Scott Dixon
Scott Dixon has almost every accolade one could get at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Most laps led, fastest pole speed, you name it and he’s done it. While he has just one Indy 500 victory, he does have five poles though. That ranks him second on the all-time Indy 500 poles list. His next pole will tie him with Rick Mears for most all-time.
Does that come on Sunday?
“Yeah, if it happens, it happens,” Rick Mears said of Dixon potentially breaking his record. “That’s the old saying, records are meant to be broken.
“Obviously would I like to hang on to it? Sure. But if he gets it, he’s earned it. The job he’s done to be able to get to that position, I definitely respect that.
“In one respect I’d be happy for him for the job he’s been doing, but in another respect I’d rather keep it.”
Dixon has won each of the last two poles for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing and if he can win a pole again this weekend, it would not only tie him for first with Mears, but he’s also become the first driver to win the pole here in three consecutive years.
Mears won four in a six-year span (1986, 1988, 1989, 1991). Helio Castroneves won 3 of his 4 Indy poles in a four years span (2007, 2009, 2010). No one has done so consecutively.
Dixon can.
“Yeah, that’s the goal,” he says. “We’re here to try and capture the pole. If it’s not myself, hopefully it’s one of my teammates. I think the cars have definitely been very fast.
“As a team, I think the pole is a big deal. The amount of effort that goes into it and the small tweaks and adjustments and everything for this race, for this weekend for the pole is very special. So it’s very rewarding, and it’s always great for the team.
“I think last year to have all of us in the hunt for it was very special, as well, and I’d say kind of looking at the last couple of days, the car has definitely had speed. We’ll have to see if that plays true come tomorrow and Sunday.
“But yeah, it would be amazing.
“But for me the focus right now is to do the best we can to try and capture that pole.”
He’s also qualified on the front row in three straight years though too as he was also the second qualifier in 2020. He was 10th on the four-lap average chart on Friday.
Will Power
No one has won as many NTT INDYCAR SERIES poles in the history of the sport than Will Power. The Team Penske driver is a 68-time pole winner as he set that new record in the 2022 season finale at Laguna Seca.
With two series championships, a Indy 500 triumph and now being the pole king, what more is there left to accomplish for the 42-year-old? Well an Indy 500 pole for starters.
Despite 68 career poles, none of which have come in the year’s biggest race. He’s 0-for-15.
“Man we we’ve done everything we can to get qualifying speed there’s not at the end of the day, you’re at the mercy of the speed of the car simply,” Power told me. “Then you’ve just got to put downforce to match.
“Honestly, it has you have to have the car. You have to have that that you have to have cars capable of doing it then it’s up to you to how much you want to trim. But unless you have that you just simply so you know, just at the mercy of what you want what car it is. Because very finicky here, you can just have a fast car and it can be the best of the team. They’re all built the same. One just slightly faster. So I would be waiting to have that car for many years. I’ve had it been close then. Yeah. Been on the front row. But yeah, yeah, it’d be nice.
“Like to get for flat out lap so team has worked I’d say last three years extremely hard on that. So we’re hoping to get all cars and the top 12 this year and closer to the front, but obviously it matters in the race because I got the top 12 and went all the way back to last with a loose car so I think I think we’re all pretty keen for a good run this month.”
At one point, Power made the Fast 9 in 11 straight years here, including four front row starting spots (2010, 2014, 2015, 2018), but none of those resulted in a pole. He’s finished 14th or worse in 4 of the last 6 Indy 500 starts.
Is this the year?
Power was seventh on the overall speed charts this week before Fast Friday and turned in the second quickest no tow lap on Thursday.
“Yeah, we’ve worked extremely hard in the off-season development-wise,” said Power on Fast Friday. “Just sort of two days in of running I feel like we’re in a pretty good place, definitely in race work.
“The no-tow laps look good right now, but you never sort of can rely on that. I think today we’ll get a pretty good idea of where we stack up pace-wise.
“There’s so many good team-driver combinations now, people — all these teams turn up, they just improve every year, and the car doesn’t change. So there’s a ceiling.
“I think Ganassi was the top, and everyone is sort of getting up there now. I think it’s going to be one of the tightest qualifyings in history here, especially to get in the top 12.
“I think we’ve done the work and I think Chevy has improved a bit, and I’m really hoping all three of us are in that top 12, and if everything goes really well, fighting for a pole.”
Power was fourth on the four-lap average chart on Fast Friday.
Team Penske
Qualifying has been Penske’s Achilles Heel here. Penske drivers qualified 13-22-25-28 in 2020, finished 5-11-14-22. They’d lead a grand total of 16 laps that day. A year later, they’d qualify 17-21-26-32 and finish 3-12-20-30 with just 3 laps led all day.
Last year, they qualified 12-14-26 and led no laps.
This year, they’ve been quick. They had two cars in the top six on the no tow on Wednesday too and went 1st (Power), 2nd (McLaughlin) and 4th (Newgarden) on Thursday. On the four-lap average chart on Friday they had went P3-P4 and P12.
