In a stunning display of speed and resilience, Arrow McLaren has achieved its first-ever 1-2 qualifying start in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, with Mexican driver Pato O'Ward and team newcomer Christian Lundgaard taking the top two positions during the NTT P1 Award qualifying for The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix held on Saturday.

Pato O’Ward, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, secured his sixth career pole with an impressive lap time of 1 minute, 39.9567 seconds during the Firestone Fast Six. This pole position marks a significant comeback for O'Ward, who had a challenging start to the season with a disappointing 23rd place finish in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg earlier this month. His performance at The Thermal Club is a testament to the hard work and adjustments made by the Arrow McLaren team.

"I knew if we could get the car to my liking, I would get it done," O’Ward expressed. "We turned it around. After Q1, we made a little bit of an adjustment, and as soon as we went out in Q2, I said, ‘I’ve got this.’"

Christian Lundgaard, driving the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, qualified right behind O’Ward with a time of 1:40.1245. This marks Lundgaard’s best starting position since last May when he also qualified second for the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, where he previously raced for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

In a noteworthy contrast, the historic front-row sweep for Arrow McLaren highlights a dramatic shift in the competition landscape, as traditional powerhouses faced struggles. Team Penske, known for its dominance, failed to advance past the first round of qualifying for the first time in over three years. Josef Newgarden was the fastest of the three Penske drivers, qualifying in 17th, while Will Power and Scott McLaughlin followed in 21st and 25th place, respectively.

The competitive field at The Thermal Club revealed other strong performances as three-time and reigning champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing qualified third with a time of 1:40.3092. Palou had initially set the fastest lap of the day early on but was advised to conserve his tires in the final round as the pursuit for pole intensified.

With the race day quickly approaching, the inaugural points-paying event at The Thermal Club will kick off with a 25-minute warmup session at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, leading into the highly anticipated 65-lap race scheduled for 3 p.m. ET. All eyes will be on Arrow McLaren, as they seek to capitalize on their front row position and make a mark in the championship race amid the rising competition.

Stay tuned as this thrilling storyline unfolds - can O'Ward and Lundgaard convert their front-row status into a historic win for Arrow McLaren?