Alex Palou – XPEL Grand Prix at Road America – Photo by Chris Jones

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Alex Palou’s pole-winning streak shows no sign of abating.

The four-time/reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion earned his fifth consecutive NTT P1 Award Saturday during knockout qualifying for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR. Palou turned a best lap of 1-minute, 43.6615-seconds/139.400 mph around the 4.014-mile/14-turn natural-terrain circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wis., to secure his sixth pole in 10 races this season and 18th of his illustrious career.

SEE: Qualifying Results

“It’s incredible, five in a row this year,” said Palou, driver of the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “This team, man. This team and everyone on it is giving me the best car, all the power we needed. We suffered quite a lot there in Q2. Couldn’t really get the lap we wanted, but the car was super-rapid.”

The late Alex Zanardi of Italy, a back-to-back INDYCAR champion with Chip Ganassi Racing in 1997-98, was the most recent driver to claim five consecutive poles. Zanardi captured the last four poles of the 1996 Championship Auto Racing Teams season and opened CART’s 1997 schedule with two additional consecutive poles.

Zanardi, who inspired millions globally with his courage and perseverance after a life-changing accident, died May 1 in his native Italy. He was 59. Zanardi lost both of his legs after a horrific accident on Sept. 15, 2001 during a CART race at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Lausitz, Germany. Zanardi recorded 15 victories, 10 pole positions and 28 podium finishes during his INDYCAR career, which spanned from 1996-98 and 2001.

David Malukas continued his strong first season at Team Penske by qualifying second during the Firestone Fast Six at 1:43.9542-seconds/139.007 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

“This track is so long, so it’s all about just keeping calm and putting it all together,” said Malukas, a 24-year-old native of Chicago. “Big thank you to Team Penske…because they did an incredible job to get this car turned around from Practice 1, where we were nowhere into it. Now, fast-forward. I mean, less than 24 hours later and here we are on the front row. So big kudos to them. For my side, Q1, Q2, fantastic Q3. I just…I ran out of talent. I made a few mistakes and didn’t get it in the end. But overall, still a really good start.

“Road America, for me, this is pretty much a home track. You know, growing up in Chicago, I used to always come here with my dad when I was younger. He would take the Corvette around and it was kind of the first moments of when I said, ‘Hey, I want to pursue this. I want to get into racing.’ So, this place comes full-circle for me, and it’s always close to home.”

Native New Zealander Marcus Armstrong will start third _ tying a career-best _ despite fighting the flu all weekend after his best lap of 1:44.0225-seconds/138.916 mph in the No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Honda. MSR teammate Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden, the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion, will join him in Row 2 in fourth after his lap of 1:44.0502-seconds/138.879 mph in the No. 60 Honda.

Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson continued his solid rebound season with Andretti Global, qualifying fifth at 1:44.1737-seconds/138.714 mph in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda. Scott McLaughlin completed the third row at 1:44.8242-seconds/137.854 mph in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, as MSR and Penske each put two cars in the Firestone Fast Six.

“Solid day today,” said McLaughlin, a 32-year-old native of New Zealand. “We saved a set of reds (Firestone Firehawk alternate tires), to give us a couple of options for the XPEL Chevy. I’m not sure if it’s going to be a red race or a black (primary tire) race, so it’s nice to have some options. It was a good play- for-the-pay-day. Car was good. We were struggling on Friday, and we made a couple of good changes overnight and the car was solid. Excited for what’s ahead and hopefully we can get it done for XPEL at the XPEL race.”

Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing enjoyed its best qualifying session of the season as both Santino Ferrucci and Caio Collet landed in the top-10.

Ferrucci qualified the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet seventh at 1:44.1270-seconds/138.777 mph, barely missing the Firestone Fast Six on his final lap. However, Ferrucci will move back six spots on the grid due to an unapproved engine change.

