In a wet and wild qualifying session on the streets of Toronto, Arrow McLaren sent two cars to the Firestone Fast Six. In that final round, Felix Rosenqvist went to the top of the speed charts. He was then bested by four other drivers including teammate Pato O’Ward.

O’Ward thought he had the pole won. He stormed to the top after the time had expired. Unfortunately, Scott McLaughlin and soon after Christian Lundgaard stole the front row away.

Still, to start P3 on a day that saw so much chaos, O’Ward is happy.

“That was a gnarly session,” he said. “That kept me on my toes every single lap.

“Obviously, it was a drying race track, and it just kept getting better and better. The No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet was feeling good; it was all about having confidence in it and really attacking some of the corners that you didn’t quite know what they had in store.

“We just kept on pushing, and it’s a second-row start for the team tomorrow. It’s a great starting position to challenge for the podium and the win.”

18 of the last 20 races here, including 29 of the last 32 races were won from the top seven. The only other starting spots since (13th in 2001, 11th in 2014 and 11th again in 2015).

However, on street courses in general in INDYCAR now, the winners lately have come from 2021: 15th (Belle Isle 1), 16th (Belle Isle 2), 18th (Nashville), 14th (Long Beach).

• 2022: 1st (St. Pete 2022), 2nd (Long Beach 2022) and 16th (Belle Isle 2022), 2nd (Toronto), 14th (Nashville)
• 2023: 4th (St. Pete), 1st (Long Beach), 1st (Detroit).

O’Ward is in a prime position, especially with closing the gap in points.

Points leader Alex Palou starts 15th. Second place in points Scott Dixon starts seventh. Third, Josef Newgarden, rolls off 11th.

O’Ward, who’s 127 point out of the lead but just 17 from second lines up ahead of all.

He should have won in St. Pete. He had a fast car in Detroit but crashed. Now, he’s looking to capitalize, especially heading to a track next in Iowa that he finished 2nd and 1st respectively last year.