Indianapolis Indy Lights: Ethan Ringel on pole with record pace

The Schmidt driver secured first place with a two-lap average speed of 197.684mph, shattering the previous mark of 190.177mph set by Wade Cuningham in 2009.

He also beat Brandon Wagner's single-lap record of 192.301mph, which had stood since 2011, with his 197.866mph opening lap.

"I'm kind of in disbelief that I'm here," Ringel said.

"Going into the week, I thought I'd be happy with a mid-pack so this is a bit of a shocker.

"I knew the car was pretty quick and it felt pretty good, so I thought it could be a good qualifying time.

"So now I want to focus on the race, to figure out strategy. I'll try to relax as much as I can and take things as they come."

Ringel's performance came on a day that ended with all four Schmidt cars qualifying inside the top five.

Team-mate Jack Harvey fell just short of landing pole himself, while fellow Schmidt drivers Scott Anderson and RC Enerson will start from fourth and fifth respectively.

The interloper among them was 8Star's Sean Rayhall, who won on the IMS road course two weeks ago and then ran a Kickstarter campaign to come up with the budget to return this weekend. His efforts were rewarded with a starting slot on the inside of the second row.

QUALIFYING RESULT:

Format: Average speed over a two-lap run