Indy 500: Marco Andretti takes pole for the 104th running

Marco Andretti took the pole position for the 104th running of the Indy 500, the first of his 15-year career in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

For the first time since Mario Andretti took his third pole position for the Indy 500 back in 1987, the Andretti name is back at the top in Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Andretti Herta Autosport’s Marco Andretti took the pole position for the 104th running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” by recording a four-lap average speed of 231.068 miles per hour around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Brickyard oval in Speedway, Indiana behind the wheel of his #98 Honda during the Fast Nine Shootout.

With the final run of the qualifying session, Andretti became the first driver to top both days of Indy 500 qualifying since James Hinchcliffe did so to take the pole position back in 2016, and he barely beat out Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, edging him by just 0.017 miles per hour.

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Dixon is set to start in second place behind the wheel of his #9 Honda on the middle of the front row, with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato to his outside in third behind the wheel of his #30 Honda.

Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Rinus VeeKay was the only Chevrolet driver who qualified for the Fast Nine Shootout, and he qualified on the inside of the second row in fourth place behind the wheel of his #21 Chevrolet. The #21 Chevrolet has qualified in the top nine for seven consecutive years, most of any car in the field.

Set to start alongside him in fifth and sixth place are Andretti Autosport teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe behind the wheels of their #28 Honda and #29 Honda, respectively.

Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh rookie Alex Palou qualified on the inside of the third row in seventh place behind the wheel of his #55 Honda. Set to start alongside him in eighth and ninth are Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal and Alexander Rossi behind the wheels of their #15 Honda and #27 Honda, respectively.

Here are the full qualifying results of the Fast Nine Shootout for the 104th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Engine – Speed (miles per hour)
1st – Marco Andretti – #98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda – 231.068
2nd – Scott Dixon – #9, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda – 231.051
3rd – Takuma Sato – #30, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda – 230.725
4th – Rinus VeeKay – #21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet – 230.704
5th – Ryan Hunter-Reay – #28, Andretti Autosport, Honda – 230.648
6th – James Hinchcliffe – #29, Andretti Autosport, Honda – 229.87
7th – Alex Palou – #55, Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh, Honda – 229.676
8th – Graham Rahal – #15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda – 229.38
9th – Alexander Rossi – #27, Andretti Autosport, Honda – 229.234

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Tune in to NBC’s live broadcast of the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 1:00 p.m. ET next Sunday, August 23. The race is scheduled to get underway at roughly 2:30 p.m. ET.