STEAM CORNERS, Ohio — Christian Lundgaard’s bid for a new contract and a new home began by claiming his first NTT P1 Award as the Arrow McLaren driver won the pole for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
Lundgaard made a statement on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a pole winning lap at 1:04.839 in the No. 7 Chevrolet.
It was his first pole since Portland on August 29, 2025, but he didn’t start of the pole as he was assessed a six-grid position penalty in that race for going over his engine allotment.
The last time Lundgaard started on the pole was Toronto on July 16, 2023.
“I like this, this is way more fun,” Lundgaard said. “It’s been a while. Chevrolet has done an amazing job for us. It’s awesome to have a 1-2. We have to finish the job tomorrow and that is important.”
When asked if Lundgaard had made a “statement” by winning the pole the same weekend it became obvious he may be out at Arrow McLaren despite winning two races in 2026, Lundgaard gave a “mic drop” answer.
“I think everybody knows the ability, so I don’t need to say more than that,” Lundgaard said. “The rest is nothing but noise.”
Arrow McLaren locked out the front row as teammate Pato O’Ward was second with a lap at 1:04.864 in the No. 5 Chevrolet.
“I’ve got to thank the guys and gals at Arrow McLaren and Team Chevy,” O’Ward said. “That’s a great Fast Six for them as well. Congrats to Christian on the pole. Good to be running out and on the front row heading into turn one. It’s a pretty good view. I’ve been happy with my car all weekend, and we’ve got a good one to make it happen tomorrow.”
Andretti Global’s Will Power was third in the No. 26 Honda at 1:04.877 followed by Team Penske’s David Malukas in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet at 1:04.908, ECR’s Christian Rasmussen’s No. 21 Chevrolet at 1:05.216 and Juncos Hollinger’s Rinus VeeKay’s No. 76 Chevrolet at 1:05.409.
The Fast Six began at 6:25 p.m. ET and one thing was certain – Alex Palou wasn’t going to win the pole as his pole winning streak came to an end at five when he did not advance into the Fast Six through the second round.
Instead, Palou will start eighth in the No. 10 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.
“I did a big mistake in Turn 1 on my first push lap and then I couldn’t put my best lap together,” Palou said. “That’s a shame, but yeah, I overdid it.
“I think it’s just super tight. There are people that didn’t transfer to the Fast 12 that could have been in the Fast Six. It’s that close. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s a shame I didn’t get through, but things happen.”
Rasmussen’s No. 21 Chevrolet and VeeKay’s No. 77 Chevrolet both had to put on a set of used Reds because they had used up their allotment just to make it into the final round.
With 2:30 left in the 6-minute session, Rasmussen’s banker lap was 1:05.619 and VeeKay’s lap at 1:07.041. The rest of the drivers had fresh Reds to give it their best effort at trying to win the NTT P1 Award.
Rasmussen improved his time on his final lap and so did VeeKay before Pato O’Ward went to the top at 1:04.864 in the No. 5 Chevrolet.
But the driver who swept it away at the very last moment as the last car on the track was Lundgaard, who turned a 1:04.839 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Lundgaard’s pole is the 248th all-time earned pole for a Chevrolet-powered driver and the 144th earned pole since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012.
Lundgaard’s pole is 14th earned pole for a Chevrolet-powered driver at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the 11th since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012. It’s Lundgaard’s fourth all-time pole and second with Team Chevy. It is also Arrow McLaren’s 29th all-time and their 13th pole with Chevrolet power.
