Arrow McLaren’s Chevrolet-powered cars claimed the top two positions in the 2025 IndyCar Series Portland Qualifying at Portland International Raceway, with Christian Lundgaard capturing the pole position after a lap of 58.3939 seconds in the Firestone Fast Six. His teammate, Pato O’Ward, qualified second, finishing just 0.1404 seconds behind Lundgaard. The qualifying took place Sunday ahead of the Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland.
However, due to an unapproved engine change resulting in a six-place grid penalty for Lundgaard, O’Ward will start from the inside front row spot. This will mark the fourth time in the 2025 season that O’Ward starts on the front row. Despite the reshuffle, Arrow McLaren succeeded in a front-row lockout, underscoring the team’s strong pace at the 1.964-mile, 12-turn road course.
Chevrolet Drivers Dominate Fast Six, Championship Leader Falters
Adding to the Chevrolet dominance in the Fast Six were two other Bowtie-powered drivers: Will Power in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and David Malukas in the No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Gallagher Insurance Chevrolet, who qualified fourth and fifth respectively. These four Chevrolet entries filled four of the six fastest qualifying positions.
Championship leader Álex Palou experienced an uncharacteristic mistake during the Fast Six session and will start four spots behind O’Ward, adversely affecting his chances in the race and championship battle. This slip-up highlights the unpredictability and intense competitiveness of the Portland circuit.
Qualifying Insights and Standout Performances from Key Drivers
Christian Lundgaard, despite his eventual grid penalty, expressed pride in his team’s turnaround and front-row success. He described the qualifying session as unexpectedly positive considering earlier struggles during qualifying.
“No. Honestly, as I crossed the line, I still didn’t really expect it. I just felt like I had a big push in Turn 5, a big push in Turn 6, and I knew I was slower than the Fast 12, so I didn’t really think that was it. But, we were discussing this, and this was kind of best case scenario for us with the six place grid penalty. I’m just proud of this team. I mentioned this to you yesterday. We’ve had a week off, everybody’s kind of recharged and obviously another front row lockout for the team. except only one of them will start there. I’m happy that we at least could help Pato out in that sense”
—Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Pato O’Ward reflected on the surprising improvement from practice into qualifying, crediting the team’s hard work despite minimal car changes. He expressed optimism on starting the race from the advantageous inside position on the front row.
“It’s a bit of a surprising qualifying, considering where we were in practice. We were still inching away trying to make it better. So much changes in a year. I mean, where we were last year compared to where (we were last year). Christian, great job on getting the fastest lap time there. We did it back to back to back for all three qualifying sessions. I was super happy with that. The car just came alive. I don’t really have an explanation for you. We didn’t really change anything from practice. Sometimes that’s the story with these Firestone tires. So, I’m happy with this great qualifying session and we’ll be leading the field to green. It’s the best view into Turn 1 and super proud of the team and all the hard work that’s gone into it, because this was rally our toughest road course last year, so great step forward.”
—Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Will Power, who qualified fourth, noted the minor adjustments made to improve performance and acknowledged the competitiveness at the top.
David Malukas described a chaotic qualifying session filled with obstacles, including a penalty and red flag interruptions, but commended his car’s speed and his crew’s effort to place him in the Fast Six.
“Good run. I mean, frustrating session, to be honest. So many things didn’t go our way in all the qualifying sessions. [In] Group 1 I made a mistake, so ended up having to do a Drive Through penalty. And then by the time we went back out, the red flag comes out. So they tell me, we have one lap to push. So tires are cold, and I scrape the lap together. Made it to the fast 12. And again, guys in front of us doing different strategies and we’re getting caught up behind them, try to push, and tires are cold. And we barely, again, scrape into the Fast Six. Then we’re actually in the Fast Six and we’re on a different strategy. We push on lap three, Palou goes off and causes a yellow and we have to back out try to save fuel for the last one. So it was a chaotic session, but the guys gave me an incredible rocket ship. I mean, it was so fast. The fact that we’re scraping laps together and still making it through every single time just goes to show how good this car is and how capable it was. Obviously it hurts, because I think we had a chance, an opportunity, to fight for that pole. But in the end, it is what it is, and we’ll take a p5, starting p4 tomorrow with the penalties. So good day for the number four crew in the Gallagher car.”
