“To have them as close as we have, it’s impressive,” Josef Newgarden said after Team Penske bombed the field on pole day at the Indianapolis 500, where the three-way operation cars went 1-2-3 to lock the front row.
After posting the fastest run of the Fast 12 earlier in the day, New Zealander Scott McLaughlin led the field to win his first Indy 500 pole in the No. 3 Chevrolet at a remarkable average of 234.220 mph in the Fast Six ahead of Will Power in the Fast 12. No. 12 Chevrolet (233.917 mph) and Newgarden in the No. 2 Chevrolet (233.808 mph).
“I felt like my two runs today were some of the best of my career,” McLaughlin said. “I thought the potential was there, even yesterday. It was just about finding the right balance. I knew my engineer would nail it, and they did, and when the first issue came in, I just had to hold on. It came apart a little at the end, but the Pennzoil Chevy held on. Super proud to put the Yellow Submarine back on the post and sweep for Team Penske. What a great place for the 108th race (of the Indianapolis 500). I’m really proud. I think it’s Team Penske’s first clean win on the front line since 1988. Nowadays, it’s a proud moment.
It was yet another statement for the Kiwis after compatriot Scott Dixon took Indy 500 poles in 2021 and 2022, giving the Antipodes three of the final four starting spots at the Speedway.
His teammate Power was rather disheartened to lose his first pole at the Indy 500, but he went into Fast Six knowing full well that he was capable of moving up to P1.
“I was going to be shocked if we weren’t on pole or fighting for it,” he said.
The story wasn’t over for Team Chevrolet as they conquered the second row and two of the next three spots on the third row to give punters a clear understanding of which engine supplier has the most power.
Elsewhere in the top 12, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay produced an outstanding performance to claim seventh place after a crash on Saturday.
“Seventh for the Indianapolis 500 after yesterday morning… sick! said the Dutchman. “We were so close and were able to beat some fast cars today.”
The other big qualifying star was found in Ryan Hunter-Reay of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing who played the role of giant killer with the No. 23 Chevrolet to finish 12th ahead of much bigger and richer teams.
At the unfortunate end of Pole Day, a driver was also sent home as Bump Day removed the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda driven by rookie Nolan Siegel from the starting field. A crash in his final race during the last-chance qualifying session sealed his fate and saved Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal, who was on the bubble of being eliminated from back-to-back Indy 500s in P33.
Siegel remained unhurt in the fall and was candid in his assessment after failing in the final minute of the session.
“I’m fine,” he said on the radio. “It was (very cowardly). We tried.”
Katherine Legge (P31), Marcus Ericsson (P32) and Rahal withstood the heartbreaking LCQ and will be able to participate in the race.
Once the 12 fast-paced activities began as the heat topped 80 degrees F, Hunter-Reay went first and recorded an average of 230.567 mph. VeeKay was next and took first place with 232.620 mph. Pato O’Ward was next and posted a speed of 232.584 mph to move into P2.
Takuma Sato hit a speed of 232.171 mph to win P3, and Santino Ferrucci was next, but lost the cloud cover that cooled the track for O’Ward and Sato. That didn’t matter, however, as Ferrucci moved into P1 with an average of 232.723 mph.
Rosenqvist was sixth and had plenty of cloud cover to use on his four laps to produce a 232.305 mph run that propelled him into P4. Kyle Larson also benefited from good cloud cover and averaged 232.788 to take first place, to the applause and delight of fans.
Kyle Kirkwood followed as the sun beat down on the track and posted a 230.993 to place P7. Alexander Rossi experienced the same lack of cooler conditions for his run and, like Ferrucci, it made no difference as he recorded the fastest run with a speed of 233.071 mph to take P1 from teammate Larson .
Newgarden liberated P1 from Rossi with a stellar run of 233.286 mph, and it was teammate McLaughlin’s turn to make the penultimate attempt to transfer into the Fast Six and aim for pole.
McLaughlin knocked Newgarden out of P1 with a speed of 233.492 mph, then it was time for teammate Power to make the final run. Cloud cover appeared for Power’s final lap and held for his entire outing to miss P1 by a small margin at 233.483 mph to take P2.
With McLaughlin, Power, Newgarden, Rossi, Larson and Ferrucci ready to go for the pole, it was time for the LCQ group to go for it, led by Nolan Siegel, who posted a speed of 229.568 mph.
Ericsson averaged 230.653 mph over three laps, but appeared to move back to the start/finish at the start of lap four – did he think the race was over? – to close the race with a lap of 195.411 mph that dropped his average to 220.702 mph. .
Legge faced more oversteer but held on to take 31st place and lead the LCQ with a run of 230.092 mph. Rahal was the last to run before he could make a second attempt and covered 229.974 mph to take 32nd place ahead of Siegel in P33 and Ericsson in P34.
The Andretti team sat back and waited for Ericsson’s engine to cool before sending him out to try to take Siegel out. With about 32 minutes remaining in the 60-minute LCQ session, Ericsson took off and ran four slow laps averaging 168.986 mph before returning to the pits, putting on four fresh tires and preparing to make a good attempt at enter the show.
Ericsson came out with about eight minutes remaining and hit 230.027 mph to grab 32nd place, edging out Siegel. Ericsson and Legge were in, Rahal was on the bubble and Siegel’s car was pushed to the line and sent in with two minutes left.
He revved the car up to 229.288 mph on the opening lap, hit the wall exiting Turn 1, spun and crashed. He was not injured and, unfortunately, will not compete in his first Indy 500.
The Fast Six started with Ferrucci first and he hung on to a sliding car to run 232.692 mph before Larson recorded a 232.846 mph to move into P1. Rossi finished third and set the fastest lap so far with a speed of 234.062 mph, drawing cheers as he held on to a moving machine. His average of 233.090 mph was enough to take P1 before all three Penske drivers left to grab the pole.
Newgarden made a statement with his first lap at 234.188 mph, which drew more cheers. His second lap was almost as good – at 234.004 mph – and his third was also good at 233.640 mph and he closed it out at 233.400 mph to move into P1 with an average of 233.808 mph.
Power was the penultimate pole sitter and crossed the finish line at 234.128 mph and dropped to 233.955 mph, which appeared to stay behind Newgarden. The next lap was 233.767 mph, and on its finale, 233.819 mph was enough to pass P1 with an average of 233.917 mph. It was McLaughlin’s job to try to spoil Power’s party.
The first lap was the best of the day – at 234.526 mph – and the battle was on. The second lap was another monster at 234.371 mph and it was up to the Kiwi to take it. Two more solid rounds did the job; pole for McLaughlin and an explosion of cheers from the fans down the first straight.
RESULTS