Dixon gets Indy 500 pole with record 234 mph run
INDIANAPOLIS — Scott Dixon used a run of more than 234 mph Sunday to post the fastest Indianapolis 500 pole run in history. The New Zealander will lead the field to green in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” for the fifth time.
Considered the best driver of his generation, Dixon turned four laps Sunday at an average of 234.046 mph around Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His average broke Scott Brayton’s pole-winning record of 233.718 mph set in 1996.
Arie Luyendyk holds the four-lap qualifying record of 236.986 mph, also done in 1996, but not in a run for the pole. That means Dixon’s qualifying run was the second fastest in 106 runnings of the world’s most prestigious race.
Dixon also started from the pole in 2008 when he scored his lone Indy 500 win, as well as 2015, 2017 and last year.
Chip Ganassi Racing advanced all five of its drivers into the two-round qualifying shootout to determine the starting order for the first three rows. Dixon and three Honda-powered teammates — reigning Indycar champion Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson and Tony Kanaan — battled against Chevrolet-powered teammates Ed Carpenter and Rinus Veekay. Palou (233.499) qualified second and Veekay (233.385) third.
NASCAR Cup: At Fort Worth, Texas, Ryan Blaney needed two extra laps after thinking he already had won the All-star race and $1 million, staying in front through a green-white-checkered finish after a caution came out yards before he got to the line the first time. Pushed by his Penske teammate Austin Cindric on the restart, Blaney stayed in front and held off Denny Hamlin by 0.266 seconds. Former All-star winners Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson crashed out in the second stage. Busch, the pole-sitter and 2017 winner, led all but one of the first 48 laps before the wreck.
Formula One: At Montmelo, Spain, reigning series champion Max Verstappen reclaimed the points lead by winning the Spanish Grand Prix for his third straight victory after series leader Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari broke down while he comfortably was in front. Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, placed second and Mercedes’ George Russell third. Verstappen leads Leclerc by six points after six races.