Christian Lundgaard Atop Speed Chart as Markham Race Nears

An interesting morning warmup practice set the stage for what should be a must-watch first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race in Markham, Ontario.

Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard posted the fastest lap with Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Rinus VeeKay second, polesitter Louis Foster of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing third, Dale Coyne Racing’s Romain Grosjean fourth and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyffin Simpson fifth.

SEE: Warmup Results

Meanwhile, the top three drivers in the championship standings – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood and Team Penske’s David Malukas – were buried in the order. Malukas was the highest of those drivers in seventh place.

FOX’s broadcast of the inaugural Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham, a 90-lap race, begins at noon ET. FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls also will have live coverage.

The starting lineup will take on a different look from Saturday’s qualifying as the cars of Kirkwood and Andretti Global teammate Will Power, along with the Arrow McLaren entry of Pato O’Ward, will serve six-grid position penalties as a result of unapproved engine changes. Kirkwood’s adjustment will make it even more difficult to gain ground on Palou, a four-time series champion seeking his fifth season title in six years.

Palou, who leads by 110 points with five races remaining, will line up 11th, Kirkwood 22nd. However, Palou had the 19th-fastest lap (of 25 drivers) in the warmup session.

Also serving six-grid engine penalties today will be the cars of Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi and Christian Rasmussen along with Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian’s Marcus Armstrong. Those penalties were announced Friday, which means drivers used those engines during practice and qualifying.

Drivers will take the green flag on the backstretch, which is between Turns 5 and 6, to allow for proper spacing. The finish line will be about halfway between Turns 12 and 1.

Lundgaard will start on the front row alongside Foster and will be aiming for his second Ontario victory. He won the 2023 race at Exhibition Place in Toronto. Foster is looking to win his first race in the series and will be starting from the pole for the second time in his career after doing so last year at Road America. Grosjean and Simpson also have never won a series race, and VeeKay has only won one (2021 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course).