“Overall, really happy,” said Ferrucci, a 28-year-old resident of Dallas. “We’ve not been outside the top- 10 yet this weekend. Qualifying, it was nice to get into the Fast 12. Kicking myself…should have had another Fast Six for us, just like Barber (Motorsports Park). Same thing, just pushing all the way to the end of the lap, just losing it right over the line. It’s just painful, you know? It’s honestly happened to us three times this year…but compared to last year’s qualifying results, we are definitely well ahead of the curve, so I can’t complain.

“You’ve got to look at the good. Starting 13th with the grid penalty, it’s really not where you want to be in the midfield; seventh makes your day a lot easier, so we’ll work on it. We started 18th last year and finished on the podium, so no reason why we can’t start a little bit better and do the same thing.”

Series rookie Collet, who placed in the top-six during both practices in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet, was disappointed even though ninth is his best qualifying effort of the season. Collet will start eighth since his teammate must serve that six-spot grid penalty.

“A really strong weekend for us so far,” said Collett, a 24-year-old native of Brazil. “I think since (Friday) we’ve been really, really quick. Today in qualifying, Q1 was really strong and then after that I think we maybe were a bit too ambitious with the setup change. And myself, I didn’t really put a really good lap in Q2. I think we missed out a little bit on the Fast Six, but we have a really strong Combitrans Chevy and I think we can move forward.”

Pato O’Ward will start 10^th after his best lap of 1:44.4003-seconds/138.413 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. O’Ward will start ninth, also due to Ferrucci’s grid penalty.

“I’m debating if we should have gone with the primary (black) tire there,” said O’Ward, a 27-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “The tires have been so wonky from one set to another; the car has transformed completely. It’s very, very strange.

“I genuinely thought we had more to fight for there, but I was just sliding around with the track also changing so much. It looks like we weren’t the only one dealing with this, but at this point all you can do is try to maximize what we can bring to the race. We just need to put our heads down and make our way forward the best we can.”

The mercurial Palou entered this event with four victories in nine starts this season and a 49-point lead over second-place Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global in the standings. Kirkwood qualified 18th in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda at 1:44.3002-seconds/138.546 mph in a weekend full of struggles, as 15th was the best position the Florida resident managed at the end of any of the previous three sessions.

Palou led his qualifying group in the first round but slipped to fourth, 0.3901-seconds behind leader Malukas, in the Fast 12 round. But Palou and CGR regrouped for the Firestone Fast Six and laid down their quickest time on their penultimate lap, also producing a time quick enough for pole on their final circuit for good measure.

As a reminder, Palou will start from P1 Sunday as defending event champion. The 29-year-old Spaniard is aiming for a series-record fourth career win at INDYCAR’s longest circuit.

Live coverage of the 55-lap/220.77-mile race will start at 2 p.m. (EDT) with broadcast coverage by FOX Sports and FOX Deportes. A 30-minute warmup session will begin the day at 11 a.m. on FS1. FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls also will cover both sessions live.

The warmup session could prove crucial due to a lack of consensus on whether the Firestone Firehawk primary or alternate tire will prevail.

“(Sunday) is going to be tough,” Palou predicted. “It’s going to be a long, long race for everyone. I don’t really know what tire is best. It seems like everyone was unhappy with the alternates (Friday), and then suddenly today, they are so much faster. I think it’s going be very interesting in terms of strategy and stuff.

“Obviously, we’re starting from the best spot and hope we can keep it there.”

Lochie Hughes won Race 1 of the Grand Prix at Road America Elkhart Lake, WI. It was his first INDY NXT victory of 2026. (Photo by Travis Hinkle | IMS Photo)

Lochie Hughes may have saved his INDY NXT by Firestone season on Saturday. Hughes secured his first victory of 2026 and re-inserted himself into the championship chase by winning Race 1 of the Grand Prix at Road America double-header Saturday on the daunting, 4.014-mile/14-turn natural-terrain road-course in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

SEE: Race Results

Australian Hughes, driver of the No. 26 Andretti Global entry, crossed the finish line 0.7827-seconds ahead of teammate Josh Pierson in the No. 29 Starchive Andretti car. It was the 100th victory for Andretti Global in INDY NXT competition. Pole-sitter Alessandro de Tullio completed the podium in third in the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing machine.

