Palou Punishes Rivals With Sensational Pole Lap in D.C.
Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. Pole Winner: Alex Palou
(Photo Courtesy INDYCAR)
By: NTT INDYCAR SERIES
WASHINGTON (Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026) – On a weekend full of iconic moments, sights and sounds for global motorsports and America’s capital city, Alex Palou continued his relentless march toward the INDYCAR SERIES history Saturday.
Palou zeroed in on his record-tying fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship and fifth overall by winning the NTT P1 Award on Saturday for the historic Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., the first-ever motor race on the streets of the District of Columbia.
The Spaniard earned his seventh pole of 2026 – his career best for a season – and 19th of his career with a lap of 56.8993 seconds in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda during the single-car, one-lap format of the Firestone Fast Six. He leads the series standings by 133 points – a gap of more than two races – over Kyle Kirkwood with just four races to go this season.
“Incredible,” Palou said. “Such a privilege to be racing here. Spectacular place, spectacular fans, as well. My car was on rails. Super-fun lap, super-fun car to drive. Couldn’t be happier. Looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, man, 250 miles.”
The 250-mile race – the second-longest street race in INDYCAR SERIES history – will cover 147 laps on the seven-turn, 1.7-mile temporary circuit that winds around the National Mall and past many historic buildings and monuments in one of the most stunning backdrops in motorsports history. Live coverage starts at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday on FOX and FOX One, with INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls also broadcasting live.
Palou has won three of the five previous street races this season, but Arlington street race winner Kirkwood kept his faint title hopes flickering by earning the second spot at 57.4661 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global after leading the first two rounds of qualifying and setting the new circuit’s qualifying record in round one with a lap of 56.7729. Kirkwood locked his front Firestone Firehawk tire under braking in Turn 1 of his Firestone Fast Six hot lap, but even without that small bobble admitted it would have been tough to top Palou.
“P1 both first and second group, and the last one Alex Palou is just a legend and goes faster on his one-lap dash than he did the whole rest of the run, I think,” Kirkwood said. “He made us look silly out there.
“But I’m telling you what: It wasn’t that easy. I thought I put a stellar lap in, and he just went six-tenths clear. So, hat’s off to them. But we’ll race them hard tomorrow.”
Scott McLaughlin was the quickest Chevrolet-powered driver in qualifying, third at 57.6200 in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevy sporting a patriotic, stars-and-stripes livery for this race. Christian Rasmussen produced one of the most impressive performances of the three-round qualifying session, ending up a career-best fourth at 57.8892 in the No. 21 Splenda Stevia Chevrolet of ECR.
Marcus Armstrong qualified fifth at 58.8145 in the No. 66 REMAX Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian, snapping a qualifying drought that saw him line up 20th or worse in three of the last four races this season.
David Malukas, third in points, rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1 minute, 10.6709 seconds in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Malukas locked his front tires under braking in Turn 1 and clipped the concrete wall with his right rear wheel, damaging his car’s alignment.
Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson, last weekend’s winner in Markham, Ontario, didn’t advance past the first round and qualified 15th in the No. 28 Acura Honda. Three multiple series champions – Andretti Global’s Will Power (qualified 13th), Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (14th) and Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden (16th) each also were eliminated in the first round.
A 30-minute warmup session at 9:15 a.m. ET will precede the historic race, with FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls starting coverage at 9 a.m.
