Indy 500 qualifying: Ed Carpenter takes pole position

Carpenter was the only driver to manage a four-lap average above 231mph, his 231.067mph the fastest pole position run for the race since 2003.

It will be the second consecutive year that the owner-driver has started the race from pole; a feat achieved most recently by Helio Castroneves in 2009 and 2010.

According to Carpenter, his team's addition of a second Indy-only for JR Hildebrand was a factor in his success.

"To have JR out there getting work done all the way through has been great," he said.

"We worked well together. Having him go first today also helped me because we made an adjustment.

"Even in the shootout, I think we felt the benefit of having a teammate, but I wish we were both up here together."

James Hinchcliffe and Will Power will complete the front row after producing 230.830mph and 230.697mph efforts respectively, with Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud and Marco Andretti rounding out the second row.

Hinchcliffe was particularly pleased with his result after missing most of practice due to a concussion sustained in the road course race last weekend.

"A week ago I wasn't allowed to operate a cell phone," said the Andretti driver.

"Today I'm whipping an IndyCar around IMS at 230 something miles an hour - [it] is pretty incredible.

"The thing was a handful. I was working pretty hard for it. Into Turn 3 on the last lap, it stepped out on entry a little bit.

"I had to take some wheel out of it; made for some understeer on exit. You don't have time for correction.

"I knew I had to crack the throttle. I was screaming in my helmet down the front stretch."

Carlos Munoz, Josef Newgarden and Hildebrand completed the top nine.

Juan Pablo Montoya will start his Indy 500 return from 10th on the grid alongside fellow former race winner Scott Dixon, while Kurt Busch will line up from 12th for the Indy 500 half of his attempted Indy/Charlotte (NASCAR) double.

Last year's race winner Tony Kanaan will start from 17th, but is bullish about his chances in the race.

"I always say, it's not where you start here at Indianapolis," said the Ganassi driver.

"I started from 12th last year and was a contender and won here, so anything is possible."

Jacques Villeneuve qualified 27th for his Indy 500 comeback in the third Sam Schmidt entry, while fellow former race-winner Buddy Lazier will line up in 33rd.

The 3.147mph speed difference between his time and Carpenter's is the closest between first and last on the Indy grid since 1953.

Pos  Driver              Team/Engine      Speed
 1.  Ed Carpenter        Carpenter/Chevy  231.067  Fast nine
 2.  James Hinchcliffe   Andretti/Honda   230.839  Fast nine
 3.  Will Power          Penske/Chevy     230.697  Fast nine
 4.  Helio Castroneves   Penske/Chevy     230.649  Fast nine
 5.  Simon Pagenaud      Schmidt/Honda    230.614  Fast nine
 6.  Marco Andretti      Andretti/Honda   230.544  Fast nine
 7.  Carlos Munoz        Andretti/Honda   230.146  Fast nine
 8.  Josef Newgarden     Fisher/Honda     229.893  Fast nine
 9.  JR Hildebrand       Carpenter/Chevy  228.726  Fast nine
10.  Juan Pablo Montoya  Penske/Chevy     231.007
11.  Scott Dixon         Ganassi/Chevy    230.928
12.  Kurt Busch          Andretti/Honda   230.782
13.  Jack Hawksworth     Herta/Honda      230.506
14.  Justin Wilson       Coyne/Honda      230.256
15.  Mikhail Aleshin     Schmidt/Honda    230.049
16.  Tony Kanaan         Ganassi/Chevy    229.922
17.  Sebastien Bourdais  KV/Chevy         229.847
18.  Oriol Servia        Rahal/Honda      229.752
19.  Ryan Hunter-Reay    Andretti/Honda   229.719
20.  Graham Rahal        Rahal/Honda      229.628
21.  Carlos Huertas      Coyne/Honda      229.251
22.  Pippa Mann          Coyne/Honda      229.223
23.  Takuma Sato         Foyt/Honda       229.201
24.  Alex Tagliani       Fisher/Honda     229.148
25.  Townsend Bell       KV/Chevy         229.009
26.  Charlie Kimball     Ganassi/Chevy    228.953
27.  Jacques Villeneuve  Schmidt/Honda    228.949
28.  James Davison       KV/Chevy         228.865
29.  Martin Plowman      Foyt/Honda       228.814
30.  Ryan Briscoe        Ganassi/Chevy    228.713
31.  Sage Karam          Ganassi/Chevy    228.436
32.  Sebastian Saavedra  KV/Chevy         228.088
33.  Buddy Lazier        Lazier/Chevy     227.920

Speeds set over four-lap average
All drivers use Dallara chassis