Brazil’s Tony Kanaan topped the speed chart in Friday’s final practice session for the 98th Indianapolis 500, saying he thinks this year’s car is better than last year’s race winner.
Kanaan circled the 2 1/2-mile (4km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in 39.5018 seconds to reach 227.838 mph and edge New Zealand’s Scott Dixon, the reigning IndyCar series champion, by .0113 of a second for the fastest lap in the last test before Sunday’s race.
“It feels good to be up there today, but that’s not what it’s all about,” said Kanaan, who won his first Indy 500 last year in his 12th start.
“Last year I was already happy with the car I got, but I think we’ve got a better car. But the field is definitely more competitive this year.”
Kanaan, who will start 16th in the field of 33 drivers on the inside of row six under Chevrolet power, hopes to become the first back-to-back Indy 500 winner since Brazil’s Helio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002.
Kanaan and Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner, are teammates for Chip Ganassi Racing, which struggled in qualifying but appeared to have a strong set-up for race conditions.
American Townsend Bell was third on Friday’s speed chart followed in order by Castroneves, Russian rookie Mikhail Aleshin and Americans Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti.
American Ed Carpenter will start from the pole for the second year in a row with Canada’s James Hinchcliffe and Australian Will Power alongside him in the front row.
Castroneves, France’s Simon Pagenaud and Andretti are in row two.
Castroneves, who also won in 2009, is trying to join Americans Rick Mears, Al Unser Snr and A.J. Foyt as the only four-time Indy 500 winners.
“There really is no feeling like winning the Indianapolis 500. It’s the biggest race in the world,” Castroneves said.
“It’s always hard to win, no matter the number. Every step of the way seems to be going well. I have the best guys and strategists that have won races. I guess our chances should be very high.”
US rookie Kurt Busch is attempting to become only the fourth driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and a 600-mile NASCAR race in North Carolina on the same day.
Canada’s Jacques Villeneuve, a 42-year-old former Formula One and IndyCar series champion making a comeback at Indy, will start on the outside of row nine, 27th in the field.
