The ascension of AJ Foyt Racing this season hit its highest point Saturday, as Santino Ferrucci delivered the fabled team its first NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole since 2014 by earning the NTT P1 Award for the BITNILE.COM Grand Prix of Portland.
Ferrucci earned his first career series pole in his first-ever appearance in the Firestone Fast Six, turning a top lap of 58.2046 seconds in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet owned by legendary four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt. It was the quickest lap overall so far this weekend in three sessions on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course at Portland International Raceway.
SEE: Qualifying Results
“We just felt it,” Ferrucci said. “We just rolled off the truck amazing. It’s been a year of hard work and progression, and we’ve shown some real speed at some times. It’s just great to put it together, man. Oh, my God.”
This was the first NTT P1 Award for Foyt’s team since Takuma Sato won the pole in June 2014 for the second race of the doubleheader at Raceway at Belle Isle in Detroit. Ferrucci’s previous best start was second in the second race of the doubleheader in 2020 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, when he drove for Dale Coyne Racing in an event that didn’t include the Firestone Fast Six due to pandemic-related event format changes.
"We've been close before, but it's so close now where they've been right there three or four times, so I'm just glad it finally happened," said A.J. Foyt, 89. "I told Larry (team president Larry Foyt) to tell Santino and the team congratulations because they've worked really hard, and I'm proud of them."
Two-time series champion Will Power will share the front row for the 110-lap race Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network) after qualifying second at 58.3120 in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.
The front-row lockout was the high point so far of the technical alliance between Team Penske and AJ Foyt Racing that started this season, which has helped the Foyt team become more competitive. Ferrucci, a free agent after this season, also admitted the pole may help him land another contract with Foyt’s team.
“I think it’s no secret how hard we’ve been working this year, how hard I’ve been working, Larry, our entire staff,” Ferrucci said. “Hell, I’ve got some more bargaining power for next year. I love it.
“What Larry and I have been building here at this team, I’m so proud of him, so proud of what we’ve accomplished. I just can’t wait for the future. This is just a glimpse of what we’ve got.”
Two-time and defending series champion Alex Palou continued his march toward a third title in four seasons by qualifying third at 58.4316 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou leads second-place Colton Herta by 59 points – slightly over a race’s worth of points – in the standings with four races remaining.
Christian Lundgaard qualified fourth at 58.5809 in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, his best performance since qualifying second for the Sonsio Grand Prix in May on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. RLL was the only team to put two cars into the Firestone Fast Six in a strong rebound from struggles in practice Friday and Saturday morning.
Kyle Kirkwood qualified fifth at 58.5960 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Global but will start 11th due to a six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change after the last event, last Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Graham Rahal rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 58.6332 in the No. 15 Hendrickson Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. But he also incurred a six-position grid penalty for an unapproved engine change at WWTR and will start 12th.
While Ferrucci’s pole sent shockwaves and congratulations from rival teams up and down pit lane, the list of drivers who failed to advance to the Firestone Fast Six also created ripples.
Herta qualified 10th in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian after an off-track excursion and wheelspin exiting a corner hurt two of his laps in the second round of qualifying. Six-time series champion Scott Dixon, third in points, qualified 11th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Herta and Dixon will start eighth and ninth, respectively, due to the grid penalties of Kirkwood and Rahal.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was Scott McLaughlin, fifth in points, qualifying 14th in the No. 3 Freightliner Team Penske Chevrolet after leading both practice sessions. Judging traffic on the short road course was the culprit, he said.
“I just didn’t find the gap where I should have,” McLaughlin said. “Pretty disappointed. You just can’t afford to … even if the car is a second in front of you, it (turbulence) disturbs it enough to slow it down.”
McLaughlin's challenge to move toward the front Sunday got tougher after qualifying. He was assessed a six-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change after qualifying today and will start 20th.