Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia
Qualifying report

Indy 500: Pagenaud wins pole for Penske

Simon Pagenaud won his first ever Indy 500 pole position, and Team Penske’s 18th, defeating Ed Carpenter and his teammates with a beautifully consistent run in the Fast Nine shootout that averaged 229.992mph.

Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske Chevrolet

Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske Chevrolet

IndyCar Series

The Frenchman, who just last Sunday won the IndyCar Grand Prix, turned a beautiful run in the Penske-Chevrolet with three laps above 230mph and a 229.7 on his fourth to knock three-time Indy polesitter Ed Carpenter from the top spot.

When neither his teammate Will Power nor Carpenter’s teammate Spencer Pigot – fastest yesterday – could match his speed and consistency, Pagenaud held on to top spot.

Despite generally being third fastest ECR car all week, Carpenter will start from the middle of the front row with a 229.889 average, just a squeak ahead of his former Indy Lights champion teammates Spencer Pigot and Ed Jones.

Colton Herta was fastest Honda driver, nailing fifth place with a great 229.086mph average, eclipsing 2018 Indy 500 winner Power who couldn’t explain where his speed had gone, but whose car looked more wayward than that of Pagenaud.

Sebastien Bourdais was seventh in the Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda to beat the third Penske of Josef Newgarden, while Alexander Rossi was a slightly anti-climactic ninth in the fastest of the Andretti Autosport-Hondas.

For last chance qualifier report click here

FAST NINE SHOOTOUT

Cla Driver Team Time Gap Mph
1 France Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske 2'36.5271 230.012
2 United States Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing 2'36.5971 0.0700 229.909
3 United States Spencer Pigot
Ed Carpenter Racing 2'36.6402 0.1131 229.846
4 United Arab Emirates Ed Jones
Ed Carpenter Racing 2'36.7629 0.2358 229.666
5 United States Colton Herta
Harding Steinbrenner Racing 2'37.1465 0.6194 229.106
6 Australia Will Power
Team Penske 2'37.4490 0.9219 228.665
7 France Sébastien Bourdais
Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan 2'37.4659 0.9388 228.641
8 United States Josef Newgarden
Team Penske 2'37.6208 1.0937 228.416
9 United States Alexander Rossi
Andretti Autosport 2'37.7240 1.1969 228.267

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Indianapolis 500 qualifying as it happened
Next article McLaren will not buy an entry for the Indy 500

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia