It came down to the last driver and last lap. Scott Dixon could not see and Marco Andretti could not lift.
When it turned out, Andretti performed perfectly to grab Dixon’s pole position for the 104th Indianapolis 500 in one of the more dramatic ends on the qualifier.
The third-generation driver of the four laps of 231,068mph in its US Concrete No. 98 Honda just picked up Dixon’s 231.051mph run in PNC Bank No. 9 Honda and that was the third closest margin in IMS history – 0.017 of a second for 10 miles.
The five closest Indy 500 poles (data courtesy of Russ Thompson):
| YEAR | POLE SPEED | 2ND | DIFF. | POLE WINNER | 2ND QUALIFIER |
| 2012 | 226,484 | 226,481 | 0.003 | Ryan Briscoe | James Hinchcliffe |
| 1970 | 170,221 | 170,213 | 0.008 | Al Unser | Johnny Rutherford |
| 2020 | 231,068 | 231,051 | 0.017 | Marco Andretti | Scott Dixon |
| 1958 | 145,974 | 145,926 | 0.048 | Dick Rathmann | Ed Elisian |
| 1955 | 140,045 | 139,985 | 0.060 | Jerry Hoyt | Tony Bettenhausen |
“It feels great and what a job this team and Honda have,” said Andretti, who had been fastest in Saturday’s first lap time trial and was the ninth and final driver to make his Sunday afternoon run. ‘It was a while on lap 3-4 with the wind and I knew it would be close.
‘But now I have the best seat in the house on race day. Clean air and speed are always good here. ”
After Andretti Autosport posted the four fastest speeds on Saturday, it looked like a potential sweep of the front row. But as James Hinchcliffe, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay battled it out on Sunday, it looked as if Michael Andretti’s team might be ruled out.
“After our first three boys I thought we didn’t get a shot, but Marco saved the day for us,” said Michael Andretti. “The car was loose and he drove the hell out.”
It was Indy’s first pole for Mario’s 33-year-old grandson and Dixon’s fourth fast time at IMS.
“It’s crazy – just a gust of wind can change things, but Marco did a great job,” said the five-time IndyCar champion. “I know what this place means to his family and I’m happy for him.”
The first run of the day turned out to be the fastest third, as Takuma Sato did a masterful track of all four laps at 230 mph in his Panasonic Honda.
“It was very consistent – not necessarily fast, but consistent,” said the 2017 Indy 500 winner who, along with teammate Graham Rahal, was the only driver to practice on Sunday morning as the wind blew up to 15-18mph. lift.
Rookie Rinus VeeKay impressed everyone in the paddock by winding up a total of fourth at 230,704mph in the SONAX No. 21 by Ed Carpenter – the lone Chevrolet in the Fast Nine.
“We went for it,” said the 19-year-old resident of the Netherlands, who is also coached by two-time Indy winner Arie Luyendyk. “I have a great car and a team and this has been a great experience so far.”
Hunter-Reay finished fifth in the DHL Honda and Hinch sixth in his Genesys Honda, while the third row line-up rookie is Alex Palou, Rahal and Rossi.
FULL QUALIFIED RESULTS
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