Qualifying Report: Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix

LEBANON, Tenn. Aug 30, 2025 -- David Malukas held on to the top spot in qualifying until the final moments of the session when he was "pipped" by Pato O'Ward who benefitted from a timely bit of cloud-cover during his pole-winning run at Nashville Superspeedway this afternoon.

Posting an average lap speed of 201.922 mph, the 23-year-old Chicagoan will start second in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet for the second week in a row and the third time this season.

"The guys just did a fantastic job," Malukas said. "And when it comes to Nashville, here at the super

speedway, everybody's genuinely, pretty much flat, right? So, it really comes down to the guys and the setup. And these guys just built a beautiful car. Again, I went out there and thought this [time] could be hard to beat. That was like the perfect car. I felt like I was driving a beauty. That was sweet. Very easy going.... it was a piece of cake at 200 miles an hour! And that's because of the guys -- the Foyt team just did such a good job."

Santino Ferrucci qualified 14th in the No. 14 Phoenix Investors Chevrolet after posting his two-lap average speed of 200.437 mph.

"Well, it was two, honestly, really good laps," Ferrucci said afterwards. "The second lap wasn't quite as clean as the first. I got a little tight off of two. But, you know, I think the engineers did a great job. It's two laps flat on a heavy trim. We're gonna have to come from 13th or 14th, but I really like the race car, so it should be fun."

Indeed, Ferrucci will start 13th because Callum Illott will move back nine spots from his P-9 qualifying run due to an unapproved engine change.

Rounding out the top five were Christian Lundgaard, Alex Palou and Scott Dixon.

FOX will broadcast the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix tomorrow starting at 2 p.m. ET.