RacinToday.com

Scott Dixon won the Indianapolis 500 pole for the fourth time in his career, taking the NTT P1 Award in the fastest field in Indy history with a four-lap average speed of 231.685 mph.

Six-time and reigning IndyCar Series champion Dixon was fastest during the first day of qualifying on Saturday, and he also stood tall during the Firestone Fast Nine Shootout on Sunday in the No. 9 Honda.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dixon, winner of the 2008 500, also won poles in 2008, 2015 and 2017, and he ties Rex Mays, A.J. Foyt and Helio Castroneves for the second-most poles in Indy 500 history.

“Winning a pole at the Indianapolis 500 is one of the toughest things to do,” Dixon said. “From a team standpoint, just how much work and effort goes into building these cars specifically for that pole run, it’s a lot of money and a lot of effort that it takes.

“We’ve been on the other side of it. We’ve had them before, but we’ve started well in the pack, too, where you can’t figure out why you’re in that position. Definitely feel good for the team. I know the team is going to be proud of what we achieved today. Again, it’s just the starting position. We have to work on the rest.”

Dixon, 40, will be joined by the two youngest drivers in the field in the front row on 105th Indianapolis 500 Race Day, Sunday, May 30.

Colton Herta, 21, will start second in the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda, falling just short of Dixon with a four-lap average of 231.655. Rinus VeeKay, 20, qualified third at 231.511 in the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet and is the youngest front-row starter in the century-plus history of the race.

Herta was the eighth of nine drivers to make a single attempt during the Shootout, and his big run was good enough for provisional pole. But Dixon, the last driver on track due to being fastest Saturday, delivered with the sixth Indy 500 pole for Chip Ganassi Racing even though his final laps were kind of scary.

“It was pretty hairy,” Dixon said. “Glad it’s over. It was definitely pretty tense. I was able to watch Colton’s four laps, too. Wish I hadn’t before I went out. I knew his consistency was probably going to be a tick better than the other two, and it sure was.

“Yeah, at Turn 1 for the first lap was very loose, and I was already maxed out on all the controls. I knew it was just going to be holding on for lap three and four. Lap four was definitely pretty rough, especially through Turn 3.”

(This story will be updated shortly)

No Comment