HPD Trackside -- Indy 500 Pole Day race report
In a thrilling conclusion today to qualifying for next Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, Scott Dixon drove his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to a four-lap average speed of 232.164 mph to score his third Indy 500 pole, and the 10th for Honda in the last 17 years.
Dixon’s pole run, the fastest since Arie Luyendyk’s effort in 1996, capped a great day for Honda at the famed “Brickyard”, as the manufacturer claimed four of the top five starting positions for the 101st running of the Indy 500 on May 28, and seven of the top 10.
Defending race winner Alexander Rossi will start on the outside of the front row, third, in his Andretti Autosport Honda. The second “row of three” will include Rossi’s Andretti teammates Takuma Sato, fourth, and two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso, fifth in his Indy 500 debut.
Tony Kanaan will start eighth in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, with Marco Andretti rounding out the “Fast Nine” final-round qualifiers. Ryan Hunter-Reay will start 10th in his Andretti Honda, followed by impressive rookie Ed Jones for Dale Coyne Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Oriol Servia.
Sebastien Bourdais, injured in a hard Turn 1 crash in Saturday’s first-round qualifying, continues to recover after undergoing successful surgery at IU Health Methodist Hospital for fractures to his hip and pelvis. The Dale Coyne Racing driver will be replaced by two-time previous “500” starter James Davison.