Overview
- At Circuit of The Americas on Saturday, Antonio Giovinazzi and Jack Aitken recorded identical Hyperpole laps but Giovinazzi was awarded pole because he set the time first, giving the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari top spot by the tie-break rule.
- Scott McLaughlin grabbed IndyCar pole at Laguna Seca with a last‑gasp 1:09.1363 lap that beat Alex Palou by 0.0177 seconds, a margin that will matter for Sunday’s season‑finale grid and prize allocations.
- Lightning canceled qualifying at Darlington, so NASCAR’s metric formula — 70% last‑race result and 30% owner points — set the Cook Out Southern 500 lineup and placed Tyler Reddick on pole.
- Heart of Racing’s Eduardo Barrichello took LMGT3 Hyperpole at COTA, marking the team’s third straight LMGT3 pole and reinforcing its short-term class advantage going into the six‑hour race.
- Practice events and technical notes — from transponder faults and cars stopping behind the wall to engine‑change grid penalties that drop drivers multiple places — are altering strategies and final starting orders across the weekend’s series.