2018 Indy 500: Sunday qualifying results – Ed Carpenter takes pole
By Asher Fair
For the third time in the last six years and the first time since 2014, Ed Carpenter is set to start the Indy 500 from the pole position.
Ed Carpenter Racing’s Ed Carpenter is back on the pole for the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since the 98th running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” back in 2014. His pole position start in this year’s running, the 102nd running, of the event is his third in the last six years.
Carpenter’s four-lap average of 229.618 miles per hour around the four-turn, 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana in the penultimate qualifying attempt of the day was more than enough to secure the 37-year-old American the pole in his #20 Chevrolet.
Helio Castroneves, whose four-lap average of 228.919 miles per hour in yesterday’s Indy 500 qualifying session was the fastest, was unable to top Carpenter’s average in the final qualifying run of the day in his #3 Team Penske Chevrolet.
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In fact, Castroneves wasn’t even close. A starting position in the top five for the 43-year-old Brazilian would have given all four of Team Penske’s IndyCar drivers starting spots inside the top five. Instead, Castroneves qualified in eighth place.
Castroneves’ teammates Simon Pagenaud, Will Power and Josef Newgarden completed a top four Chevrolet sweep behind Carpenter in their #22 Chevrolet, #12 Chevrolet and #1 Chevrolet, respectively. Dale Coyne Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais was the highest qualifying Honda driver in fifth place in his #18 Honda.
Carpenter’s teammates Spencer Pigot and Danica Patrick rounded out the top seven in sixth and seventh place in their #21 Chevrolet and #13 Chevrolet, respectively.
A.J. Foyt Enterprises’ Tony Kanaan and Matheus Leist as well as Andretti Herta Autosport’s Marco Andretti all had faster qualifying speeds than Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, but Dixon was locked into the Fast Nine Shooutout thanks to yesterday’s qualifying session and qualified in ninth place in his #9 Honda while Kanaan, Leist and Andretti qualified in 10th, 11th and 12th in their #14 Chevrolet, #4 Chevrolet and #98 Honda, respectively.
Here are the full qualifying results from Sunday’s qualifying session that set the starting grid for the 2018 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The speeds are shown in miles per hour.
Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Engine | Speed |
1 | Ed Carpenter | #20, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet | 229.618 |
2 | Simon Pagenaud | #22, Team Penske, Chevrolet | 228.761 |
3 | Will Power | #12, Team Penske, Chevrolet | 228.607 |
4 | Josef Newgarden | #1, Team Penske, Chevrolet | 228.405 |
5 | Sebastien Bourdais | #18, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda | 228.142 |
6 | Spencer Pigot | #21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet | 228.107 |
7 | Danica Patrick | #13, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet | 228.090 |
8 | Helio Castroneves | #3, Team Penske, Chevrolet | 227.859 |
9 | Scott Dixon | #9, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda | 227.262 |
10 | Tony Kanaan | #14, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet | 227.664 |
11 | Matheus Leist | #4, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet | 227.571 |
12 | Marco Andretti | #98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda | 227.288 |
13 | Zachary Claman DeMelo | #19, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda | 226.999 |
14 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | #28, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 226.788 |
15 | Charlie Kimball | #23, Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet | 226.657 |
16 | Takuma Sato | #30, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda | 226.557 |
17 | Kyle Kaiser | #32, Juncos Racing, Chevrolet | 226.398 |
18 | Robert Wickens | #6, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda | 226.296 |
19 | James Davison | #33, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet | 226.255 |
20 | Max Chilton | #59, Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet | 226.212 |
21 | Carlos Munoz | #29, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 226.048 |
22 | Gabby Chaves | #88, Harding Racing, Chevrolet | 226.007 |
23 | Stefan Wilson | #25, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 225.863 |
24 | Sage Karam | #24, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Chevrolet | 225.823 |
25 | Zach Veach | #26, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 225.748 |
26 | Oriol Servia | #64, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda | 225.699 |
27 | J.R. Hildebrand | #66, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Chevrolet | 225.418 |
28 | Jay Howard | #7, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda | 225.388 |
29 | Ed Jones | #10, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda | 225.362 |
30 | Graham Rahal | #15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda | 225.327 |
31 | Jack Harvey | #60, Meyer Shank Racing, Honda | 225.254 |
32 | Alexander Rossi | #27, Andretti Autosport, Honda | 224.935 |
33 | Conor Daly | #17, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda | 224.429 |
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The 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 is set to take place on Sunday, May 27. It is set to be broadcast at 11:00 a.m. ET on ABC on that date. Be sure not to miss it.