Indy 500: Dixon beats Herta to grab fourth pole
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon eclipsed a great effort from Colton Herta and the Ed Carpenter Racing duo to nail his fourth Indianapolis 500 pole with an average of 231.685mph.
Marcus Ericsson, took the #8 Chip Ganassi Racing machine out first and, as he got to his fourth lap, he started getting very close to the walls, but he kept his foot in.
His pace was immediately called into question when Ryan Hunter-Reay delivered a 231.428mph on the opening lap but, despite a much faster drop-off across the four laps, the 2014 Indy 500 winner, still clung on to deliver a better average.
Alex Palou went even faster, however, proving the quality of the Ganassi team’s overnight work to fix the #10 car, following Palou’s major accident at Turn 2 on his second run on Saturday.
Four-time Indy polesitter Helio Castroneves couldn’t grab a fifth but, in his first 500 away from Team Penske, the Meyer Shank Racing-Honda driver nailed a 230.355mph average.
Then out came Rinus VeeKay, who crashed his Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet in testing last month, and he produced the first 232mph lap of the day. He had a nasty wriggle through Turn 1 on his fourth lap but kept his foot in to set a startling 231.511mph average, 1.1mph faster than the next fastest at the time, Palou.
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, crash
Photo by: Matt Fraver
Team boss Carpenter was next out and set near identical speeds to his young team-mate over the first three laps, but the three-time pole winner lost 0.1mph on the fourth lap to slot into second.
The #48 American Legion-sponsored Ganassi car of Tony Kanaan didn’t have pole-winning pace on this day, although he was comfortably clear of all but the ECR pair.
Colton Herta in the second Andretti Autosport car was a major threat to VeeKay, though, his third lap being notably faster, and then being the first driver to keep all four laps above 231mph.
Scott Dixon was the last to run, and when he landed a 232.757mph on his opening lap, it was clear that Ganassi’s six-time IndyCar champion had the potential to earn his fourth pole.
His drop-off was around 1.1mph across the four laps, so his final margin over Herta was only 0.03mph – after 10 miles of flat-out driving around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – but the job was done.
Fast nine times
| P | Driver | Team-Engine | Lap 1 | Lap 2 | Lap 3 | Lap 4 | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda | 232.757 | 231.879 | 231.333 | 230.778 | 231.685 |
| 2 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport-Honda | 232.356 | 231.672 | 231.349 | 231.247 | 231.655 |
| 3 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet | 232.323 | 231.632 | 231.181 | 230.914 | 231.511 |
| 4 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet | 232.390 | 231.647 | 231.174 | 230.812 | 231.504 |
| 5 | Tony Kanaan | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda | 231.721 | 231.079 | 230.838 | 230.491 | 231.032 |
| 6 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda | 231.228 | 230.642 | 230.419 | 230.177 | 230.616 |
| 7 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport-Honda | 231.428 | 230.656 | 230.225 | 229.696 | 230.499 |
| 8 | Helio Castroneves | Meyer Shank Racing-Honda | 230.995 | 230.393 | 230.184 | 229.852 | 230.355 |
| 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda | 230.996 | 230.484 | 230.063 | 229.734 | 230.318 |
Indy 500: Power survives brush with wall to join Karam and De Silvestro on grid
Dixon didn’t want to know trim level before “hairy” Indy 500 pole run
Title-winning Newman/Haas Indycars to be auctioned
Indycars raced by Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell and Sebastien Bourdais are among artefacts of the legendary Newman/Haas Racing team to be auctioned by RM Sotheby's in October.
Ganassi will support Palou’s IndyCar title bid despite contract dispute
Chip Ganassi Racing won’t waver in its support of Alex Palou’s IndyCar title defence, despite being locked in a legal dispute with the Spaniard who intends to join McLaren.
Why the 2022 IndyCar title fight is Penske vs Ganassi yet again
There have been wins, poles and promise from others, but the 2022 IndyCar Series championship battle has distilled down to a fight between old rivals Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing once more. A principal from each explains what has elevated their teams beyond other rivals ahead of the final three races
Nashville IndyCar winner Dixon feared race was ruined by shunt
Scott Dixon was convinced that car damage had ended his victory hopes at IndyCar's Nashville round, before working his way to the front to eventually claim his 53rd series win.
How Ericsson achieved Indy immortality as Ganassi's main man stumbled
Chip Ganassi Racing team was strong again in the Indianapolis 500, with poleman Scott Dixon and reigning champion Alex Palou leading almost three quarters of the race between them. But when dominator Dixon was penalised for pitlane speeding, ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson stepped up to score the biggest win of his career and seize the IndyCar points lead
Ranking the top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2021
In an enthralling 2021 IndyCar campaign, the series bounced back from its COVID-19 truncated year prior and Alex Palou defeated both the established order and his fellow young guns to clinch a maiden title. It capped a remarkable season with plenty of standout performers
How F1's other IndyCar exile finally unlocked his potential
Romain Grosjean's swashbuckling rookie year in IndyCar captured the imagination of many in 2021. But another ex-Formula 1 driver whose potential was masked by five years of toil in, at best, middling machinery also enjoyed a breakout year in 2021 - winning twice and finishing sixth in points. Here's how Marcus Ericsson finally delivered on his promise
How Ganassi's relentless new champion outfoxed IndyCar's best
IndyCar sophomore Alex Palou stunned by overcoming team-mate Scott Dixon and the rest of a white-hot field in 2021. He was consistently fast and crucially showed a level head, rebounding well from setbacks to put himself in a near unassailable position entering the final round
Have Harvey and RLL formed IndyCar’s next winning match-up?
Despite appearing to have an IndyCar job for life with Meyer Shank Racing, Jack Harvey’s departure and move to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing sparked plenty of debate. However, Harvey's and RLL's combined strengths could prove to be a winning combination - if they get the balance right
Remembering Dan Wheldon and his last and most amazing IndyCar win
Saturday 16 October marks the 10th anniversary of Dan Wheldon’s death. David Malsher-Lopez pays tribute, then asks Wheldon’s race engineer from 2011, Todd Malloy, to recall that magical second victory at the Indianapolis 500
Why Kyle Kirkwood is America's new IndyCar ace-in-waiting
Kyle Kirkwood, the record-setting junior formula driver, sealed the Indy Lights championship last weekend. But despite an absurdly strong junior career and scholarship money, his next move is far from clear
Why IndyCar title glory is just the start for Ganassi's new star
Newly-crowned IndyCar champion Alex Palou has been lauded as a complete driver and veteran-like in only his second season. The 24-year-old is still in the early days of his career, but the parallels are there for all to see with his six-time champion Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate who has been CGR's team leader since 2014