and McLaughlin all went faster than the #5 Arrow McLaren.

Will Power was the last driver across the line and was dead last in the Group. However, the Team Penske driver was able to barely get into the Top 6 and move on to the next IndyCar qualifying session. It was the first time this season that Power made it out of the first qualifying session.

Palou, McLaughlin, Armstrong, O'Ward, Seigel, and Power made it out of the first session. Ericsson, who topped the first practice, was eliminated.

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Kyffin Simpson, Colton Herta, and Louis Foster were the Top 3 in Group 2 after the first stint in the first IndyCar qualifying session.

Josef Newgarden went to the top of the timing sheets on his final stint in Q1. Colton Herta bettered Newgarden's time and went to the top. Scott Dixon went off on his final lap and was eliminated in the first session.

Herta, Newgarden, Lundgaard, Simpson, VeeKay, and Foster made it into the second qualifying session. Felix Rosenqvist, Kyle Kirkwood, and Scott Dixon were the shock exits from Group 2.

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After the first stints, Colton Herta, Alex Palou, Will Power, Nolan Siegel, Scott McLaughlin, and Kyffin Simpson were the top six in the IndyCar qualifying round 2. Pato O'Ward on the hard tires made it up to P5 with just over four minutes to go in the session.

Lundgaard, O'Ward, and Newgarden were the shock exits from the second round of qualifying. Power topped the session. Palou and Herta completed the top three with McLaughlin, VeeKay, and Seigel making it to the Fast Six session.

Rinus VeeKay took the provisional pole after the banker runs, followed by Colton Herta and Nolan Siegel, a couple of tenths behind him. With a little over a minute left in the IndyCar session, all the drivers crossed the finish line to start their final stint.

Scott McLaughlin crossed the line first and went to the top of the timing sheets, with Colton Herta soon taking that spot away. Alex Palou’s lap was good for P3. Will Power had an issue on his lap and cooled down to start another lap.

McLaughlin went to the top of the timing sheets, but Palou managed to snatch the pole position away from the Team Penske driver. McLaughlin will start the race in P2 with Herta in P3. Power, VeeKay, and Siegel round out the Top 6, respectively.

Alex Palou takes Pole Position for the 2025 Children's of Alabama IndyCar Grand Prix

Alex Palou won the first couple of races at St. Pete and Thermal Club, followed by a P2 finish at Long Beach. He took the pole position at the Barber Motorsports Park, where Scott McLaughlin had dominated in the past couple of years.

Speaking about the pole position after the race, Palou said (via FOX Sports Live):

“I mean, amazing. What an amazing day for the #10 car running new livery for HRC this weekend. Such as a special place for us here. Got our first race winning IndyCar back in 2021, so, yeah.”

“It was all close, super close. I think my first lap wasn't really good, and I was just hoping to get a perfect lap on the second one on the alternate, so, yeah. Everything ran amazing and can I wait for tomorrow,” he added.

Starting order for the 2025 Alabama IndyCar Grand Prix

P1 #10 Alex Palou: Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
P2 #3 Scott McLaughlin: Team Penske Chevrolet
P3 #26 Colton Herta: Andretti Global Honda
P4 #12 Will Power: Team Penske Chevrolet
P5 #18 Rinus VeeKay: Dale Coyne Racing Honda
P6 #6 Nolan Siegel: Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
P7 #7 Christian Lundgaard: Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
P8 #5 Pato O'Ward: Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
P9 #2 Josef Newgarden: Team Penske Chevrolet
P10 #8 Kyffin Simpson: Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
P11 #66 Marcus Armstrong: Meyer Shank Racing Honda
P12 #45 Louis Foster: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
P13 #14 Santino Ferrucci: AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
P14 #60 Felix Rosenqvist: Meyer Shank Racing Honda
P15 #20 Alexander Rossi: Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
P16 #90 Callum Ilott: PREMA Racing Chevrolet
P17 #21 Christian Rasmussen: Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
P18 #27 Kyle Kirkwood: Andretti Global Honda
P19 #76 Conor Daly: Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
P20 #4 David Malukas: AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
P21 #15 Graham Rahal: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
P22 #77: Sting Ray Robb: Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
P23 #28 Marcus Ericsson: Andretti Global Honda
P24 #83 Robert Shwartzman: PREMA Racing Chevrolet
P25 #51 Jacob Abel: Dale Coyne Racing Honda
P26 #9 Scott Dixon: Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
P27 #30 Devlin DeFrancesco: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

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Edited by Tushar Bahl