By Reggie Gatlin-Holt
DETROIT (Saturday, June 1, 2024) – Louis Foster obliterated the INDY NXT by Firestone track record Saturday to win the pole for the Detroit Grand Prix.
Foster earned his first pole of the season and fifth of his career in the INDYCAR development series with a top lap of 1 minute, 5.1079 seconds in the No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies car fielded by Andretti Autosport.
SEE: Qualifying Results
English driver Foster, who has led all three on-track sessions this weekend, broke the track record of 1:06.8374 he set last year in the debut of this nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street circuit in downtown Detroit. He also enters this event with the momentum of his first win of the season, at the most-recent event May 11 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
“It’s about time, really,” Foster said. “We’ve had a lot of pace. It’s nice to get the monkey off the back, so to speak. Tomorrow we can have a good race.
“We’ve been fast all season. Just haven’t had the best of luck and a few mistakes by me. Happy to get a pole, and hopefully we can get a win.”
Live coverage of the 45-lap race starts at 10:20 a.m. ET Sunday on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
The starting grid was determined after the field was split into two qualifying groups. Championship leader Jacob Abel will start second after leading the first qualifying group at 1:06.0048 in the No. 51 Abel Construction car fielded by Abel Motorsports.
Rookie Caio Collet will start third in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports machine after his best lap of 1:05.4952 in the second group. Jamie Chadwick will join him in the second row after her best lap of 1:06.5050 in the No. 28 VEXT car of Andretti Global. That was a career-best start for second-year driver Chadwick, whose previous best was fifth earlier this season at Barber Motorsports Park.
Rookie Michael d’Orlando qualified fifth at 1:05.6157 in the No. 3 Flat Rock Motorsports Park/Rising Stars machine fielded by Andretti Cape INDY NXT. Callum Hedge was the third rookie to qualify in the top three rows, as he will start sixth after a best lap of 1:06.7954 in the No. 17 HMD Motorsports car.
Another rookie, Myles Rowe, suffered a tough break late in the session. Rowe was quick enough to secure the No. 3 starting spot late in the second group when he crashed the No. 99 HMD Motorsports with Force Indy car in Turn 9, triggering a red flag and losing his two quickest qualifying laps. Rowe will start 19th in the 21-car field.
COURTESY INDYCAR COMMUNICATIONS
