HONDA - Qualifications Day 2

Bourdais, Dixon Lead Honda Qualifiers for 102nd Indianapolis 500

• Sebastien Bourdais completes return from injury by qualifying fifth

• Scott Dixon to start ninth in search of his second “500” win

• Indy 500 field to feature 17 Honda drivers from five teams

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 20, 2018) – Sebastien Bourdais led the Honda-powered field in final qualifying today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and will start next Sunday’s Indy 500 from the middle of the second row, fifth.

For Bourdais, the run capped an impressive return from multiple fractures and other injuries sustained in a qualifying crash here last year.  The Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan driver also won the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series opener in St. Petersburg, Florida, and currently is ranked third in the Drivers’ Championship point standings.

Former “500” winner and series champion Scott Dixon also advanced to the Fast Nine final shootout, which set the first three rows of the 33-car starting field, but was unable to repeat his pole-winning effort from 2017 and will start on the outside of the third row, ninth.

In preliminary qualifying action today, Marco Andretti recorded a four-lap average speed of 227.288 mph to start on the outside of the fourth row, 12th.  Series rookie Zachary Claman De Melo posted an impressive average speed of 226.999 mph and will start 13th, with veteran and 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter Reay starting alongside in 14th. 

Following the conclusion of today’s final qualifying rounds, race preparations begin in earnest on Monday with a three hour, 30-minute practice session, followed by final “Carb Day” practice on Friday.  The green flag for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 waves just after noon EDT Sunday, with live television coverage starting at 11 a.m. EDT.

 

Quotes:

Sebastien Bourdais (Dale Coyne Racing Honda) Will start in the middle of the second row, fifth: “It was just a great weekend for the SealMaster Honda. I’m starting fifth in the middle of Row Two. I am really proud of everything the guys have done.  I think it is speaks volumes about their work, their passion and their dedication to this program.  Dale [Coyne], Jimmy [Vasser] and Sulli [James Sullivan, team owners] and everybody from top to bottom. I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity, for the support. It has probably been the hardest weekend and the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. Overall, I am happy with the job we did and where we are starting.” 

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Will start on the outside of the third row, ninth: “It’s always a tricky situation whether or not you go out and practice in the morning. The conditions are so different, really, so we elected not to, just like last year. The PNC Bank car was good.  We tried a couple things today we hoped would pick up the speed. It didn’t pan out, but we were in the Fast Nine for the second straight year and we’re proud of that. We’ll just have to now see how the race plays out.”

Art St. Cyr (President, Honda Performance Development) on Indianapolis 500 qualifying: “For the last two years, Honda had a definite advantage in both qualifying and the race.  Obviously, we have some work to do in preparation for next week’s race, but I’m confident in our teams, our drivers and all of our associates at HPD to work together to win our 13th Indianapolis 500.”

Indianapolis 500 Final “Pole Day” Qualifying

Circuit:              Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval), Indianapolis, IN

2017 Winner:  Takuma Sato (Andretti Autosport Honda) 156.395 mph average

2017 Pole:       Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)  232.164 mph

Weather:         Mostly sunny, warm, 85 degrees F

 

Indianapolis 500 Starting Field:

Ps.

Driver    

Team

Manufacturer

Speed MPH

Notes

  1.

Ed Carpenter

Ed Carpenter Racing

Chevrolet

229.618

Third Indy 500 pole

  2.

Simon Pagenaud

Team Penske

Chevrolet

228.761

  3.

Will Power

Team Penske

Chevrolet

228.607

  4.

Josef Newgarden

Team Penske

Chevrolet

228.405

  5.

Sebastien Bourdais

DCR with Vasser-Sullivan

Honda

228.142

 

  6.

Spencer Pigot

Ed Carpenter Racing

Chevrolet

228.107

  7.

Danica Patrick

Ed Carpenter Racing

Chevrolet

228.090

  8.

Helio Castroneves

Team Penske

Chevrolet

227.859

  9.

Scott Dixon-W

Chip Ganassi Racing

Honda

227.262

 

 

10.

Tony Kanaan-W

A.J. Foyt Racing

Chevrolet

227.664

11.

Matheus Leist-R

A.J. Foyt Racing   

Chevrolet

227.571

12.

Marco Andretti

Andretti Autosport

Honda

227.288

 

 

13.

Zachary Claman De Melo-R

Dale Coyne Racing

Honda

226.999

14.

Ryan Hunter-Reay-W

Andretti Autosport

Honda

226.788

 

15.

Charlie Kimball

Carlin Racing

Chevrolet

226.657

16.

Takuma Sato-W

Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Honda

226.557

Defending Race Winner

17.

Kyle Kaiser-R

Juncos Racing

Chevrolet

226.398

18.

Robert Wickens-R

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Honda

226.296

 

 

19.

James Davison

A.J. Foyt Racing   

Chevrolet

226.255

20.

Max Chilton

Carlin Racing

Chevrolet

226.212

21.

Carlos Munoz

Andretti Autosport

Honda

226.048

 

 

22.

Gabby Chavez

Harding Racing

Chevrolet

226.007

23.

Stefan Wilson

Andretti Autosport

Honda

225.863

 

24.

Sage Karam

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Chevrolet

225.823

25.

Zach Veach-R

Andretti Autosport

Honda

225.748

 

26.

Oriol Servia

Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Honda

225.699

 

27.

JR Hildebrand

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Chevrolet

225.418

28.

Jay Howard

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Honda

225.388

 

29.

Ed Jones

Chip Ganassi Racing

Honda

225.362

 

30.

Graham Rahal

Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Honda

225.327

 

 

31.

Jack Harvey

Meyer Shank Racing

Honda

225.254

 

32.

Alexander Rossi-W

Andretti Autosport

Honda

224.935

 

33.

Conor Daly

DCR with Thom Burns Racing

Honda

224.429

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

W – Previous Indy 500 Champion [6 former winners in the field]

R – Indy 500 Rookie [4 rookies in the field]