2018 Indy 500: Sunday qualifying results – Ed Carpenter takes pole

AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 06: Ed Carpenter #20 driver of the Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet IndyCar (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 06: Ed Carpenter #20 driver of the Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet IndyCar (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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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.

RankDriverCar, Team, EngineSpeed
1Ed Carpenter#20, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet229.618
2Simon Pagenaud#22, Team Penske, Chevrolet228.761
3Will Power#12, Team Penske, Chevrolet228.607
4Josef Newgarden#1, Team Penske, Chevrolet228.405
5Sebastien Bourdais#18, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda228.142
6Spencer Pigot#21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet228.107
7Danica Patrick#13, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet228.090
8Helio Castroneves#3, Team Penske, Chevrolet227.859
9Scott Dixon#9, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda227.262
10Tony Kanaan#14, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet227.664
11Matheus Leist#4, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet227.571
12Marco Andretti#98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda227.288
13Zachary Claman DeMelo#19, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda226.999
14Ryan Hunter-Reay#28, Andretti Autosport, Honda226.788
15Charlie Kimball#23, Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet226.657
16Takuma Sato#30, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda226.557
17Kyle Kaiser#32, Juncos Racing, Chevrolet226.398
18Robert Wickens#6, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda226.296
19James Davison#33, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet226.255
20Max Chilton#59, Carlin Motorsport, Chevrolet226.212
21Carlos Munoz#29, Andretti Autosport, Honda226.048
22Gabby Chaves#88, Harding Racing, Chevrolet226.007
23Stefan Wilson#25, Andretti Autosport, Honda225.863
24Sage Karam#24, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Chevrolet225.823
25Zach Veach#26, Andretti Autosport, Honda225.748
26Oriol Servia#64, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda225.699
27J.R. Hildebrand#66, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Chevrolet225.418
28Jay Howard#7, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Honda225.388
29Ed Jones#10, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda225.362
30Graham Rahal#15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda225.327
31Jack Harvey#60, Meyer Shank Racing, Honda225.254
32Alexander Rossi#27, Andretti Autosport, Honda224.935
33Conor Daly#17, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda224.429

Next: Top 10 Indianapolis 500 drivers of all-time

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.