Louis Foster Claims First Pole Position at Road America

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Rookie Louis Foster made history by earning his first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position at Road America on Saturday. He clocked a stunning lap time of 1 minute, 44.5141 seconds in the No. 45 Droplight/Desnuda Tequila Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Foster’s performance marks him as the second rookie to capture the NTT P1 Award this season, following Robert Shwartzman, who secured pole at Indianapolis. This achievement makes Foster the first rookie to win a pole position at a road course or street circuit since Linus Lundqvist did so at this race last year.

“Absolutely awesome,” said Foster after qualifying. “The 45 crew has been amazing all weekend. I still can’t believe it. We went fast on old and new tires. I’m going to celebrate well tonight.”

Joining Foster on the front row is championship leader Alex Palou, who qualified second with a time of 1:44.6300 in the No. 10 SOLO Cup Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kyle Kirkwood, the winner of the last two races, will start third with a time of 1:44.8523 in the No. 27 Siemens Honda of Andretti Global.

Scott McLaughlin and Christian Lundgaard also advanced to the Firestone Fast Six, with McLaughlin qualifying fourth at 1:45.0137 in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet and Lundgaard fifth at 1:45.0828 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Foster’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammate, Graham Rahal, qualified sixth at 1:45.4877. The team’s strong performance is a highlight, as both drivers made it to the final round of qualifying.

After a two-race podium drought, Palou expressed satisfaction with his qualifying results. “I’m really happy with the qualifying we did. It’s big here to start up front,” he said.

The 55-lap race will take place on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET, with a warmup session at 10 a.m. ET. Fans can watch the race on FOX and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

This season has seen significant competitiveness among the rookie drivers, with Foster and Shwartzman setting a new benchmark. The upcoming race will further test various tire strategies as teams prepare for what promises to be an exciting event.