Scott Dixon of New Zealand won his seventh Indianapolis 500 pole in spectacular fashion on Sunday, setting the second-fastest four-lap qualifying run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway history.
Dixon won the last Fast Six qualifying session with a four-lap effort averaging 234.046 (376.66km/h), including two circuits of the 2.5-mile oval at above 234 mph.
Scott Dixon got his Honda-powered Chip Ganassi team car on pole for the second year in a row, but with only one win to show for his previous four pole positions (all in 2008), the Kiwi veteran was already looking forward to the 106th edition of the legendary event next Sunday.
“Obviously, it doesn’t mean a thing next Sunday,” he said.
“So we’re starting in the right spot. We haven’t had a good record keeping it in the right spot but we’ll definitely be trying come next Sunday.”
Despite that pragmatic stance, Dixon was clearly exhilarated by the day’s activities, which featured the fastest 12 finishers in Saturday’s opening qualifying competing in Top 12 qualifying and the top six from that coming back to set pole position and the first two rows of the grid.
With the final Fast Six run, Dixon pushed Ganassi team-mate Alex Palou of Spain (233.499 mph) into second on the grid.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Dutch driver Rinus Veekay claimed the third spot on the first row with a run at 233.385 mph.
Team chief and sometime driver Ed Carpenter (233.080 mph) claimed the fourth spot ahead of Swedish Ganassi driver Marcus Ericsson (232.764), and Ganassi’s Brazilian veteran Tony Kanaan (232.372).
“That’s what this place is about,” Scott Dixon said.
“So amazing – the ups and downs that you have just in one day – it’s crazy. Just so happy for everybody to get five of our cars into the fast 12 and then four into the Six. I hope Chip’s got a smile on his face.”
Dixon’s pole position time was the second-fastest four-lap qualifying run ever behind the 236.986 posted by Arie Luyendyk back in 1996.
It was actually the fastest ever run to claim pole, breaking Scott Brayton’s mark of 233.718 from 1996.
VeeKay had moved into second on the all-time qualifying chart behind Luyendyk on Saturday with a run at 233.655, but the 21-year-old settled for second-fastest behind Dixon in the Top-12 session before coming up third-quickest in the final shootout.
When the day’s action was complete, Mexico’s Pato O’Ward led the third row of the grid alongside Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist and France’s Romain Grosjean.
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato of Japan, former champion Will Power of Australia and NASCAR great Jimmie Johnson, an Indy 500 rookie, made up row four.
The remaining 13th-33rd spots on the grid had been set on Saturday.
Reigning Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves – one of just four four-time winners – starts from the 27th spot on the ninth row.
Johnson enlivened Sunday’s qualifiers with a big wobble on his Top-12 run that ended his hopes of making the Fast Six.
“These guys are so good at what they do,” said Johnson, who moved into IndyCar racing last year but didn’t opt to tackle the oval tracks until this season.
“I just need more experience.”
Grosjean, who moved to IndyCar last season after his Formula One career ended with a frightening fiery crash, is also a newcomer to the Indianapolis 500.
He admitted that he’d found oval racing more “complicated” than he anticipated. And at the speeds reached at Indianapolis, with the wind changing and track surface temperature fluctuating this weekend, Grosjean said on Sunday “was scary.”
“Track conditions changed a lot from the morning,” he said.
“We tried everything we had to get some speed … I’m glad it’s behind me.”
Starting grid for the 106th Indianapolis 500 on May 29 after Sunday’s Top-12 and Fast Six pole position qualifying on the 2.5 mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
Row 1
1. Scott Dixon, (NZL/Honda) 2min 33.8162sec 4-lap avg (234.046 mph)
2. Alex Palou (ESP/Honda) 2:34.1761 (233.499)
3. Rinus VeeKay, (NED/Chevrolet) 2:34.2516 (233.385)
Row 2
4. Ed Carpenter (USA/Chevrolet) 2:34.4532 (233.080)
5. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Honda) 2:34.6630 (232.764)
6. Tony Kanaan (BRA/Honda) 2:34.9243 (232.372)
Row 3
7. Pato O’Ward (MEX/Chevrolet) 2:34.7022 (232.705)
8. Felix Rosenqvist (SWE/Chevrolet) 2:35.0506 (232.182)
9. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Honda) 2:35.17229 (231.999)
Row 4
10. Takuma Sato (JPN/Honda) 2:35.3935 (231.670)
11. Will Power (AUS/Chevrolet) 2:35.4846 (231.534)
12. Jimmie Johnson (USA/Honda) 2:35.6664 (231.264)
Row 5
13. David Malukas, (USA/Honda) 2:35.4356 (231.607)
14. Josef Newgarden (USA/Chevrolet) 2:35.4541 (231.580)
15. Santino Ferrucci (USA/Chevrolet) 2:35.5019 (231.508)
Row 6
16. Simon Pagenaud (FRA/Honda) 2:35.6590 (231.275)
17. JR Hildebrand (USA/Chevrolet) 2:35.7684 (231.112)
18. Conor Daly (USA/Chevrolet) 2:35.8451 (230.999)
Row 7
19. Callum Ilott (GBR/Chevrolet) 2:35.8707 (230.961)
20. Alexander Rossi (USA/Honda) 2:35.9713 (230.812)
21. Graham Rahal (USA/Honda) 2:36.0022 (230.766)
Row 8
22. Sage Karam (USA/Chevrolet) 2:36.2064 (230.464)
23. Marco Andretti (USA/Honda) 2:36.2875 (230.345)
24. Devlin DeFrancesco (CAN/Honda) 2:36.3002 (230.326)
Row 9
25. Colton Herta (USA/Honda) 2:36.3620 (230.235)
26. Scott McLaughlin (NZL/Chevrolet) 2:36.4167 (230.154)
27. Helio Castroneves (BRA/Honda) 2:36.7741 (229.630)
Row 10
28. Kyle Kirkwood (USA/Chevrolet) 2:36.9269 (229.406)
29. Dalton Kellett (CAN/Chevrolet) 2:37.2628 (228.916)
30. Juan Pablo Montoya (COL/Chevrolet) 2:37.4655 (228.622)
Row 11
31. Christian Lundgaard (DEN/Honda) 2:38.5531 (227.053)
32. Jack Harvey (GBR/Honda) 2:38.6944 (226.851)
33. Stefan Wilson (GBR/Chevrolet) no time
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
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