Scott McLaughlin and Kyle Kirkwood had the fastest cars in practices for Sunday’s inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, but neither will be near the top spot when the green flag drops for the 70-lap street race.

And these two NTT INDYCAR SERIES veterans are not alone. Other typically fast drivers will start deeper in the 25-car field than they expected to be.

Series points leader Josef Newgarden joined McLaughlin and Kirkwood in the group of drivers who failed to reach the Firestone Fast Six round in qualifying. Yet when the race starts (11:30 a.m. ET, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls), they will be among those likely to be on the charge.

That should heighten the suspense in a first-year event with no history to predict the future.

McLaughlin, who was fastest in Friday’s practice, will start at the tail of the field after slamming into the Turn 8 barrier on his first-round qualifying run. Kirkwood paced Saturday’s pre-qualifying practice, but he misjudged the number of laps he had left in the second round of qualifying and had to settle for the No. 7 starting position.

Kyle Kirkwood

Kirkwood (photo, above, left) was particularly irritated – with himself.

“Between (slight wall contact) and a little hiccup on pit lane, I just forgot which lap we need to do our (best) lap on,” the driver of Andretti Global’s No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda. “For some reason I had embedded in my mind that it was Lap 2, but we had three laps of fuel in the car, and I had a big mistake down in Turn 10.

“It was a bit of a messy run.”

Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who qualified third in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, predicted Kirkwood would win the NTT P1 Award. He was close. Kirkwood’s teammate, Marcus Ericsson, claimed the top spot, the first of his INDYCAR SERIES career.

McLaughlin grazed the inside wall on the downhill run through Turn 8, and the veering shot the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet into the left-side wall on exit.

“Just turned in a little early and clipped the inside wall,” said McLaughlin, who won the pole for the season’s first street race, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. “I’m really bummed for the guys (because) it was a silly mistake. It is what it is. You’re trying to find the limits, but I don’t want to give (the crew) the work, to be honest.”

Newgarden’s trouble occurred in Saturday morning’s practice. Late in the session, his No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet hit the Turn 2 wall, damaging not only the wheel but the car’s suspension and underside. Team Penske had to go to a backup car for qualifying, including yellow body panels from the team’s XPEL livery mixed with its normal PPG blue (photo, top). He will start 11th in the race.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon is another of the series’ heavyweights who will start deep in this field. He will roll off 20th, with a difficult morning session costing his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. He spun in Turn 8, then was struck in the left rear corner by Andretti Global’s Will Power arriving on the scene about four seconds later.

“We keep finding each other,” Dixon said in reference to their 2023 crash at Road America. “At least he didn’t flip me off this time.”

Power’s crew was able to repair the No. 26 TWG AI Honda in time to earn the fourth starting position.

In 2021, the INDYCAR SERIES went to Nashville for its first street race. Ericsson ran into the back of Sebastien Bourdais’ car on Lap 5, drawing a stop-and-go penalty for avoidable contact. The Swede, whose car lifted airborne upon contact, made five pit stops in all yet still won the race. That’s how unpredictable street races can be. Something similar could happen here.

Yes, Ericsson, reigning series champion Alex Palou and other top-six starters will have the best odds to reach victory lane. But no one knows what to expect from this event. No one should be counted out, particularly not McLaughlin, Kirkwood and Newgarden.