Marcus Ericsson Romps To First Career Pole at Arlington

Marcus Ericsson left no doubt this time.

After three near-misses, Ericsson earned his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position Saturday by winning the NTT P1 Award for the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington.

SEE: Qualifying Results

Ericsson, from Sweden, was the first driver to lay down a qualifying lap in the new one-lap, single-car format for the Firestone Fast Six. The top six from the second round of qualifying were inverted for the final round, with the slowest running first and quickest last.

None of the five drivers to follow could beat Ericsson’s run of 1 minute, 34.3562 seconds in the No. 28 InPwr Honda of Andretti Global. His best lap was nearly half a second quicker than his closest pursuer, Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing.

Ericsson’s first career pole came in his 117th INDYCAR SERIES event, as his previous best was second three times, including at this year’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

“I’ve waited long enough; I can tell you that,” a jubilant Ericsson said. “I think 2013 was the last pole I had. I feel like this is a giant thing for me because of that. Two-hundredths of a second away at St. Pete.”

Reigning and four-time series champion Palou qualified second at 1:34.8180 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou was the last driver on the 14-turn, 2.73-mile temporary street circuit in qualifying, as he was the quickest among 12 drivers in the second round.

Pato O’Ward will start third after his run of 1:34.8453 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet (photo, above), with Will Power joining him in Row 2 after a lap of 1:35.0856 in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda of Andretti Global.

Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian teammates locked out the third row. Felix Rosenqvist will start fifth after his lap of 1:35.1607 in the No. 60 SiriusXM/Texas A&M Honda, with Marcus Armstrong sixth at 1:35.6012 in the No. 66 ROOT Insurance Honda.

Honda-powered drivers took six of the top seven qualifying spots for the 70-lap race, which will feature a new start time due to forecasted high winds later Sunday afternoon in North Texas. Live coverage will start at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls, with the green flag set for noon ET.

The pre-race warmup is moving to 9:50-10:10 a.m. ET, with live coverage on FS1, FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls from 9:30-10:30 a.m. ET.

This exciting new event is a joint venture between Penske Entertainment, the Dallas Cowboys and REV Entertainment, the official events partner of the Texas Rangers. The 14-turn, 2.73-mile temporary street circuit winds around AT&T Stadium, the Cowboys’ home field, and Globe Life Field, the Rangers’ home.

Ericsson barely advanced to the Firestone Fast Six, which featured the new format for the first time at this race. He was only sixth quickest in the first group of the first round, the last driver to advance, and he bumped teammate Kyle Kirkwood from the second round on his final lap, earning the sixth and final transfer spot.

“I want to shout out my pit crew here,” Ericsson said. “They’ve done a tremendous job. We were all over the place in Q1, but in Q2 and Q3 they improved the car. It’s just amazing.”

The top three drivers in the series standings failed to advance to the Firestone Fast Six.

Series leader Josef Newgarden crashed in practice Saturday morning, damaging his chassis and forcing Team Penske to switch to a backup car for qualifying. Newgarden was eliminated in the second round and will start 11th in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet.

Kirkwood, second in points and quickest in the morning practice, will start seventh in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda of Andretti Global.

Scott McLaughlin faces the toughest task among the top three in the standings, as he will start last in the 25-car field after crashing in his No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet in the first round. McLaughlin brushed the inside wall in Turn 8, hopped the inside curb and slid into the concrete retaining wall, inflicting heavy damage in an incident very similar to teammate Newgarden’s earlier in the day.