First in a series looking at historical Indy car statistical categories
Mario Andretti heads the list of all-time Indy car drivers with 67 career pole starts.
Andretti's first came on June 20, 1965, on the one-mile Langhorne Speedway (Pa.) oval (he led 33 of 100 laps and finished second to Jim McElreath). His last came on Aug. 1, 1993, on the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway oval. Overall, he recorded 40 poles on ovals and 27 on road/street courses.
Andretti converted 24 of those pole starts into victories (tops on the all-time list). His most famous Indy car win -- the 1969 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race -- was from the second starting position. He won the USAC championship that season, accumulating five poles (tying Dan Gurney for the field high) and a field-high nine victories in the 24 races.
Andretti is second to Bobby Unser (eight) in consecutive pole positions (seven during the 1965-66 USAC seasons) and is tied with Danny Sullivan for most in a season with nine (1966 USAC season). A.J. Foyt had 10 pole starts in the 1965 USAC season. He is second on the all-time list with 53 poles, and 23 of his chart-topping 67 race wins came from the pole.
Bobby Unser had 49 pole starts. Helio Castroneves, who earned the Verizon P1 Award for the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season finale at Auto Club Speedway and is the active leader, is fourth on the list with 41. Rick Mears completes the top five with 40.
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Top-15 All-Time Pole Winners from 1930 to 2014
Top-15 All-Time Pole Winners (1930 - 2014)
#1 - Mario Andretti: 67 Poles (Ovals - 40; Road/Street - 27)
First Pole: June 20, 1965 at Langhorne
Led 33 of 100 laps - Finished 2nd
Last Pole: August 1, 1993 at Michigan
Led 27 of 250 laps - Finished 2nd
Total Wins from Pole - 24
First win from Pole: July 25, 1965 at Indianapolis (IRP)
Last win from Pole: April 5, 1987 at Long Beach
#2 - A.J. Foyt: 53 Poles (Ovals - 53)
First Pole: September 16, 1961 at Indianapolis (IN State Fairgrounds)
Led 84 of 100 laps - Finished 1st
Last Pole: June 21, 1981 at Pocono
Led 35 of 122 laps - Finished 1st
Total Wins from Pole - 23
First win from Pole: September 16, 1961 at Indianapolis (IN State Fairgrounds)
Last win from Pole: June 21, 1981 at Pocono
#3 - Bobby Unser: 49 Poles (Ovals - 44; Road/Street - 5)
First Pole: September 5, 1966 at DuQuoin
Led 23 of 100 laps - Finished 3rd
Last Pole: October 31, 1981 at Phoenix
Led 55 of 150 laps - Finished 2nd
Total Wins from Pole - 17
First win from Pole: July 1, 1967 at Mosport
Last win from Pole: May 24, 1981 at Indianapolis
#4 - Helio Castroneves: 41 Poles (Ovals - 25; Road/Street - 16)
First Pole: June 6, 1999 at Milwaukee
Led 14 of 225 laps - Finished 26th
Last Pole: August 30, 2014 at Auto Club
Led 41 of 250 laps - Finished 14th
Total Wins from Pole - 11
First win from Pole: September 10, 2000 at Laguna Seca
Last win from Pole: September 19, 2010 at Motegi
#5 - Rick Mears: 40 Poles (Ovals - 36; Road/Street - 4)
First Pole: May 28, 1979 at Indianapolis
Led 25 of 200 laps - Finished 1st
Last Pole: October 6, 191 at Nazareth
Led 33 of 200 laps - Finished 15th
Total Wins from Pole - 14
First win from Pole: May 28, 1979 at Indianapolis
Last win from Pole: August 4, 1991 at Michigan
