The pole shootout was so close that Ryan Hunter-Reay, who will start third, thought he actually had passed Newgarden on the second-to-last attempt when he was clocked at 230.648. I didn’t think we had enough for the Andretti guys and then I probably shouldn’t have doubted us. He’s on the pole for the 100th running.
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“It was a good first lap”, Newgarden said.
Andretti Autosport’s Townsend Bell followed Newgarden onto the track.
Newgarden withstood challenges from Townsent Bell, who went out fifth in an Andretti Honda; three-time 500 victor Helio Castroneves of Team Penske; former series champion Will Power of Team Penske; former 500 victor Ryan Hunter-Reay in an Andretti Honda.
Scott Dixon, the 2008 race victor and last year’s pole sitter, will start 13 only because his crew delivered a magnificent job of changing a Chevrolet engine in not much more than an hour – half the normal time. “It was hard waiting”.
Hinchcliffe’s victory marks the first time in six races that Team Penske drivers have not won the pole and ends a 31-race pole drought for Honda, which dated to the 2014 race in Houston.
There won’t be a Team Penske on the front row for the first time in three years. The 2011 pole victor might have escaped without contact, but the antenuator at pit entry caught the nose of the A.J. Foyt Racing machine, sending it a rapid spin of almost six rotations.
There was one crash Sunday. Canada’s Alex Tagliani, who drives for A.J. Foyt, spun coming out of the fourth turn of his warmup lap and slammed into the attenuator at the entrance to pit road. Though his auto spun 5 1/2 times, he was quickly checked, released and cleared to drive by the infield medical centre.
Tagliani will start last on the traditional 33-car starting gird and will be the first starter since 1924 to start the race without an official qualifying speed. IndyCar said the debris on the track was its responsibility and let Montoya try to qualify again, but his pace was not competitive. “It’s incredible what a difference a year makes”.
“It’s insane”, Hinchcliffe said.
The next driver in the fast nine was Russian Mikhail Aleshin of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. It also came on the fifth anniversary of team owner Sam Schmidt’s team winning the pole in 2011.
Australia’s Will Power will start from sixth while compatriot Matt Brabham qualified 27th.
WHO’S NOT: Team Penske. “If we keep that trend up we’re looking pretty good heading for Memorial Day”. Will Power, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud were all in the Fast Nine, but each failed to match the speed they posted in Saturday’s qualifications. Pagenaud was eighth and Castroneves was ninth. “We have the best seat in the house for the biggest race ever”, said Hinchcliffe when asked about winning the pole position.
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Rain delayed practice by more than 4 1/2 hours, and when the cars finally made it onto the 2.5-mile oval, the conditions were totally different.
