IndyCar Laguna Seca starting lineup: Felix Rosenqvist on pole in last Arrow McLaren start

Felix Rosenqvist will start first in his last start with Arrow McLaren.

The No. 6 Dallara-Chevrolet driver a lap of 1 minute, 6.6416 seconds to nip Scott McLaughlin for his second NTT IndyCar Series pole position this season and the fifth of his career.

"It's the last weekend with the team, so a bit emotional obviously," said Rosenqvist, who announced this week that he will be moving to Meyer Shank Racing in a multiyear deal. "I love all these guys and girls in Arrow McLaren. Yeah, it's definitely a perfect way to end things."

INDYCAR FINALE AT LAGUNA SECA: Details, schedules for watching on NBC, Peacock

Sunday's race could be memorable for reasons well beyond being the Swede's last hurrah at Arrow McLaren. A fresh coat of asphalt has produced blistering speeds and extremely physical conditions.

Christian Lundgaard qualified third but broke the 23-year-old track record with a 1:06.461 lap (average speed at 121.226 mph) in Round 2. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver was one of 20 who went faster in qualifying than Helio Castroneves' previous mark of 1:07.722 that was set for the Sept. 10, 2000 CART race.

QUALIFYING RESULTS: Click here for Grand Prix of Monterey qualifying speeds | Round 1, Group 1 | Round 1, Group 2 | Round 2 l Round 3

There have been more than a dozen red flags for incidents over four sessions in three days for IndyCar, which held a five-hour test Thursday. Drivers have marveled at how difficult the cars have become to drive with massive grip and little tire degradation, leading some to predict a grueling 95-lap race.

"The limit is so small, but you have to be on it," said McLaughlin, who qualified second for the second consecutive race. "This is why you come IndyCar racing. This is why everybody is talking about it. It's why it's so cool. You're so close to the limit. There's nothing left in the car. The downforce, you're right on the maximum of everything.

"To do a lap around here at that pace is super cool. So, yeah, props to Felix. I felt like we let one get away."

There were several surprises as two-time winner Colton Herta (who led Friday's practice), Kyle Kirkwood, Alexander Rossi and Marcus Ericsson failed to reach the second round, and Will Power (last year's pole-sitter) missed Round 2.

Juri Vips qualified seventh for only his second IndyCar start but will start 13th as one of three drivers taking a six-position grid penalty for an engine change.

Defending race winner Alex Palou, who clinched his second championship with a victory at Portland last Sunday, will start sixth alongside Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon in the third row.

Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on the 11-turn 2.238-mile WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed):

ROW 1

1. (6) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 1:06.6416 (120.897 mph)
2. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 1:06.6513 (120.880)

ROW 2

3. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 1:06.7478 (120.705)
4. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 1:06.7937 (120.622)

ROW 3

5. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 1:07.0171 (120.220)
6. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 1:07.2846 (119.742)

ROW 4

7. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 1:06.9172 (120.400)
8. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 1:06.9282 (120.380)

ROW 5

9. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 1:07.1292 (120.019)
10. (5) Pato O'Ward, Chevrolet, 1:07.9392 (118.588)

ROW 6

11. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 1:07.2323 (119.835)
12. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 1:07.4666 (119.419)

ROW 7

13. (30) Juri Vips, Honda, 1:06.8300 (120.557)*
14. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 1:07.3726 (119.586)

ROW 8

15. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 1:07.5425 (119.285)
16. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 1:07.4029 (119.532)

ROW 9

17. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 1:07.4479 (119.452)*
18. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 1:07.6149 (119.157)

ROW 10

19. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 1:07.4009 (119.535)*
20. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 1:07.5183 (119.328)

ROW 11

21. (60) Tom Blomqvist, Honda, 1:07.7419 (118.934)
22. (18) David Malukas, Honda, 1:07.7816 (118.864)

ROW 12

23. (55) Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet, 1:07.7583 (118.905)
24. (51) Sting Ray Robb, Honda, 1:07.8639 (118.720)

ROW 13

25. (20) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, 1:11.0620 (113.377)
26. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 1:07.9083 (118.642)

ROW 14

27. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, No Time (No Speed)

*—Six-position penalty for engine change