May 21, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou (10) reacts after earning the pole position Sunday, May 21, 2023, after Firestone Fast Six qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500. Mandatory Credit: Mykal McEldowney-USA TODAY Sports
Alex Palou is having a great May. He just won the road course race last weekend. And now he’ll lead the field of the Indy 500 on Sunday. He’s the 3rd straight Chip Ganassi car to take the pole at Indy. He eeks out the win over Rinus VeeKay by just .007 mph. His 234.046 mph run is second all time behind the 1996 pole run of Arie Luyendyk. Joining Palou and VeeKay in the front row will be Felix Rosenqvist. Pole winners were smart bets to win in the early 2000’s. The winner come from the pole in 2004,2006,2008, and 2009. It would be 10 years until it would happen again in 2019 when Simon Pagenaud did it. He’s the last to cross the finish line and win the pole. And only 10 rookies have won the race.
Other notable names, last year’s champ Marcus Ericksson will start 10th. The last American to win the race, Alexander Rossi, will start 7th. Former winner Takuma Sato who had been really fast in practice this week is in at 8th. And of course there’s 4 time winner Helio Castroneves, he’ll be looking for his 5th (and record breaking) win from the 20th spot. Only 3 have ever won from that spot, Tommy Milton in 1920, Frank Lockhart in 1926, and Al Unser in 1987.
Some starting positions have never seen a champion. No one has won from 18th, 23rd, 24th, 26th, and 29th-33rd.
Part of the bigger story this year is “Who isn’t in” rather than who is. Graham Rahal is out. A shocking turn of events as he got bumped by a late run from Jack Harvey. The Rahal Letterman team has struggled at Indy this season, they’ll field 3 drivers; Katherine Legge, the field’s lone female drive this year in at 30th, Christain Lundgaard at 31st, and Jack Harvey in 33rd
Comments