Alex Palou took the 13th pole position of his NTT IndyCar Series career during Saturday’s (March 28) qualifying for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park.
Palou’s pole time was a full second faster than his pole time from this event in 2025, 1:06.2341, compared to 1:07.2918 last year.
“Honestly, one of the best cars I’ve driven,” Palou told FOX after the session. “This morning, I already felt the car was really, really good, really well-balanced. I guess not everybody was on brand new [Alternate tires], we just wanted to start up front, capitalize on a really good car that we had today and see for tomorrow. But I’m really happy to get our first pole of the year.”
Firestone Fast Six
Palou cleared second-fastest David Malukas by a full tenth of a second, while Graham Rahal qualified third on a used set of Alternate tires, saving a fresh set for Sunday’s race. Kyle Kirkwood likewise saved a fresh set of tires for Sunday, qualifying fifth in the process.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Pole |
| 1. | Alex Palou | 10 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:06.2341 |
| 2. | David Malukas | 12 | Team Penske | +0.1137s |
| 3. | Graham Rahal | 15 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +0.2840s |
| 4. | Marcus Armstrong | 66 | Meyer Shank Racing | +0.2971s |
| 5. | Kyle Kirkwood | 27 | Andretti Global | +0.5985s |
| 6. | Romain Grosjean | 18 | Dale Coyne Racing | +0.6022s |
Round 2
There were no incidents on track during round 2.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 7. | Santino Ferrucci | 14 | AJ Foyt Enterprises | +0.0117s |
| 8.. | Marcus Ericsson | 28 | Andretti Global | +0.0248s |
| 9. | Josef Newgarden | 2 | Team Penske | +0.0604s |
| 10. | Christian Lundgaard | 7 | Arrow McLaren | +0.1450s |
| 11. | Alexander Rossi | 20 | Ed Carpenter Racing | +0.3221s |
| 12 | Pato O’Ward | 5 | Arrow McLaren | +0.4534s |
Scott McLaughlin OK After Car Pierces Fence at Barber
Round 1, Group 1
Will Power was the story of the first group of Round 1 qualifying, after he suffered a brake issue heading into the hairpin at turn 5 and flew through the gravel trap and into the barriers.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 13. | Scott Dixon | 9 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +0.2628s |
| 15. | Nolan Siegel | 6 | Arrow McLaren | +0.1242s |
| 17. | Christian Rasmussen | 21 | Ed Carpenter Racing | +0.2485s |
| 19. | Kyffin Simpson | 8 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +0.3299s |
| 21. | Caio Collett | 4 | AJ Foyt Enterprises | +0.3805s |
| 23. | Will Power | 26 | Andretti Global | +3.5169s |
Round 1, Group 2
Group 2 finished out their session in a much calmer fashion than Group 1. The drama of the session was between Grosjean and Sting Ray Robb after the latter impeded the former on a flying lap. According to Robb’s radio, the Idaho native was unaware that Grosjean was approaching at speed, on a lap that looked set to challenge the track’s pole record of 1:05.8396, which Grosjean set back in 2023.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 14. | Scott McLaughlin | 3 | Team Pense | +0.0142s |
| 16. | Rinus VeeKay | 76 | Juncos Hollinger Racing | +0.0240s |
| 18. | Felix Rosenqvist | 60 | Meyer Shank Racing | +0.0933s |
| 20. | Mick Schumacher | 47 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +0.0969s |
| 22. | Louis Foster | 45 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +0.2274s |
| 24. | Dennis Hauger | 19 | Dale Coyne Racing | +0.6243s |
| 25. | Sting Ray Robb | 77 | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 0.9038s |
2026 IndyCar Alabama Qualifying Results
The Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix will kick off at 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, March 29, with coverage on FOX.
