FP – American Ed Carpenter withstood a last-ditch bid by Australia’s Will Power to capture pole position for the Indianapolis 500.
Carpenter was only the fifth-fastest in the first round of time trials at the famed 4km oval where the 97th Indy 500 will be staged on May 26.
But that was enough to put the 32-year-old – the only owner-driver in the series – into the `Fast Nine’ final qualifying session among the quickest racers to determine the exact starting order for the front three rows.
Power threatened Carpenter with a fast first lap in his final run, but his second lap put him just off the pole pace. His last two laps were even slower and allowed a flying Carpenter to clinch the top spot.
Power, who will start from the second row, said he was surprised by the speed of his initial run but was not entirely disappointed by the result.
“I felt my first lap was going to be a good one. The car was good. It had a very nice balance. I used all of the race track and the car pulled well,” he said post-qualifying.
“In the Fast Nine shootout for the pole position, we took everything off for that final attempt and went for it.
“In the last two corners I didn’t know if the car was going to stick. But, at the end of the day, it was all good fun.
“It is cool to be starting on the second row at Indy. The car is comfortable. We’ll see what I can do on race day.”
Carpenter, a two-time IndyCar race winner, had the fastest pole average in seven years and improved upon his best Indy 500 starting spot, which had been eighth.
“Victories were great, but an Indianapolis 500 pole is the best,” Carpenter said.
“This is the start of a dream come true. This is just the first part of what we want to do.”
Carpenter will start on the inside of the front row beside Colombian rookie Carlos Munoz, who was second in the final runs, with American Marco Andretti on the outside of row one.
Venezuela’s E.J. Viso, American A.J. Almendinger and Power comprise the second row with US defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, Brazil’s Helio Castroneves and Canada’s James Hinchcliffe in row three.
In all, 24 positions on the grid were decided on Saturday for the 33-car field. The final three rows will be determined in Sunday’s last qualifying session.
