Sunday 17 May 2015

Dixon takes pole for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing Team for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500

(@Scottdixon9 on Twitter)

Well there we are folks!! Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon will start the 2015 Indianapolis 500 at the legendary Brickyard that is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from pole position. Driving the No.9 Target car Dixon recorded a four lap average of 226.760mph and will line up next to Team Penske’s reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Will Power who recorded a four lap average of 226.35mph.

Speaking following the session Dixon said that the team are starting from the right place but that the race is extremely long but that he hopes the Target team can replicate their 2008 win here.

Dixon’s pole position breaks Team Penske’s strangle hold on pole position as they have had eight straight pole positions dating back to August last season and Juan Pablo Montoya who currently leads the point’s standings in the Verizon IndyCar Series could only manage to qualify in 15th place with a four lap average of 224.657mph.

Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud will start the race from the front row of the grid alongside team mate Will Power after the Frenchman recorded a four lap average of 226.145mph.

Scott Dixon’s Ganassi team mate Tony Kanaan in the No.10 NTT Data sponsored car will start the race from the second row in fourth place after the Brazilian recorded a four lap average of 225.503mph and as a result will start next week’s race just ahead of Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves who returned a horrendous crash at the speedway earlier this week recording a four lap average of 225.502mph.

Andretti Autosport and Sheffield native Justin Wilson will start next week’s Indianapolis 500 from sixth place as the leading Andretti Autosport car with a four lap average of 225.279mph. KVSH Racing and four time CART champion Sebastian Bourdais will start the race from seventh place following a four lap average of 225.193mph.

Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti will start the race from eighth place just ahead of Josef Newgarden after recording a four lap average of 225.189mph.

Following his flip earlier this week, Newgarden recorded a four lap average of 225.187mph and will start the race from 9th place for Carpenter Fisher Hartman racing. The American who is currently in seventh place in the championship will start the legendary event just ahead of J.R Hildebrand who is also driving for CFH Racing rounded out the top ten with a four lap average of 225.099mph.

Qualifying was brought over to Sunday and officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway made a number of changes to the format of the session as a result of the issues suffered by some teams following cars flipping and as a result of this no championship points have been awarded for qualifying.

Andretti Autosport’s Carlos Munoz will start the race from 11th on the grid with a four lap qualifying average speed of 225.042mph ending the session just ahead of Ed Carpenter.

Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing did a fantastic job to his car ready for qualifying following his flip during this morning’s practice session. Carpenter walked away from the accident uninjured and recorded a four lap average of 224.883mph, he was the first driver to dip below 225mph.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Team’s Oriol Servia recorded the 14th fastest time in qualifying with an average of 224.777mph finishing just ahead of Ganassi Racing’s Charlie Kimball who recorded a four lap average of 224.743mph.

Verizon IndyCar Series point’s leader Juan Pablo Montoya endured an extremely tough day at the office as the Columbian will start the race from 15th place just ahead of reigning 500 champion, Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter Reay in the DHL sponsored No.28 Honda powered chassis.

Graham Rahal in the No.15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Team entry will start the race from 16th place after recording a four lap average speed of 224.290mph.

Carlos Huertas will start the race from 17th place respectively recording a four lap average of 224.233mph.

Andretti Autosport’s Simona De Silvestro on her return to the Brickyard following a stint with the Sauber F1 Team will start the race from 18th place with four lap average of 223.838mph, the Swiss driver will start the Indianapolis 500 just ahead of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports James Jakes who recorded an average of 223.790mph.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Tristan Vautier qualified in 21st place on the grid following an average of 223.747mph however James Davison will drive in Vautier’s place.

Canadian Alex Tagliani driving the No.48 AJ Foyt Enterprises entry will start the race from 22nd place with an average of 223.722mph just ahead of Indianapolis 500 rookie and Chip Ganassi driver Sage Karam who completed a four lap average of 223.595mph.

Karam will start the event just ahead of the mayor of Hinchtown James Hinchcliffe in the No.5 Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Racing car who ran a four lap average of 223.519mph. Conor Daly in the No.43 Smithfield Meats entry will start the race from 25th place with a four lap average of 223.482mph.

Dreyer and Reinbold Kingdom Racing’s Townsend Bell who set a four lap average of 223.447mph and will start the race from 26th place.

AJ Foyt Enterprises Takuma Sato will start the race in 27th place following a four lap average of 223.226mph. The former F1 driver will start the event just ahead of British driver Pippa Mann who set a four lap average of 223.104mph in No.63 Dale Coyne Racing Team entry.

Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian’s Gabby Chaves will start the Indy 500 in 29th place with a four lap average of 222.916mph.

Colombian Sebastian Saavedra will start the race from 30th place in the No.17 Chip Ganassi Racing Team entry with a four lap average of 222.898mph. Britain’s Jack Hawksworth racing for AJ Foyt Enterprises will start the race from 31st place.

The No.4 KV Racing Technologies entry of Stefano Coletti will start the race from 32nd place with four lap average of 221.358mph.

KVSH/Jonathan Boyd’s Racing’s Bryan Clauson rounded out the grid in 33rd place with a four lap average of 221.358mph. The 2015 Indianapolis 500 takes place this Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Officials announced prior to this weekend’s session that they plan to renovate the circuit and update the facilities before next year’s event when the Indianapolis 500 will celebrate 100 years.

Prior to the race next weekend the teams will take part in one more final practice session this week.

© Ben Johnston 2015

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