INDIANAPOLIS – Scott Dixon used a spectacular run of more than 234 mph to crown the fastest Indianapolis 500 in history. The New Zealander will lead the field in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” for the fifth time in his career.
Considered the best racer of his generation, Dixon turned four laps Sunday at an average of 234,046 mph around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His average broke Scott Brayton’s pole-winning record set in 1996 of 233,718 mph.
Arie Luyendyk holds the four-round qualifying record of 236,986 mph, also done in 1996, but not in a single pole run. That means Dixon’s qualifying run is the second fastest of the 106 runs in the world’s most prestigious race.
Dixon’s first lap of 234,437 mph was eye-popping and drew cheers from fans. His second round was 234,162, and his wife Emma leaned over the edge of the pit in amazement, her hands covering her mouth. Dixon’s track record since then has been minimal: his fourth and final laps were 233,726 as his consistency earned Chip Ganassi Racing its seventh pole Indy 500.
Dixon also started from pole in 2008 when he recorded his only Indy 500 win, as did 2015, 2017 and last year.
“That’s what this place is about, the ups and downs you have to go through in just one day, it’s crazy,” Dixon said. His hands were shaking after his first run the previous Sunday.
Ganassi lifted all five of his drivers into a two-qualifying shootout to determine the starting order for the first three rows for next week’s race. Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson needed a big save on the first turn of the first lap and couldn’t get past lap 12.
But Dixon made it, along with three other teammates on Honda. That pitted Dixon, defending IndyCar champions Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson and Tony Kanaan against Chevrolet teammates Ed Carpenter and Rinus VeeKay.
“This is what the competitors really want, the competitors really want this,” Ganassi said before the session. “This is a moment for champions.”
VeeKay on Saturday posted the third-fastest qualifying in track history but not enough for Dixon’s big, big laps. Palou, who averaged 233,499, qualified second alongside his teammate and VeeKay in third with 233,385.
Carpenter was fourth, followed by Ericsson and Kanaan, who were at 232,372, the slowest of the last six penalty shootouts. But even the slowest cars fly around Indy, which hasn’t seen speeds like this since 1996.
Kanaan’s lap will be the eighth fastest qualifying lap in the record books written before the racers rewrite history this weekend.
