Qualifying for the 500 is done through two days of running with the nine fastest cars from the first day shooting it out on the last day for the pole and their final starting positions.
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Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe, who almost lost his life a year ago in a crash during practice, has qualified on pole for the famous race at the Brickyard.
Newgarden will start second in the race next Sunday after going 230.700. After the 100-miler Gohde got the winner’s autograph in the pits, something he couldn’t do when he saw Hank Aaron hit a home run at County Stadium, and, again, he was hooked.Paul began attending the Indianapolis 500 in 1961, and saw A. J. Foyt’s first Indy win. Sam Schmidt’s team got all three of its drivers in the top 10 with Mikhail Aleshin seventh and Oriol Servia 10th.
A veritable fairytale story for the Canadian, Hinchcliffe was left fighting for his life at Indianapolis previous year after a high speed smash left him with a series of injuries and putting him out for the remainder of the 2015 season.
Scott Dixon poses for the traditional photo at the yard of bricks after qualifying races for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The pole shootout was so close that Ryan Hunter-Reay, who will start third, thought he had passed Newgarden on the second-to-last attempt when he was clocked at 230.648 miles per hour around the 21/2-mile track.
After Newgarden was Ryan Hunter-Reay, Townsend Bell and Carloz Munoz. I had to keep reminding myself, ‘It’s only for the top nine.
“Winning the pole would’ve been badass”, Newgarden said.
The only thing at stake Saturday was the right to compete in Sunday’s top-nine shootout for pole position.
Hinchcliffe said he was trying not to think about how big of a story this is. Qualifying in Row 3 were Hinchcliffe’s teammate Mikhail Aleshin (seventh) and a pair of Penske drivers, season points leader Simon Pagenaud (eighth) and three-time Indy 500 victor Helio Castroneves (ninth). But on that last lap, Hinchcliffe, who called his auto “a absolute smoke show”, tracked down and passed Newgarden.
James Hichcliffe claimed the pole for the 100th Indianapolis 500 in an emotional Sunday at the Speedway. “At least we know we’re going to be in the first three rows in the race, and that’s a huge boost going into next Sunday”.
“I would like to have a better one next weekend as well, but that would make a movie for sure”.
Defending Indianapolis 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya was permitted to make a second qualifying attempt today after running over a large plastic garbage bag on his first try.
Castroneves won the Indy 500 in 2001, 2002 and 2009 and has taken the pole four times – 2003, 2007, 2009 and 2010.
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Prior to the start of the Fast Nine Challenge, the drivers who were not among the fastest nine in Saturday’s qualifying session took to the track to decide the makeup of spots 10 through 33 on the starting grid.
