The Memorial Day weekend is a time racing fans all over the globe look forward to. Over in Germany, there is the gruesome 24 Hours of Nürburgring. For Formula One fans, there is the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix. In the United States, drivers will take part in the 101st running of the Indy 500. After two days of qualifying sessions, the IndyCar contenders have secured their spots on the grid.
On pole sits Scott Dixon, who set an average speed of 232.164 mph in the four laps provided. Additionally, the New Zealander hit 232.595 mph on the first lap — the quickest qualifying lap since Arie Luyendyk achieved a speed of 236.986 mph in 1996. Beside him in the first row are Ed Carpenter and Alexander Rossi (last year’s race winner), both of whom hit average speeds in the 231 mph-zone.
In row two, Takuma Sato sits alongside Fernando Alonso — one of Formula One’s greatest drivers who decided to skip this year’s Monaco Grand Prix to partake in the Indy 500. In his Honda-powered car backed by McLaren and Andretti Autosport, Alonso ran an average speed of 231.300 mph. The sixth place slot is home to JR Hildebrand.
Brazilian Tony Kanaan reached 230.828 mph overall and placed himself into seventh in the third row. Following Kanaan is Marco Andretti in eighth, along with Will Power in ninth. One-time Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter struggled to make it into the Fast Nine and had to take tenth place.
The complete starting lineup can be viewed here.
As usual, ABC will be providing coverage of this year’s race and will start broadcasting at 1500 UTC. Alternatively, a live stream will be available online at WatchESPN and on the WatchESPN app thanks to the ABC and ESPN partnership. The green flag is expected to be waved at 1619 UTC.
We look forward to seeing who will be drinking the glass of milk after 200 laps. Good luck to all racers this weekend!
See more articles on Indianapolis 500.
