Carpenter thrills crowd, wins Indy 500 pole

INDIANAPOLIS - Ed Carpenter has reclaimed the mantle as the fastest man in Indianapolis.

On Sunday, Carpenter won the pole for the Indianapolis 500.

The team owner/oval driver thrilled the Indianapolis Motor Speedway crowd by turning the only 230-mph lap of the weekend. He hit 230.088 on the first lap of his four-lap qualifying effort, which not only sent the IMS faithful into a frenzy but surprised himself, as well.

“That first lap blew my mind,” Carpenter told the TV broadcast. “I thought we’d get 229, but that 230 was more than we were expecting.

“It means everything to me to put us in a position like this.”

Carpenter finished with a four-lap qualifying effort of 229.618, nearly a mile per hour faster than the man starting in the middle of Row 1, Simon Pagenaud.

The Team Penske star and 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series champion clocked a qualifying speed of 228.761.

Rounding out Row 1 is Penske’s Will Power (228.607), who has appeared in every Fast Nine shootout since the inaugural event in 2010.

Kicking off Row 2 is defending series champion Josef Newgarden. Sebasiten Bourdais, who missed last year’s race because of a violent qualifying accident, will start in the middle of Row 2. Carpenter’s young teammate, Spencer Pigot, rounds out the row with the best starting spot of his career.

In her swan song race, fan-favorite Danica Patrick will start on the inside of Row 3. To her right is the returning “King of Speed” Helio Castroneves, who will make another run at winning his fourth Indy 500. Rounding the last of the Fast Nine is Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who started on the pole last year and 2015.

Tony Kanaan kicks off Row 4 alongside his A.J. Foyt Racing teammate Mattheus Leist. They are joined by the first of Andretti Autosport’s six-car fleet, Marco Andretti.

Row 5 is made up of Dale Coyne Racing’s Zachary Claman De Melo, Andretti’s Ryan Hunter-Reay and Carlin Racing’s Charlie Kimball.