The gap between Alex Palou and the rest of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course continues to widen, as Palou won the NTT P1 Award for the Sonsio Grand Prix today by more than a half-second.

Four-time and reigning series champion Palou earned his third consecutive pole for this road race that opens the Month of May at IMS, turning a top lap of 1 minute, 9.7487 seconds in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Series leader Palou earned his 14th career pole.

SEE: Qualifying Results | Starting Lineup/Tire Choice

It was the second pole of the season for Palou, who won from the top starting spot in March at Barber Motorsports Park. In more bad news for his 24 rivals, Palou won this race from the pole in 2024 and 2025. He also won in 2023, from the third starting position as he aims for his fourth consecutive victory in this event.

“It’s tough to get the car in good windows like these guys have been doing,” Palou said. “It’s a lot of work that everybody is putting in at Chip Ganassi Racing. Very happy to get that No. 10 on the pole once again here. The car was amazing.”

The 85-lap race starts at 4:30 p.m. ET today on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course (FOX, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls).

Palou’s dominance so far this weekend is complete. He led both practices Friday and all three rounds of qualifying today. His qualifying time edge of .5475 of a second over No. 2 qualifier Pato O’Ward is the largest in six events so far this season.

O’Ward will join Palou in the front row after his best lap of 1:10.2962 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in the Firestone Fast Six. O’Ward’s performance was a resurrection from practice Friday, as he was 15th and 19th quickest in the two sessions, respectively.

“My team turned it around for me, so I’ve got to thank them,” O’Ward said. “Yesterday was a perfect example of when it’s not working, it doesn’t matter how hard you try. You can’t quite there unless you get it at least into the window of performance. We did that today.”

Felix Rosenqvist qualified third at 1:10.4548 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian. Christian Lundgaard will join him in the second row after qualifying a season-best fourth at 1:10.4751 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

David Malukas continued the strong start to his Team Penske career by qualifying fifth at 1:10.5660 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Louis Foster rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1:10.9404 in the No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, his best qualifying performance this season.

Kyle Kirkwood, the only driver within a race worth of points of Palou in the standings, may struggle to keep pace with the series leader after qualifying ninth in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda of Andretti Global. Kirkwood trails Palou by 17 points in the standings.