At one point, Power made the Fast 9 in 11 straight years here, including four front row starting spots (2010, 2014, 2015, 2018), but none of those resulted in a pole. He’s finished 14th or worse in 4 of the last 6 Indy 500 starts.
“Man we we’ve done everything we can to get qualifying speed there’s not at the end of the day, you’re at the mercy of the speed of the car simply,” Power told me. “Then you’ve just got to put downforce to match.
“Honestly, it has you have to have the car. You have to have that that you have to have cars capable of doing it then it’s up to you to how much you want to trim. But unless you have that you just simply so you know, just at the mercy of what you want what car it is. Because very finicky here, you can just have a fast car and it can be the best of the team. They’re all built the same. One just slightly faster. So I would be waiting to have that car for many years. I’ve had it been close then. Yeah. Been on the front row. But yeah, yeah, it’d be nice.
“Like to get for flat out lap so team has worked I’d say last three years extremely hard on that. So we’re hoping to get all cars and the top 12 this year and closer to the front, but obviously it matters in the race because I got the top 12 and went all the way back to last with a loose car so I think I think we’re all pretty keen for a good run this month.”
Is this the year?
Power was seventh on the overall speed charts this week before Fast Friday and turned in the second quickest no tow lap on Thursday.
“Yeah, we’ve worked extremely hard in the off-season development-wise,” said Power on Fast Friday. “Just sort of two days in of running I feel like we’re in a pretty good place, definitely in race work.
“The no-tow laps look good right now, but you never sort of can rely on that. I think today we’ll get a pretty good idea of where we stack up pace-wise.
“There’s so many good team-driver combinations now, people — all these teams turn up, they just improve every year, and the car doesn’t change. So there’s a ceiling.
“I think Ganassi was the top, and everyone is sort of getting up there now. I think it’s going to be one of the tightest qualifyings in history here, especially to get in the top 12.
“I think we’ve done the work and I think Chevy has improved a bit, and I’m really hoping all three of us are in that top 12, and if everything goes really well, fighting for a pole.”
Track Record?
Just when you thought you’ve seen it all. For a race that’s been around for over a century, you’d think there’s not many records left to be broken. However, Scott Dixon found another one to shatter on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last May.
The Ice Man went quickest in the opening Round of the Fast 12 and that earned him the distinction of being the final qualifier of the Fast 6. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver went 234.046 mph which becomes the fastest pole speed in the 106 year history of the event. The prior pole record was set by Scott Brayton (233.718 mph) back in 1996.
Dixon’s also the second fastest qualifying four-lap average ever too with Arie Luyendyk’s speed of 236.986 mph still be tops. The reason Luyendyk’s speed wasn’t the fastest pole speed is because Luyendyk’s time in ’96 wasn’t for the pole. He was a second day qualifier.
We haven’t seen speeds like those in nearly 3 decades of action. The last time was 1996 but for the 2022 edition, we had the fastest field in field history. Does 2023 go even faster?
There’s a good chance of that but it all depends on the conditions. Last year was much cooler temperatures on the final day of Time Trials. That played a big role in this too. This year is similar but just a tad bit warmer. Scott Dixon told me on Friday that he feels like the speeds could be as high if not higher than last year since they’ve already proven to be quicker this year already in practice.
We have had 5 pole winners in the last 7 years eclipse the 230 mph barrier on their four-lap average. Overall, we’ve seen 11 of the 106 prior years with the pole speed being over 230 mph.
2022 – Scott Dixon 234.046 mph
1996 – Tony Stewart 233.100 mph
1992 – Roberto Guerrero 232.482 mph
2017 – Scott Dixon 232.164 mph
2003 – Helio Castroneves 231.725 mph
2021 – Scott Dixon 231.685 mph
1995 – Scott Brayton 231.604 mph
2002 – Bruno Junqueria 231.342 mph
2020 – Marco Andretti 231.068 mph
2014 – Ed Carpenter 231.067 mph
2016 – James Hinchcliffe 230.760 mph
In 2022, it took a four-lap average of 231.708 mph to get into the Fast 12. A year prior, Pato O’Ward was 12th at 230.864 mph on his four-lap average. 13? 230.846 mph (Pietro Fittipaldi). The entire top 21 qualifiers eclipsed the 230 mph barrier. Last year was the top 26.l
In 2020, it was a 230.539 mph to get into the top 12. What’s it going to take this year?
Ed Carpenter Racing vs. Chip Ganassi Racing
The entire top 6 of the starting lineup last year went to the Ed Carpenter Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing organizations. 5 of the top 6 in 2021 did too. What can they do this time around?
ECR has had a driver in the final round of qualifying for 10 straight years now. Rinus VeeKay is their top shot to keep that streak alive this weekend.
The Ganassi guys have missed the Fast Nine five times in the last 10 years, but they had also put all four cars in the Shootout the last two years too. From 2012 through 2016 though, they failed to make the Fast Nine four times in a five-year span. They put two cars in the Shootout in 2017, two in 2018 but were shutout again in 2019. In 2020 Scott Dixon was their lone bullet in their chamber as he’d start second.
They had all four of their cars in the top 11 of the four-lap average chart on Friday.
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