INDIANAPOLIS - Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward rebounded from a poor qualifying performance in the IndyCar season opener in St. Petersburg in style by winning the pole for the second race of the new year at The Thermal Club in California.
O'Ward's teammate, Christian Lungaard will roll off second for the first 1-2 start for McLaren in the IndyCar Series.
O'Ward turned a fast lap in 1 minute, 39.9567 seconds to win the sixth pole of his career and first since starting in the top spot at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2022.
“I knew if we could get the car to my liking, I would get it done,” O’Ward said. “I’ve got to thank the guys. We turned it around. We dialed it in after Q1 because I was somewhat happy with it but not perfect. Just made a little bit of an adjustment and as soon as we went out in Q2, I said, ‘I’ve got this.’”
Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou and Andretti Global's Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson round out the top five.
Team Penske had a rough qualifying session with all three cars failing to advance out of the first round. Back-to-back Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden will start 17th, Will Power is 21st and Scott McLaughlin is 25th.
Sunday's race will be the first for points at The Thermal Club after the IndyCar Series held an exhibition for a million dollar prize purse last season.
Race coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon on FOX59.
