Briscoe Wins Indy Pole

INDIANAPOLIS – It’s no surprise that Team Penske won the pole for the Indianapolis 500.

The driver who ultimately did it, though, was a bit unexpected.

Ryan Briscoe withstood some fierce challenges to win the top spot for the May 27 race in qualifying on Saturday with a four-lap average of 226.484 mph.

It’s the first Indy pole for Briscoe, who started 26^th and finished 27^th last year, and a record 17^th pole for Team Penske, which also had four-time pole winner Helio Castroneves and series points leader Will Power in the nine-car shootout.

“I’m just glad it’s my turn,” Briscoe said. “We know we’re going to head into pole day or race day going up against each other. We work hard with each other and help each other to make it possible.”

James Hinchcliffe of Andretti Autosport fell short of the pole by just .003 mph.

“Those numbers (226.484) are going to haunt me,” said Hinchcliffe, who lost the pole by the closest margin in Indy history. The difference in the four-lap, 10-mile runs was .0023 of a second, which computes to about 9 inches.

Teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay, who was bumped last year and started only after his team bought the entry of an already-qualified car, nailed down the other front-row spot with an average of 226.240 mph.

Marco Andretti (225.456 mph), Power (225.422 mph) and Castroneves (225.172 mph) make up the second row.

The drivers in the third row, rookie Josef Newgarden and veterans Tony Kanaan and E.J. Viso, eschewed the multiple attempts allowed by the shootout forma. Newgarden completed a run for an average of 224.037 mph, slightly below his earlier effort of 224.677 mph. Kanaan and Viso each took the green flag in the shootout, then pulled in and stood on their earlier speeds.

Chevrolet, returning to Indianapolis for the first time since 2005, had eight of the nine cars in the shootout, with Newgarden the lone Honda.

Nine spots remain to be filled in the 33-car field during qualifying today. Once the field is filled, the slowest car is bumped.

Sebastian Saavedra, one of five Andretti Autosport drivers to qualify on the first day, is the slowest at 222.811 mph.

The lack of performance by the Chip Ganassi teams was one of the big surprises, especially by lead drivers Scott Dixon and reigning series champion Dario Franchitti.

Graham Rahal had the best speed at 223.959 mph, earning the No. 12 starting spot, ahead of Charlie Kimball (14^th, 223.868 mph), Dixon (15^th, 223.684 mph) and Franchitti (16^th, 223.582 mph).

It’s the worst Indy start for Franchitti, a two-time winner, since he started 17^th in 2006, and Dixon’s worst start ever at Indianapolis.

“As a unit, myself and the rest of the Target guys, we’re just off,” Franchitti said. “There’s a bit of head-scratching going on.”

None of the Ganassi cars tried to requalify after their initial runs.

On the other hand, at least they’re in the race. The drivers for A.J. Foyt are on the outside looking in after both Mike Conway and Wade Cunningham were bumped.

Conway was comfortably in the field with an average above 223 mph, but the run was disqualified after it was found the car was under weight.

“We shouldn’t have been out there in the first place,” Conway said. “We’ve got to go qualify again, do a time, and that’s it.”

Veterans Ed Carpenter and Oriol Servia – both in the fast nine last year, with Servia on the outside of the front row – will have to go to backup cars after crashes during qualifying attempts. Rookie Bryan Clauson also will have to go to his backup car after a wreck.

Neither of the Lotus drivers – Simona De Silvestro and Jean Alesi – made a qualifying attempt. De Silvestro practiced, but Alesi was not on the track.

Photo credit: John Cote/Indianapolis Motor Speedway