Ed Carpenter will start the Indianapolis 500 on the pole for the second year in a row. [Mark Walczak Photo]
Team owner/driver Ed Carpenter captured the pole for the 98th Indianapolis 500 Sunday with a speed of 231.067 mph, but it took until the final corner of his last lap to be certain that his Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet was quicker than closest challenger James Hinchcliffe.
Carpenter, who is the step-son of former Speedway president Tony George, has now scored back-to-back poles here and is the eleventh driver at the Speedway to accomplish that feat.
“This was harder than last year. We made a small adjustment after (teammate) JR’s (Hildebrand) run. It’s awesome to do it two years in-a-row, but it’s all about the race. I wasn’t happy about the race last year”- a race that saw him drop to a tenth-place finish after leading a race-high 37 laps.
“I knew what the pole was going into my run. I saw that I dropped a bit on the third lap, but I knew if I made it through Turn 3 without lifting I’d be all right-we’d be ok.”
James Hinchcliffe, who came back to qualify second after suffering a concussion in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis just a week ago, admitted that his run (230.839) would “probably be a second-place start” as he watched Carpenter’s pole effort closely. “My car stepped-out on me on the last lap. That lap’s going to come back to haunt me,” the native of Canada admitted. And it did, as Carpenter lagged behind Hinchcliffe (time-wise) during his entire run, but pulled ahead on the final corner to secure the pole.
Front row mate Will Power (230.697), the IndyCar Series points leader, talked about how hard it is to create a gap over your competition in these cars, even from the front row.
“It’s changed a lot where you got to the point where everyone has exactly the same equipment. Like, there isn’t a car out there that can’t win. That’s the big difference now (from past years), Power explained. “The whole field is going to start on the frontstretch and the whole field is going to finish on the frontstretch. On the last laps they’re all going to be there because it doesn’t matter, no one can get away.
“You have to be able to run close and run well in traffic, which is very difficult. It’s become harder than ever to win, I would say.”
Prior to the Fast Nine qualifying session, rows 4-11 were filled, with most of the excitement focused on the first few positions.
With just one attempt allowed to put their cars into race-day positions, drivers Juan Pablo Montoya (231.007), Scott Dixon (230.928) and rookie NASCAR driver Kurt Busch (230.782) earned spots in row four just behind the Fast Nine.
Busch, who arrived back from Charlotte last night, had one regret about his trip down south during Saturday’s trials: “I should have stayed in Indianapolis yesterday for the (entire) Fast Nine session. It would have taken the pressure off of me today. I was tenth after yesterday and didn’t have a chance to defend my Fast Nine spot because I had to leave early.
“I had so much fun yesterday. I’ll never be able to duplicate that experience until race day in a week.”
Four drivers in Sunday’s Session 1 went slower than their Saturday speed, while three of nine in the Fast Nine were below Saturday’s runs.
Twenty-seven drivers took to the track for an early practice session Sunday morning prior to the track opening for qualifications. “Frequent Flier” Kurt Busch, who returned from Charlotte after competing in the Sprint All-Star race, completed the morning session in third-place behind Mikhail Aleshin and Josef Newgarden.
NOTES:
- The field average of 229.382mph is a new race record. The previous mark was set in 2002 at 228.648.
- Six previous winners are in the field: Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Jacques Villeneuve, Tony Kanaan and Buddy Lazier.
- The difference in time between fastest qualifier Carpenter and Buddy Lazier in 33rd is 2.1509 seconds. The difference in speed is 3.147 mph. All three front row starters will each be making their second start up front.
- In addition to the seven rookie starters, Montoya and Villeneuve did not start the 2013 race.
- There are seven rookies in the field while there were just four in 2013.
- Friday, May 23, will see the cars return to the 2.5-mile oval for the traditional “Carburetor Day” final test session before race day. The teams will have to dial-back their boost setting to 130 kPa for that session as well as for race day. The Freedom 100 Indy Lights race will also be run Friday afternoon.
- On Thursday night, May 22, The Indianapolis “500” Oldtimers Club will honor four-time 500 winner AJ Foyt. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of Foyt’s 1964 win: the last for a front-engine roadster at the track. Many drivers who competed against Foyt during his four wins will also be present. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will also induct Chip Ganassi, Jim McElreath, Bobby Rahal, Leo Mehl and Bill Simpson into its Auto Racing Hall of Fame that evening. The annual dinner will be held at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Indianapolis.
- Former Indy car driver and current IndyCar Series team owner Sam Schmidt demonstrated the first-ever semi-autonomous motorcar Sunday morning at the Indianapois Motor Speedway. Schmidt, who became a quadriplegic in 2000 due to injuries suffered in a practice crash at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando, FL, demonstrated the capabilities of the vehicle while running laps at 100mph around the 2.5-mile oval at IMS. The Corvette demonstration vehicle uses integrated electronics to allow quadriplegics to drive vehicles not normally available to them. While still in the development phase, the system could be available for general use within five years. “There isn’t one word to describe it (the laps around the track). It’s exhilarating-unbelievable-it’s amazingly normal- that’s the big thing. When you turn your head, push my head back to go faster, and the braking system, it just felt like I was driving again. This (project) started nine months ago. The most amazing part of this thing is that this is a 75-100- year old problem and these people got together and solved it in nine months. Kudos to Aero, Ball and the Air Force for putting all the systems together,” said Schmidt.
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