#6 - Will Power: 36 Poles (Ovals 6, Road/Street - 30)
First Pole: October 22, 2006 at Surfers Paradise
Led 13 of 59 laps - Finished 12th
Last Pole: August 24, 2014 at Sonoma
Led 33 of 85 laps - Finished 10th
Total Wins from Pole - 12
First win from Pole: April 8, 2007 at Las Vegas
Last win from Pole: August 17, 2014 at Milwaukee
(Tie) #7 - Dario Franchitti: 33 Poles (Ovals - 14; Road/Street - 19)
First Pole: July 20, 1997 at Toronto
Led 0 of 95 laps - Finished 26th
Last Pole: August 25, 2013 at Sonoma
Led 17 of 85 laps - Finished 3rd
Total Wins from Pole - 8
First win from Pole: September 6, 1998 at Vancouver
Last win from Pole: June 19, 2011 at Milwaukee
(Tie) #7 - Sebastien Bourdais: 33 Poles (Ovals - 3; Road/Street - 30)
First Pole: February 23, 2003 at St. Petersburg
Led 30 of 105 laps - Finished 11th
Last Pole: August 3, 2014 at Mid-Ohio
Led 38 of 90 laps - Finished 2nd
Total Wins from Pole - 18
First win from Pole: May 11, 2003 at Germany (Lausitz)
Last win from Pole: July 20, 2014 at Toronto (Race 2)
#9 - Michael Andretti: 32 Poles (Ovals - 7; Road/Street - 25)
First Pole: June 8, 1986 at Milwaukee
Led 110 of 200 laps - Finished 1st
Last Pole: July 11, 1999 at Road America
Led 0 of 55 laps - Finished 2nd
Total Wins from Pole - 12
First win from Pole: June 8, 1986 at Milwaukee
Last win from Pole: October 18, 1992 at Laguna Seca
#10 - Al Unser: 27 Poles (Ovals - 19; Road/Street - 8)
First Pole: June 18, 1967 at Langhorne
Led 53 of 100 laps - Finished 2nd
Last Pole: October 13, 1985 at Phoenix
Led 112 of 150 laps - Finished 1st
Total Wins from Pole - 11
First win from Pole: July 21, 1968 at Indianapolis (IRP)
Last win from Pole: October 13, 1985 at Phoenix
#11 - Paul Tracy: 25 Poles (Ovals - 7; Road/Street - 18)
First Pole: August 23, 1992 at Road America
Led 5 of 50 laps - Finished 17th
Last Pole: August 14, 2005 at Denver
Led 59 of 97 laps - Finished 16th
Total Wins from Pole - 10
First win from Pole: July 11, 1993 at Cleveland
Last win from Pole: June 26, 2005 at Cleveland
#12 - Johnny Rutherford: 23 Poles (Ovals - 23)
First Pole: November 17, 1963 at Phoenix
Led 0 of 100 laps - Finished 11th
Last Pole: September 24, 1984 at Michigan
Led 46 of 100 laps - Finished 14th
Total Wins from Pole - 9
First win from Pole: August 26, 1973 at Ontario
Last win from Pole: August 10, 1980 at Milwaukee
(Tie) #13 - Gil de Ferran: 21 Poles (Ovals - 9; Road/Street - 12)
First Pole: July 23, 1995 at Cleveland
Led 67 of 90 laps - Finished 14th
Last Pole: October 12, 2003 at Texas
Led 68 of 195 laps - Finished 1st
Total Wins from Pole - 4
First win from Pole: October 7, 2001 at Houston
Last win from Pole: October 12, 2003 at Texas
(Tie) #13 - Scott Dixon: 21 Poles (Ovals - 14; Road/Street - 7)
First Pole: April 13, 2003 at Motegi
Led 45 of 200 laps - Finished 15th
Last Pole: July 12, 2014 at Iowa
Led 17 of 300 laps - Finished 4th
Total Wins from Pole - 11
First win from Pole: June 28, 2003 at Richmond
Last win from Pole: July 14, 2013 at Toronto (Race 2)
#15 - Gordon Johncock: 20 Poles (Ovals - 19; Road/Street - 1)
First Pole: August 8, 1965 at Langhorne
Led 42 of 125 laps - Finished 3rd
Last Pole: June 13, 1982 at Milwaukee
Led 139 of 150 laps - Finished 1st
Total Wins from Pole - 5
First win from Pole: June 4, 1967 at Milwaukee
Last win from Pole: June 13, 1982 at Milwaukee