David Malukas took the first pole position of his NTT IndyCar Series career during Saturday’s (March 6) qualifying session at Phoenix Raceway. The No. 12 car’s best lap averaged 175.383 mph, almost a full mile per hour faster than second-placed Josef Newgarden.
Conditions in Phoenix were tricky and had plenty of veterans breathing the throttle and searching for grip. After the session ended, the emotion hit immediately. “Just so… finally… happy,” Malukas said. “So many P2’s… Feels so good. What a way to start the season… Through the moon.” It was a release valve popping after years of showing speed and leaving with second-place scars.”
Malukas admitted after his run that the car was less than on rails through the corners. “It’s been tough,” he told Frontstretch. “It’s all just turns 1 and 2, the way the wind is playing out. All of the sudden, you feel good, you’re in the corner, the car’s confident. And then you get a little bit of wind and it just moves the rear around.”
Newgarden backed up the team’s pole run with 174.548 mph in the No. 2, making it a Penske 1-2 in a session where the track was visibly trickier than it had been earlier in the day. “It’s going to be a matter of can you use multiple lanes, and that’s going to determine whether this is a solid race or not,” Newgarden told Frontstretch after his run. “I think you can pass in a single-lane situation. If you get a 15 or 20-lap offset, it seems like you can pass. But for the majority of the stints, if it’s single-file, it’s going to be tough to do much.”
The conditions were a story of their own. Track temperature was roughly 30 degrees hotter than practice, and more than one driver reported the grip simply wasn’t there in turns 1 and 2, the same way it had been in the morning. The biggest punctuation mark on the session came from the most unexpected place: the Andretti Global No. 26 of Will Power had looked sporty in practice, and his first lap average of 174.137 mph suggested the pace was real. Then his second lap happened: a massive crash that sent the back end hard into the SAFER Barrier after Power lost it almost before corner entry.
The two-time champion climbed out sore, saying his knee hit the dashboard and noting he hadn’t been cleared to drive Saturday yet. “Rough start to the year… These things happening are not good,” Power said.
Scott Dixon, a past Phoenix winner, summed up the feel of the track after a 172.074 mph run that included a noticeable breath of the throttle. “Grip didn’t feel as good as this morning,” Dixon said. “Wind direction and track temp are different. Turn 1 and 2, you start turning, then it just keeps turning for you.”
Runs after Power’s generally looked more composed, if not conservative. Marcus Ericsson’s 172.364 felt solid, for example, and it looked like some of the sharper edges were filed off his setup after Power’s No. 26 went backward into the wall.
Graham Rahal was another feel-good story near the top, and it wasn’t a small one. Rahal ripped off a 173.993 mph run to qualify third, a statement lap for a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing program that has been searching for clean running on ovals. It’s also Rahal’s first top-five start on a short oval since 2009, a statistic that highlights how brutal the oval swings have been for that team across eras.
“Overall, I’m super pleased with the team,” Rahal said. “We’ve been working very hard at this.”
Right behind him, rookie teammate Mick Schumacher quietly kept stacking credibility in IndyCar machinery. Schumacher’s No. 47 laid down 173.667 mph, and the run looked clean enough that he didn’t even burn all of his hybrid. “Pretty quick,” he said. “Great to have the experience. Managed to put together a couple of good laps.” On a day when drivers were chasing the car and managing the edge, that kind of calm stood out.
2026 IndyCar Good Rancher’s 250 at Phoenix Preview
Scott McLaughlin put the No. 3 into fifth with a 173.448 mph lap, despite lifting in the corners and making pretty big swings on the bars to keep the platform where he wanted it. Alexander Rossi, fresh off being quickest in preseason testing, delivered a stout 173.389 mph lap that looked stable. Pato O’Ward was close behind with a lap of 173.344 mph.
Nolan Siegel put in a strong run to slot his McLaren Chevrolet into ninth place. After the run, he was confident in his pace and said he feels good about the weekend. “I’m a good time,” Siegel said. “I really like this place, so far. I think it’s super fun to drive and qualifying laps are really fun … After St. Pete, we’re looking for a result to kind of match the work that we’ve done, and I think this is a good place to do it.”
Felix Rosenqvist was the odd man out, missing the session after he crashed in practice, taking one more variable out of the equation in a session already shaped by incident.
2026 IndyCar Phoenix Qualifying Results
The Good Ranchers 250 will go live at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday (March 7) with coverage on FOX.
