Kirkwood Tops Practice, Qualifies First at Nashville

Kyle Kirkwood led opening practice and then won pole for Sunday’s Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, continuing a strong start to the weekend. He posted a two-lap qualifying average of 196.852 mph in Andretti Global’s No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda, giving him his first pole of the season and the fourth of his IndyCar career. It was also his second pole at Nashville after he qualified first there in 2024.

Kirkwood’s opening lap of 197.382 mph was the fastest of the qualifying session. Josef Newgarden briefly held the provisional pole before finishing second at 196.642 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet. Scott McLaughlin was third at 196.087 mph, Alex Palou was fourth at 196.050 mph, and Scott Dixon was fifth at 195.802 mph. Kirkwood had also topped practice with a best lap of 197.097 mph, while Palou was second in practice with a 196.966 mph lap after entering the weekend with a 56-point championship lead.

David Malukas was the fastest Chevrolet-powered driver in practice and ran third before a heavy crash in Turn 2 about 19 minutes into the one-hour session ended his day. The session was shortened to about 52 minutes after Malukas’s car hit the SAFER Barrier, and the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team helped him from the car before he was taken to a local hospital for further testing. He did not attempt qualifying and was set to start last in the 25-car field. Qualifying was scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, with the 300-lap race set for Sunday at about 5:30 p.m. ET.