Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Lead Honda Effort In First Round Indianapolis 500 Qualifying
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
・ Chip Ganassi Racing places all four drivers in top 12 in first-day qualifying for next weekend's Indianapolis 500
・ Katherine Legge records fastest qualifying run by a woman in Indianapolis 500 history
・ Five former "500" winners in Honda-powered field
Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou led the way for Honda today in first-round qualifying for next weekend's Indianapolis 500, as 13 Honda-powered drivers qualified for the 107th running of the Memorial Day weekend classic.
Palou and teammates Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato and Marcus Ericsson also advanced to tomorrow's "Fast 12" final qualifying round to determine both the coveted pole position and the starting order for the first four rows in the field of 33.
In a dramatic conclusion to the day, David Malukas bumped his way back into the starting field in his final run; while Katherine Legge's four-lap qualifying average of 231.070 mph was the fastest qualifying run by a woman in Indianapolis 500 history.
Today's qualifying determined the first 30 starting drivers to make up the 33-car field. Qualifying action continues Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with "Fast 12" second-round qualifying; "Last Chance Qualifying" to determine the 11th and final starting row; and "Fast Six" final qualifying to set the pole for next weekend's race.
Fast Facts
・ Honda has won more Indianapolis 500 races than any major automaker: 15 victories from 22 races – a win ratio of 68% – since the company entered the INDYCAR competition in 1994.
・ Honda first won the '500' in the manufacturer's fourth attempt, when Buddy Rice piloted his Rahal Letterman Racing Honda to victory in 2004.
・ Honda's most recent "500" victory was recorded last year by Chip Ganassi Racing's Marcus Ericsson, Honda's third consecutive victory at Indianapolis.
I'm feeling really good. It's been a good day. It was tough yesterday for my boys, a long day making changes to the car. But the speed today was really good. This field is really tight, and making the 'Fast 12' was our target for today. We'll make a couple of more changes tonight and fight for the pole tomorrow.
AHHHHH! I am so happy! I feel like we got pole or we won or something. That's how much it means to this team. We were scratching our heads these last few days and really trying to figure it out. Unfortunately, we had to wait until the last 10 minutes [of qualifying] for it to all click. We were getting one zone right, and then the next, but nothing was really all coming together. And then the second to last run everything came together and I told the team 'it's just on my side, if you can give me the same car with just a few tweaks for the last lap tire.' And we went out there, Honda gave me that last bit of power, and we did it! That run was perfect and everybody just did a perfect job. We didn't just get out of the bump zone, but we are 23rd for the 500. I'm just so happy.
Yeah, that wasn't stressful at all, was it? My Hendrickson Honda crew have done an awesome job all week – getting me out there, getting me fast and getting me comfortable [in an Indy car] again. Now we'll work on the [race setup] and show them what we've got next weekend! Honestly, now, it's just a relief. You go through every single emotion on a qualifying day at IMS, it's unbelievable.
