Fairytale story at Indy as Hinchcliffe takes pole for 100th running

Autosport

James Hinchcliffe claimed his maiden IndyCar pole position in qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, a year on from a near-fatal crash at the track.

The Canadian snatched top spot from Josef Newgarden, who was fourth out in the Fast Nine pole shootout and set an average lap speed of 230.700mph to top the timesheets.

The Andretti Dallara-Honda of Ryan Hunter-Reay challenged for pole by pumping in a string of hot 230mph laps before a small mistake on his final flyer put him just behind Newgarden.

Hinchcliffe, who had topped preliminary qualifying on Saturday, was the last driver out and a storming average speed of 230.760mph – just 0.060mph quicker than Newgarden – allowed him to snatch pole position.

The Canadian Schmidt-Peterson driver was unable to take part in qualifying last year after a heavy shunt in practice at the Brickyard left him hospitalised and out for the rest of the season.

On the second row for next Sunday’s race will be Townsend Bell, Carlos Munoz and Will Power, while Mikhail Aleshin, championship leader Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves completed the pole shootout contenders.

Part-time competitor Oriol Servia topped the times in the first half of qualifying to decide positions 10-33, with a four-lap average speed of 229.060mph.

Alexander Rossi and Takuma Sato, both in Dallara-Hondas, qualified on the fourth row alongside Servia.

Remarkably no Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Chevrolets qualified in the Fast Nine, meaning the second day of qualifying was all about damage limitation for the team.

Scott Dixon did well to adapt to an engine change and finish 13th, while team-mates Charlie Kimball, Tony Kanaan and Max Chilton (in his rebuilt car following Saturday’s shunt) qualified 16th, 18th and 22nd respectively.

Marco Andretti nursed a gearbox issue to qualify 14th despite not having fifth gear.

Juan Pablo Montoya meanwhile suffered a bizarre incident in which his first run was cancelled after an errant rubbish bag lodged in his wing on his third flying lap and left him at the tail of the field.

The two-time Indy 500 winner was allowed a second run, and eventually qualified 17th.

QUALIFYING RESULTS

PosDriverTeamCarSpeed
1James HinchcliffeSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsDallara/Honda230.760
2Josef NewgardenEd Carpenter RacingDallara/Chevrolet230.700
3Ryan Hunter-ReayAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda230.647
4Townsend BellAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda230.481
5Carlos MunozAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda230.287
6Will PowerTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet229.669
7Mikhail AleshinSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsDallara/Honda229.561
8Simon PagenaudTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet229.139
9Helio CastronevesTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet229.114
10Oriol ServiaSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsDallara/Honda229.060
11Alexander RossiAndretti HertaDallara/Honda228.473
12Takuma SatoAJ Foyt EnterprisesDallara/Honda228.029
13Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Chevrolet227.991
14Marco AndrettiAndretti AutosportDallara/Honda227.969
15J.R. HildebrandEd Carpenter RacingDallara/Chevrolet227.875
16Charlie KimballChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Chevrolet227.822
17Juan Pablo MontoyaTeam PenskeDallara/Chevrolet227.683
18Tony KanaanChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Chevrolet227.429
19Sebastien BourdaisKVSH RacingDallara/Chevrolet227.427
20Ed CarpenterEd Carpenter RacingDallara/Chevrolet227.226
21Gabby ChavesDale Coyne RacingDallara/Honda227.191
22Max ChiltonChip Ganassi RacingDallara/Chevrolet226.686
23Sage KaramDreyer & Reinbold RacingDallara/Chevrolet226.436
24Conor DalyDale Coyne RacingDallara/Honda226.312
25Pippa MannDale Coyne RacingDallara/Honda226.006
26Graham RahalRahal Letterman LaniganDallara/Honda225.846
27Matthew BrabhamTeam MurrayDallara/Chevrolet225.727
28Bryan ClausonJonathan Byrd’s RacingDallara/Honda225.266
29Spencer PigotRahal Letterman LaniganDallara/Honda224.847
30Stefan WilsonKVSH RacingDallara/Chevrolet224.602
31Jack HawksworthAJ Foyt EnterprisesDallara/Honda224.596
32Buddy LazierLazier Burns RacingDallara/Chevrolet222.154
33Alex TaglianiAJ Foyt EnterprisesDallara/Honda0.000

Fairytale story at Indy as Hinchcliffe takes pole for 100th running

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