By David Morgan, Associate Editor
MADISON, Ill. – So much for World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway being Alex Palou’s self-described “worst place.”
The four-time and defending NTT IndyCar Series champion and current points leader thus far in 2026 went out and ripped the heart out of every one of his competitors during qualifying for Sunday’s Bommarito 500.
Rolling off last in his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, Palou posted a demoralizing two-lap average of 174.353 mph to steal the pole away from David Malukas and keep his streak of starting at the front of the grid intact.
Since winning the pole at the Indy GP in early May, Palou has been at the top of the board in every race since then, including the Indy 500, Detroit, and now at Gateway.
With a spotty record on the 1.25-mile oval, Palou came into the weekend not knowing what to expect, noting that he would have been happy with a top-five at best, but not a pole winning run.
“You never know. You always want to think that you can make it. Like, that’s always the mindset. Yeah, I was not really confident about it,” Palou said.
“Like, we were shooting for always pole, but I think in my head was more like if it’s great, we can be like top five, P1 or 5. If it’s not, it could be like 12, which I think it happened last year or something.
“Yeah, incredible.”
Palou’s run to pole was nearly a mile per hour faster on average than that of Malukas, something he chalked up to improving track conditions and the advantage of being able to learn from his teammates and alliance cars as the qualifying session played out.
“I think that’s what helped us as well, getting big lap. Yeah, you could see at the end suddenly I would say the last five or six cars, yeah, started going a lot faster,” Palou explained.
“It’s always huge when you have the advantage of going last, not only because of track evolution but also just to see what your teammates do, especially Scott, but also the MSR cars.
“I knew what they were running and what they said on the radio. Everybody can hear it, but nobody drives let’s say the same car.
“I knew we were on a good place knowing how they went and what we were going to do.”
While another pole on the season is huge for Palou, he isn’t celebrating just yet, knowing how the race at Gateway tends to play out, especially for the No. 10 team.
Though he has been on a streak of top-10 finishes in the last four years, Palou has yet to crack the podium at Gateway in his seven previous starts here. His best result has been a fourth-place result two years ago.
“…Although it’s huge and I’m super pumped, it’s incredible to be on pole, it’s only a pole,” said Palou. “Like, I wish it meant more, but it only means I’m going to be super happy going to sleep tonight. I have a fancy hat and another point. Apart of that, that’s it.
“This track in particular, I think it’s been the last 23 years or something I heard that nobody has won from pole, 20 years. I don’t know. Yeah, it doesn’t mean much, although I’m super happy and I wouldn’t change it.”
Alex Palou simply does not miss 🤯 pic.twitter.com/cobrudgjLb
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) June 6, 2026
Despite falling short of the pole at what has statistically been his best track, David Malukas was extremely happy to be able to deliver a front row start, noting that the speed at the end of qualifying was as much a result of the conditions as it was the performance in the car itself.
“Honestly, it’s just so weather based today. I mean, look at the times. You see even at the end there, it’s just Kyle goes, I go and then Palou goes, it’s so weather based. I mean it got so cold,” Malukas explained.
“We got really lucky this whole game on trim levels. The first couple guys that went out, I mean it was a struggle bus and by the end, I mean, it’s cloudy, it’s cool. So, we just got lucky. The fact that we were third to last.”
“Obviously the guys did an incredible job getting the car where we needed to be and all that stuff, but still, yeah, I mean if somebody were to go out right now, they’d go even faster. That’s what I’m trying to say.”
Defending Gateway winner Kyle Kirkwood will start in third, followed by Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist, Scott McLaughlin, Marcus Armstrong, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Pato O’Ward, and Alexander Rossi.
After leading opening practice, O’Ward didn’t mince words about how his car performed during qualifying.
“End of practice was great. Qualifying, I think it was missed somewhere in the ride height. It wasn’t feeling like it at the end of practice,” said O’Ward.
“I had to back out of the car so many times when the car was already accelerating and that just kills you. So, I’m actually pretty shocked we’re still seventh. But yeah, I’d say it’s pretty annoying, just because we didn’t have to change anything.
“Just fricking leave the car the same. I don’t know how we fucked that up.”
Drivers and teams will have a night of practice on Saturday night to get their cars dialed in for Sunday’s race, with a high line session to rubber in the high lane for Sunday at 8:00 pm ET, followed by final practice at 9:00 pm ET. Both on FOX Sports 1
Sunday’s Bommarito 500 is scheduled for 9:00 pm ET on FOX with a projected green flag of 9:25 pm ET.
0ua6qp