Paddock Buzz: Alexander Rossi Falls Just Short in Alex Duel for Pole

Updated May. 18, 2026 3:05 a.m. ET

INDYCAR

The battle for the NTT P1 Award for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on a sunny, hot Indianapolis spring day came down to the Alexes.

Alexander Rossi (photo, top) was the first driver to qualify in the Firestone Fast Six and set the benchmark in the No. 20 Java House Chevrolet for ECR.

Lap 1: 232.568 mph. Lap 2: 232.038.

Rossi kept the final two laps above 231 mph, posting a four-lap average of 231.990 mph. He held off Pato O'Ward (230.442) in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, then Santino Ferrucci (230.846) in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Enterprises and David Malukas (231.877) in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

Then it was defending Indy 500 winner and three-time defending series champion Alex Palou and Felix Rosenqvist’s turns.

Palou answered the challenge in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda by topping 232 mph on two laps while running 231.845 on Lap 3 and 231.955 on Lap 4 in the others. That was enough to edge Rossi for the pole for next Sunday’s race with a four-lap average of 232.248 mph.

Rosenqvist ran 231.375 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian.

“What else is new?” Rossi said of being beat by Palou. “It's still an amazing day for the team and it was a really, really challenging day, conditions-wise, too.”

Rossi and the other Firestone Fast Six competitors endured three qualifying runs in windy, treacherous conditions on a slick racetrack.

“We didn't do the same thing twice, so we just stayed on top of it and kept trying to be better,” Rossi said. “The best run is the last one. Just can't be content, man. You’ve always got to try to be better.”

Rossi started 12th and finished 28th last year, the second-lowest finish of his Indy career. He led 14 laps and was in contention before his car caught fire during his second pit stop.

Rossi won the Indy 500 as a rookie in 2016 for his first career victory.

Malukas Delivers Penske Another Front-Row Start

Malukas (photo, above) battled Team Penske teammates Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden for victory in 2022 at World Wide Technology Raceway while driving for Dale Coyne Racing. Malukas finished second, between Newgarden and McLaughlin.

Malukas’ father, Henry Malukas, lifted his son in celebration.

That night remains Malukas’ best career finish although he has matched it twice more, in last year’s Indy 500 with A.J. Foyt Enterprises and this year’s Sonsio Grand Prix two weeks ago on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn IMS road course.

Henry Malukas could not lift his son in celebration after Sunday’s third-place qualifying effort because he underwent hernia surgery Tuesday. Five days later, he was on pit lane observing, not hoisting, the son who gave Team Penske its 50th Indy 500 front-row start in 60 years of competition.

“Those laps were absolutely insane,” Malukas said. “We were making these last-minute changes with the trim and with this wind differential. It was kind of learning to get the gearing right, so that's the one thing that we could have had just that little bit better, but still really happy. We still came out with a front-row start there, and that was our goal. So very happy.

“We get to be on these photos and be in that museum.”

The front-row cars are displayed in their liveries at the IMS Hall of Fame Museum for a year until the next Indy 500 qualifying weekend.

Malukas admitted he did not feel well entering “Fast Friday” and still was under the weather Sunday, but a front-row start in the Indy 500 helped ease his illness.

“I’m still all clogged up,” Malukas said. “Everything's messed up, but if there's one way to forget about sickness, that's the best way to do it.”

Ferrucci Thrilled With Fifth

Ferrucci knows what he likes at IMS.

He arrived in 2019 as a rookie with Dale Coyne Racing, and engineer Michael Cannon delivered a setup Ferrucci admits he still uses in 2026.

Ferrucci and Cannon split after the 2020 season. Ferrucci drove for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2021 and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2022.

In 2023, Cannon reunited with Ferrucci at AJ Foyt Racing after being hired as technical director. That pairing produced Ferrucci’s best Indy 500 start to date, fourth. He led 11 laps and finished a career-best third.

Cannon departed after the 2024 season and worked with PREMA Racing and Dale Coyne Racing the past two years. Ferrucci remained with Foyt, but Cannon’s influence remains.

“When we were running Dreyer (& Reinbold Racing) and Rahal (Letterman Lanigan Racing), those years were a little different, but having Mike come back in during 2023, you kind of get everything set,” Ferrucci said. “There’s a couple people that we still have with us today. It's a car that I know very well and I've had a lot of success with. Just excited to continue that on.”

His 2026 engineer, Adam Kolesar, allowed Ferrucci to keep that setup and continue refining it.

“There are some changes with that, and he's done a great job making me really comfortable,” Ferrucci said.

Ferrucci qualified fifth Sunday and will start next week’s 200-lap race in the middle of Row 2.

That result surprised Ferrucci on such a treacherous day.

“All I did was push the pedal, held the skinny pedal on the right all day and just turned left,” Ferrucci said.

“I feel really good. I think our race car, I'm definitely in a better spot than I was in 2023 as far as raw speed. I think that ’23 car was probably a tick better and qualified better, but I'm just very comfortable with everything.

“It's basically the same setup that I've been running that I've slowly been working on making better and getting more comfortable with over the years. So excited to dial up the front wing and get going.”

Newgarden’s Puzzling Miss From Top 12

Newgarden (photo, above) arrived at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2012 with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and started seventh. During his first five seasons with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (2012-14) and Ed Carpenter Racing (2015-16), he qualified in the top 10 four times, including a front-row start of second in 2016.

He joined Team Penske in 2017 and has just one front-row start with the team, third in 2024, and only three top-10 starts overall with Penske. He starts 23rd next Sunday in the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet.

“That’s what she’s got,” Newgarden said. “That’s what she’ll turn. We’re in the show. We’ll go to work on the race car. Excited to get back to race trim.”

Newgarden has shown strong race pace before climbing from 32nd to sixth last year before retiring on Lap 135 with a fuel pressure issue.

Andretti Global Cars Struggle With High Boost

Kyle Kirkwood believed he would start higher than 26th in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda for Andretti Global.

He admitted in April that Andretti Global planned to focus on qualifying setups during Indy 500 practice because the team consistently has strong race cars but struggles in qualifying.

Starting position has been a key issue. In 2025, Andretti drivers qualified ninth, 23rd, 28th and 29th. The year before, they started 11th, 13th, 19th and 32nd.

Kirkwood believed he had a strong non-tow speed during practice, but when turbocharger boost increased on Fast Friday to add roughly 100 horsepower, the balance changed.

“The run was good,” said Kirkwood, who starts 25th. “Was not disappointed at all. We just don’t have a whole lot of speed out there. The car feels really good. We know we have a really fast race car. For some reason, we lost some speed since we went to the high boost. Luckily, that’s the last time we’ll do that this year.”

His teammate Marcus Ericsson felt the same in the No. 28 Phoenix Investors Honda. The 2022 Indy 500 winner starts 17th as the top Andretti qualifier.

“The car was a handful,” Ericsson said. “It’s struggled since the high boost was turned up.”

Will Power, the all-time INDYCAR SERIES pole leader with 71, will go another year without an Indy 500 pole and is now 0-for-19. He starts 19th in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda.

Power believed the run exceeded expectations given the changing conditions.

“That was better than expected,” Power said. “I thought we’d start somewhere in the 20s. The hotter track conditions made the effort better than I expected.”

Odds and Ends

Six different teams occupy the top six spots in the starting lineup: Chip Ganassi Racing, ECR, Team Penske, Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian, AJ Foyt Racing and Arrow McLaren.