Dixon grabs third Indy pole with fastest speeds in 21 years
INDIANAPOLIS: Scott Dixon made a big gamble pay off Sunday.
After allowing engineer Chris Simmons to tinker with his car’s qualifying trim and later questioning whether the changes might be too daring, Dixon delivered with the fastest speeds he has ever seen at Indianapolis.
The New Zealander finished with a four-lap average of 232.164 mph, claiming his third Indianapolis 500 pole with the best qualifying run in 21 years. He easily held off the other front-row starters, Ed Carpenter at 231.664 and defending champion Alexander Rossi at 231.487. Even Dixon could not believe it. “Seriously, I don’t know where that came from,” the Chip Ganassi Racing driver said. “It’s fast, really fast. I actually thought there was something wrong with my dash to start with, (I thought) ‘232? Wow!’ I knew that big lap, the first one, was going to be tough to beat. So a big thank you to Chris.” How impressive was Dixon’s run? Just four attempts earlier, IndyCar rookie Fernando Alonso posted the fastest average since Helio Castroneves’ 2002 polewinning speed.
Dixon’s first-lap of 232.595 and his final average were the fastest times recorded at Indianapolis since Arie Luyendyk set the qualifying record and single-lap record in 1996. Luyendyk’s average was 236.986 with a best lap of 237.498.
The crowd roared each time the speed went up on the videoboards and when Dixon pulled back into pit lane after his 10-mile ride, everyone knew the nine-car pole shootout was over.