James Hinchcliffe secures 2016 Indianapolis 500 pole
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
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Hinchcliffe | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Dallara/Honda | 230.760 |
| 2 | Josef Newgarden | Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 230.700 |
| 3 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 230.648 |
| 4 | Townsend Bell | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 230.481 |
| 5 | Carlos Munoz | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 230.287 |
| 6 | Will Power | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 229.669 |
| 7 | Mikhail Aleshin | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Dallara/Honda | 229.562 |
| 8 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 229.139 |
| 9 | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 229.115 |
| 10 | Oriol Servia | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | Dallara/Honda | 229.060 |
| 11 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Herta | Dallara/Honda | 228.473 |
| 12 | Takuma Sato | AJ Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Honda | 228.029 |
| 13 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 227.991 |
| 14 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | Dallara/Honda | 227.969 |
| 15 | J.R. Hildebrand | Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 227.876 |
| 16 | Charlie Kimball | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 227.822 |
| 17 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Team Penske | Dallara/Chevrolet | 227.684 |
| 18 | Tony Kanaan | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 227.430 |
| 19 | Sebastien Bourdais | KVSH Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 227.428 |
| 20 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 227.226 |
| 21 | Gabby Chaves | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | 227.192 |
| 22 | Max Chilton | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 226.686 |
| 23 | Sage Karam | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 226.436 |
| 24 | Conor Daly | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | 226.312 |
| 25 | Pippa Mann | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara/Honda | 226.006 |
| 26 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Dallara/Honda | 225.847 |
| 27 | Matthew Brabham | Team Murray | Dallara/Chevrolet | 225.727 |
| 28 | Bryan Clauson | Jonathan Byrd's Racing | Dallara/Honda | 225.266 |
| 29 | Spencer Pigot | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Dallara/Honda | 224.847 |
| 30 | Stefan Wilson | KVSH Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 224.602 |
| 31 | Jack Hawksworth | AJ Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Honda | 224.596 |
| 32 | Buddy Lazier | Lazier Burns Racing | Dallara/Chevrolet | 222.154 |
| 33 | Alex Tagliani | AJ Foyt Enterprises | Dallara/Honda | 0.000 |
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