Pato O’Ward on IndyCar pole in Portland after Christian Lundgaard grid penalty

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pato-o’ward-on-indycar-pole-in-portland-after-christian-lundgaard-grid-penalty — Pato O’Ward on IndyCar pole in Portland after Christian Lundgaard grid penalty

Christian Lundgaard won’t lead the field to green Sunday at Portland International Raceway, but he did top the charts on Saturday.

Lundgaard laid down a quick time of 58.3939s to top qualifying for the final road course race of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season. But he’ll have to roll off seventh after being one of three drivers (alongside Josef Newgarden and Santino Ferrucci) to take a fifth engine and be issued a six-place grid penalty for unapproved engine changes prior to qualifying.

The end result was a surprise for the Dane, given the lap that had earned it. Asked if he thought he was quickest, Lundgaard said “no, honestly.”

“As I crossed the line, I still didn’t really expect it,” he continued. “I just felt like I had a big push in turn 5, a big push in turn 6. I knew I was slower than (in) the Fast 12. I didn’t really think that was it.”

Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images

Shock aside, the 24-year-old was pleased with the effort. “We were discussing this, and this was kind of best-case scenario for us, obviously, with the six-place grid penalty,” he said. “I’m just proud of this team.”

With Lundgaard set back, it was teammate Pato O’Ward, who followed in second with a 58.5343s lap, that claimed pole for the BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland. The Mexican star is entering the weekend second in points and is hoping to keep the title fight alive for the final two races in Milwaukee and Nashville.

Will Power, Team Penske

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images

“I’m happy with this great qualifying session, and we’ll be leading the field to green,” he said. “It’s the best view into turn 1. I’m super proud of the team and all the hard work that’s gone into it, because this was really our toughest road course last year. Great step forward.”

Felix Rosenqvist came home third and will start second. Will Power and David Malukas followed, with Alex Palou wrapping up the Fast Six.

Palou’s hopes for a championship-clinching weekend suffered a small setback in the final round. The Indianapolis 500 winner locked up his brakes and rolled into the tire barrier on a late lap in the session. He’ll roll off fifth after Lundgaard’s penalty.

“I just tried a bit too hard,” Palou said of the shunt. “We wanted that pole. We knew that it was going to be tight. I think I started locking quite early on and then I couldn’t get the car stopped.”

Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images

The Fast 12 proved dramatic, with Rosenqvist and Lundgaard jumping atop the charts in the final seconds and Alexander Rossi nearly knocking Malukas out. O’Ward, Palou and Power rounded out the top-five in the session. Malukas advanced over Rossi by just .0163s. Marcus Armstrong, Newgarden and Scott Dixon completed the top-10, with Marcus Ericsson and Kyffin Simpson also eliminated in the round.

Palou led the way in the opening group session, advancing alongside Simpson, Power, Armstrong, Rossi and Malukas. A late red flag for a crashed Robert Shwartzman made for a dramatic conclusion to the group.

The session resumed to allow teams for one final timed lap and both Rossi and Malukas took advantage, jumping into the top-six while knocking out Scott McLaughlin and Ferrucci.

O’Ward topped the charts in Group 2. Ericsson followed in second, with Newgarden squeaking through in third with a final lap after time expired. Dixon, Lundgaard and Rosenqvist also advanced. Devlin DeFrancesco was knocked out in the closing seconds alongside Colton Herta, Christian Rasmussen and Kyle Kirkwood.

With qualifying complete, the IndyCar field will return to the Portland track for final practice at 7:30 p.m. ET, airing on FS1. The BITNILE.com Grand Prix of Portland will go live Sunday on FOX at 3:00 p.m. ET.