—David Malukas, No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Gallagher Insurance Chevrolet
Additional Qualifying Performances and Challenges
Other notable qualifiers included Alexander Rossi in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Java House Chevrolet, who managed a strong seventh place despite a difficult summer stretch. Josef Newgarden’s Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet group faced challenges resulting in a ninth-place qualification, while Scott McLaughlin narrowly missed the Fast Six, frustrated by a critical error on his final attempt.
Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing wrote off their qualifying struggles with issues in tire preparation and red flags, respectively, placing 24th and 25th after difficult sessions.
“The black tires were really good. We built up some momentum, and then I really expected quite a bit more when we went into the reds. I just don’t think we got the tire preparation right. Something was missing and we just missed a lot of grip on the rear, and it’s so tight here in qualifying that every little bit makes a difference. It is a shame not to build off the speed on the blacks, but it is what it is and we will look to move forward tomorrow.”
—Callum Ilott, No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet
“It was a difficult session as a whole. We opted to do two runs on the red tires, and things were looking okay after the first runs. We struggled to improve on the second set, and then unfortunately I had a moment in the last corner which resulted in hitting the wall and bringing out the red flag. It has put us at the back, and I am sorry to the team. We need to make the most of Final Practice later today and see what we can do tomorrow as we know the races can be very chaotic in Portland.”
—Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet
Insights from the Post-Qualifying Press Conference
During the NTT IndyCar Series news conference held on August 9, 2025, O’Ward expressed pride in Arrow McLaren’s progress and the significant strides made compared to previous years, especially highlighting the team’s efforts to improve their performance on a track that had been challenging.
“Super proud of the team. A massive turnaround to where we were here last year. Super proud of everybody and all the work that’s gone into specifically this weekend to turn things around.”
—Pato O’Ward
He further acknowledged the unexpected improvement during qualifying, stating that the car felt significantly better without many changes from practice, attributing part of the performance boost to Firestone tires’ consistency.
On the topic of competition in the championship, O’Ward admitted the steep points deficit to Álex Palou but emphasized focusing on their own performance.
“We’re focusing on our car, on our end of the grid and see where we can capitalize, hopefully just keep on scoring points.”
—Pato O’Ward
Christian Lundgaard, discussing his pole position, admitted that the outcome was somewhat surprising given the fluctuations in pace from practice to qualifying. He expressed satisfaction with securing the pole despite the penalty and praised the team’s efforts in making a strong season possible.
“Yeah, I did not expect that. After yesterday having the pace, obviously being P1 on both tires in practice one, obviously you’re optimistic going into qualifying day… Obviously happy that we got it for the team and it’s another 1-2 from a qualifying position standpoint. Obviously not the start. We found an issue on the engine yesterday so we had to change it. Thanks to Chevy for finding that.”
—Christian Lundgaard
The drivers also discussed the intensity and challenge presented by Turn 1 at Portland, the site of the race start, with O’Ward joking about instructing his close competitor Felix to avoid contact.
“I’ve been having dinner with him the last two nights. I think it’s going to be the same this night. I will tell him, Let’s not screw each other up (smiling).”
—Pato O’Ward
On their intra-team rivalry and mutual encouragement, both Arrow McLaren drivers acknowledged the benefits of pushing each other to improve through competition, driving both performance and team success.
“I feel like I knew as soon as Christian coming into the team, that was only going to make me better. I think vice versa for him. He’s also got someone in me that is going to be pushing him every single week.”
—Pato O’Ward
“At the end of the day I think it’s quite simple. It’s wanting the same thing, and that’s to win. You want to be competitive.”
—Christian Lundgaard
Looking Ahead: Implications for Sunday’s Race and Points Battle
With the pole sitter Lundgaard relegated to start seventh due to his grid penalty, Pato O’Ward inherits the prime front-row position, promising an intense start at the Portland International Raceway. The team’s strong qualifying performance marks a potential turning point in the season, especially on a track that had challenged them in previous years.
Álex Palou’s error and resultant lowered starting position add pressure in the championship fight, while drivers like Will Power and David Malukas appear poised to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the reshuffled grid.
The combination of team strength, driver momentum, and strategic positioning positions Arrow McLaren as a serious contender for victory Sunday, and their qualifying dominance signals ongoing competition at the front of the field in the 2025 IndyCar season’s next chapters.
