(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing NTT DATA Honda) captured the pole position for the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil with the fastest average speed - 232.164 mph - in 21 years. The 10-mile run - four laps around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval - was the best speed seen at IMS since Arie Luyendyk set the track record of 236.986 mph in second-day qualifying on May 12, 1996. The four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion and fourth-winningest driver in Indy car history was on the ragged edge all the way around The Speedway. "It feels fast," Dixon said. "Any speed (above) 215 or 220 around this place feels really fast, but I think you just block it all out. You're constantly just trying to feel how the car is, see where you can place it, see if you can improve the next lap. It's been so intense this weekend just trying to hold on to the car for the four laps. I think that's where all the focus has been. But I think for the Verizon IndyCar Series, it's cool to see these speeds gradually creeping up. It's good to see we've made a big improvement. I think I did a 227 average last year, so it's a nice little jump." This is Dixon's third Indy 500 pole position - he won from the front spot in 2008 - and the 26th of his 17-year Indy car career, moving the 36-year-old New Zealander past Paul Tracy and alone into 11th place on the all-time poles list. Editor's Note: Look for more on Indy in "Fumes." -WG
(Photo by Jim Haines/INDYCAR)
Ed Carpenter (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet) qualified second with a four-lap average speed of 231.664 mph. It was the third front-row start in the Indianapolis 500 for Carpenter, who was fastest in first-day qualifying. He was the 2013 and 2014 pole sitter.
(Photo By Walter Kuhn/INDYCAR)
Defending Indy 500 champion Alexander Rossi (No. 98 Andretti Autosport NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Honda) qualified third with a speed of 231.487 mph. Rossi started 11th as an Indy 500 rookie a year ago, fell back midway and won the 200-lap race on a risky fuel strategy. This will be his career-best start in a Verizon IndyCar Series race - his previous best was fifth earlier this season at Long Beach - and the first front-row start of his Indy car career.
(Photo by Forest Mellot/INDYCAR)
Takuma Sato (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Panasonic Honda, shown here in Sunday morning practice) was fourth-quick with a four lap average speed of 231.365 mph, one of four Andretti Autosport entries in the Fast Nine qualifiers for the Indianapolis 500.
(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Fernando Alonso (No. 29 McLaren-Honda-Andretti Honda) earned a notable fifth starting position with a four-lap average speed of 231.300. The 35-year-old Spaniard had the most eventful day of the Andretti drivers, with his car undergoing a lightning-quick engine change following the pre-qualifying practice session on Sunday. It didn't seem to bother the two-time Formula One champion who was making his Verizon IndyCar Series and oval track debut, because he took it in stride and went about his business in very impressive fashion.
(Photo by Dana Garrett/INDYCAR)
JR Hildebrand (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Preferred Freezer Service Chevrolet) was sixth with a four-lap average of 230.889 mph. "Our run was good. I feel like we got almost as much out of it as we could. We had a little bobble on the last lap. Really happy for the ECR guys. Our best starting position this year in what's been a very challenging couple of days. Really happy for our team to get a couple of bowties up there. We're really looking forward to the race. As we've seen, if you look at the statistics, it doesn't really matter where you start, but you always prefer to be in the top couple of rows."
For a look at the complete starting grid of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500, go here.
(Honda)
Twenty-four-year-old Sebastian Eriksson (No. 93 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Civic) edged Steve Arpin (No. 00 Loenbro Motorsports JCB Ford Fiesta ST) by .071 seconds to win Sunday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross Louisville final at the Kentucky Exposition Center. It was Eriksson’s second career victory and the first for Honda since joining the sport at the beginning of last season. “It was a great race for us,” said Eriksson. “I was up in the lead for a few laps, but then I fell back to fourth, so it was crazy. But it was so much fun! The team has worked so hard for this over the past year and a half, and finally we’ve been able to win a race. It feels great, but we can’t stop working hard and trying to secure more victories this year.” Before the 10-car Supercar final began, a rain shower soaked the .699-mile course. Four drivers — Eriksson, Arpin, and Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross teammates Scott Speed and Tanner Foust — spent much of the final running nose to tail, with the Joker Lap and a slippery dirt surface shuffling the order throughout. Arpin nearly got past Eriksson in the final corner, setting up a drag race to the finish, but wasn’t quite able to make the pass. Scott Speed (No. 41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Oberto VW Beetle) finished third, with the top four drivers finishing within one second of each other. Rounds 3 and 4 will be contested at the historic Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Thompson, CT. Coverage can be seen live on NBC beginning on Saturday, June 3rd, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
(Photo by Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E)
Sebastien Buemi (No. 9 Renault e.Dams, Spark-Renault) won the FIA Formula E Championship Qatar Airways Paris ePrix last weekend. Jose Maria Lopez (No. 37 DS Virgin Racing) was second and Nick Heidfeld (No. 23 Mahindra Racing) finished third.
(INDYCAR)
INDYCAR has released the "NEXT" concept images (street courses, road courses and short ovals, above and below) of the car that will be used by all Verizon IndyCar Series competitors in 2018. "The newest images give more definition to the sleek and bold look of the universal aerodynamic bodywork kit that will fit to the current Dallara IR-12 chassis in 2018," says INDYCAR. The supplier of the universal kit has yet to be finalized, but it has been reverse-designed to start with a look of past Indy car favorites while also incorporating the latest technological and safety advancements. INDYCAR will begin testing the car by mid-summer. Verizon IndyCar Series teams will still choose between Chevrolet and Honda engines for competition in 2018. As with the current aero kits provided by Chevrolet and Honda through the end of this season, the universal car will come in two configurations: one for superspeedway ovals and the other for street courses, road courses and short ovals. Editor-In-Chief's Note: INDYCAR is in desperate need of a third manufacturer. Where is it? And here's a suggestion, lose the term "universal" and in a hurry. It suggests not special, and that's the last thing INDYCAR needs. -PMD
(INDYCAR images)
This is the new INDYCAR bodywork (above and below) in superspeedway configuration.
