Andretti proudly holds his NTT P1 Award check above his head on pit lane Sunday. (Credit: Chris Jones/IndyCar Media)
Firestone Fast Nine qualifications took place Sunday from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Marco Andretti won the pole award for next week’s running of the 104th edition of the Indianapolis 500.
Recap
Andretti won the NTT P1 Award for the Indy 500 for his first time in 15 attempts.
Marco Momentum
Marco Andretti’s pole is his first in two years and the fifth total in his NTT IndyCar Series career. The pole speed Andretti averaged over four laps was 231.068MPH, just ahead of Scott Dixon.
Andretti’s total time was 2:35.7985-minutes, beating Dixon whose time was 2:35.8098-minutes.
The 33-year-old Nazareth, PA. driver’s previously pole awards came at Milwaukee in 2008 and 2013, Fontana 2012, Pocono 2013, and the first race at Belle Isle in 2018. His best result from the pole position is a 4th-place finish at Detroit in the 2018 pole award.
Rookie Rinus
Ed Carpenter Racing’s rookie Rinus VeeKay finished the session in fourth. The Dutchman averaged his four laps at 230.704MPH. VeeKay was the only Chevrolet-powered car to qualify for the Firestone Fast Nine session.
VeeKay ended the day posting the fourth-fastest time during the Fast Nine. The rookie will start his first Indianapolis 500 on the bottom of the second row.
Rahal Review
The Rahal Letterman Lanigan full-time duo of Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato qualified for the Fast Nine.
Rahal and Sato were the only two cars to take time in Sunday’s 11 am session. Sato posted the fastest lap in the fifth practice of the week. Meanwhile, in the actual qualification session, Sato carried his speed.
Sato posted a 230.725MPH average, slotting him third in the grid. Sato will start his 11th ‘500’ on the outside of the front row.
Andretti drives into the first turn at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. (Credit: Chris Owens/IndyCar Media).
Results
Morning Practice Result (Single Lap Average)
Pos.: Driver (No.) Team – Best MPH Average
1: Takuma Sato (30) Rahal Letterman Lanigan – 231.010MPH
2: Graham Rahal (15) Rahal Letterman Lanigan – 229.253MPH
Day 2 Qualifying Results
Pos.: Driver (No.) Team – Best 4 Lap MPH Average
1: Marco Andretti (98) Andretti Herta Autosport – 231.068MPH
2: Scott Dixon (9) PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing – 231.051MPH
3: Takuma Sato (30) Rahal Letterman Lanigan – 230.725MPH
4: Rinus VeeKay (21) Ed Carpenter Racing – 230.704MPH
5: Ryan Hunter-Reay (28) Andretti Autosport – 230.648MPH
6: James Hinchcliffe (29) Andretti Autosport – 229.870MPH
7: Alex Palou [R](55) Dale Coyne w/ Team Goh – 229.676MPH
8: Graham Rahal (15) Rahal Letterman Lanigan – 229.380MPH
9: Alexander Rossi (27) Andretti Autosport – 229.234MPH
Positions 10-33 were determined Saturday. The final 23 positions can be found here.
Official Reports
Official IndyCar Reports on each session can be found below.