“Just so happy right now,” said Hughes, a 24-year-old native of Gold Coast, Australia. “It’s possibly been the worst season of my life so far. But that was great. I know my name is Lochie, but I feel a bit more like ‘Rocky’ right now because I’ve been taking some punches this year.”

Hughes is the top returning driver to INDYCAR’s developmental series this season after finishing third as a rookie and scoring two victories with Andretti Global. As noted, he has struggled in 2026, entering this event seventh in the standings with a best result of second in Race 1 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course double-header in May.

“So, yeah, relieved,” Hughes said. “We’ve been trying all year, but I guess losers try their best and winners go home with the prom queen. We got the prom queen.”

Rookie Jack Beeton _ also of Gold Coast, Australia _ produced a career-best finish of fourth in the No. 45 HMD Motorsports car, with Matteo Nannini of Italy placing two Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR entries in the top-five in the team’s No. 20 car.

Hughes climbed to fifth in the standings with his third career victory, 55 points behind leader Nikita Johnson, who finished sixth in the No. 21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR entry.

The start of the 20-lap/80.28-mile race was choppy, with eight of the first 10 laps run under caution due to three separate incidents.

Hughes was running second behind de Tullio on a restart at the end of Lap 8 when he swung to the outside in Turn 1 on Lap 9 and powered to a lead he would not surrender. Hughes got a big jump on the last of four restarts on Lap 11 and never was threatened, maintaining a gap between seven- and nine-tenths of a second until the checkered flag.

Pierson drove around the outside of de Tullio in Canada Corner on the final lap to claim second. That tied his best career finish and continued an upswing that started with the Oregonian’s third-place finish June 7 on the World Wide Technology Raceway oval in Madison, Ill.

Race 2, an 18-lap/72.25-mile event, is set for noon (EDT) Sunday with broadcast coverage on FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls. De Tullio, a native of Miami, again will start from pole with just 55 points separating the top five drivers.

Johnson leads second-place Tymek Kucharczyk of Poland _ the rookie who salvaged an eighth-place finish after starting 14th in the No. 71 HMD Motorsports car _ by 10 points.

Enzo Fittipaldi is third, 23 points behind Johnson after a season-low finish of 22nd in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports machine due to damage from contact on the first lap. A 24-year-old resident of Miami, Fittipaldi is the grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil. Fittipaldi won the Indianapolis 500 driving for Patrick Racing in 1989 and for Team Penske in 1993.

“Emmo” launched his successful INDYCAR career after winning Formula One World Driving Championships as “Fitti” with Team Lotus in 1972 and McLaren in 1974.

Teen-ager Max Taylor, who finished 12th in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen car fielded by Andretti Global, is fourth, 38 points behind Johnson.

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 342; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 293; 3, David Malukas, Team Penske, 274; 3, 4, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 246; 5, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 239; 6, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 238; 7, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 222; 8, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 221; 9, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 196; 10, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 196;

11, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 193; 12, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 192; 13, Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 175; 14, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 152; 15, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 147; 16, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 146; 17, Will Power, Andretti Global, 145; 18, Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing, 133; 19, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 131; 20, Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing, 117;

21, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 116; 22, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 112; 23, Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 99; 24, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 89; 25, Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 89; 26, Derek Daly, Dryer & Reinbold Racing, 24; 27, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 20; 28, Jack Harvey, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, 8; 29, Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports, 6; 30, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian, 5;

31, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 5; 32, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Arrow McLaren, 5; 33, Katherine Legge, HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing, 5.

FOX SPORTS’ 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE/(RACE WINNER)

Note _ All times Eastern

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)

Sunday, May 24 _ 110^th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, (Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian)

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m.

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., TBA

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, 4 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, Noon

Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., TBA

Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., 1 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 2:30 p.m.

Note _ Dates and times subject to change.

2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE/(RACE-WINNER)

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)

Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)

Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2, (Tymek Kucharczyk, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., (Myles Rowe, Abel Motorsports)

Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1, (Lochie Hughes, Andretti Global)

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2                        

Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.

Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2