Carpenter surprising Indy pole winner
INDIANAPOLIS – Ed Carpenter has reclaimed the mantle as the fastest man in Indianapolis.
On Sunday — and for the third time in his career — the Indiana native and Butler graduate won the pole for the Indianapolis 500. The last remaining owner/ driver in the Verizon IndyCar Series thrilled the Indianapolis Motor Speedway crowd by turning the only 230-mph lap of the weekend. He clocked 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,” said Carpenter, who finished with a packbest 229.618 speed average. There was some noise “inside the car, too, because I don’t know that I was expecting to see that, either. It means everything to me to put us in a position like this.”
Carpenter showing something special on Pole Day is nothing new. Since
2013, Carpenter has sat on the pole three times and occupied a spot on the front row four times.
Carpenter’s speed on Pole Day has become such a regular occurrence, it’s beginning to feel like old hat to his competitors.
“Ed’s got something good going here,” said Team Penske’s Will Power
(228.761), who will start on the outside of row one. Power said he trimmed as much as he could out of the car before his qualifying run, but “there was no way I was ever going to do the speed that Ed does. Like it’s just impossible.”
The man joining Carpenter and Power on row one next Sunday, Penske’s Simon Pagenaud also suggested that Carpenter’s team has a special connection with IMS in recent years.
“They understand this place very well,” the Frenchman said. “They obviously know how to get speed out of his cars, and they definitely understand something great.”
Carpenter is hoping to translate his Pole Day magic into some race-day success. That’s been a tough hurdle for him to clear in his career, as he has finished in the top five in the Indy 500 only once in 17 tries.
He’s aware that some consider him a Pole Day specialist, and he’s eager to change their minds.
“I don’t want to just be considered a guy who wins poles here,” Carpenter said. “I think we always work hard on our race cars, but … I just keep getting in the situation where my team gives me really fast cars, and when you’re in a position to go compete for poles, it’s hard to not do it.
“But I’m really excited for Sunday. I think this new car, it does race a little different than the other cars, and clean air maybe is a little more important than it has been in the past, so definitely feel fortunate to be in this position coming up for next week.”
For Carpenter, Pole Day was not only a good day for him as a driver but also as an owner. Both of his other cars joined him in the Fast Nine shootout, and while neither will join in him on the front row, he was beyond pleased with their starting spots.
Young wheelman Spencer Pigot earned the best starting position of his career with a spot on the outside of row two.
Meanwhile, in her swan song race, fan-favorite Danica Patrick will start on the inside of row three. “I said before I went out I hope it’s boring, and it was pretty boring; as bored as you can be doing 230-plus,” she said after qualifying seventh. “All in all, a good feeling. It’s good to have that part done. I was pretty nervous.”
Team Penske also enjoyed an excellent Pole Day with all four if its cars nabbing spots in the first three rows. While Pagenaud and Power will start in the first row, defending series champion and former Carpenter pupil Josef Newgarden starts the fun on row two. The budding Penske star has started in a better position only once — second in 2016 — and he nearly turned it into a victory before finishing third.
Helio Castroneves, the fourth Penske driver and who is looking for his recordtying fourth 500 victory, will start in the middle of row three. It wasn’t an ideal starting spot, Castroneves said, but he has made worse work at Indy before. The first two of Castroneves’ three victories came when he started 11th and 13th (2001, 2002). Castroneves’ slot gave Chevrolet seven of the nine cars in the first three rows. The only Honda-powered machines in the Fast Nine were Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan’s Sebastien Bourdais, who will start in the middle of row two, and last year’s pole winner Scott Dixon, who will start ninth for Chip Ganassi Racing.