Qualifying order || Qualifications info
Helio Castroneves, driving the No. 3 Shell V-Power Nitro+ Team Penske Chevrolet, set the bar high for Indianapolis 500 qualifications with a lap of 233.474 mph in the morning practice on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
It was the fastest lap since Eddie Cheever Jr.'s lap of 236.103 mph in the 1996 race (photo below). Last year, Mikhail Aleshin turned a lap of 232.917 mph in practice preceding the second day of qualifications as the fastest of the month.
Four of the top five lap speeds in the practice, which was delayed by rain, were owned by Team Penske drivers. JR Hildebrand, driving the No. 21 Preferred Freezer Services CFH Racing Chevrolet, was second (232.985 mph).
Click it: Practice results
Castroneves seeks to join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as four-time Indy 500 winners, and he's in contention for some pole history, too. Castroneves, with No. 1 qualifying efforts in 2003, 2007, 2009 and 2010, is tied with Foyt and Rex Mays. A fifth would put him second to Team Penske consultant Mears. Catroneves also could give team owner Roger Penske a record-extending 18th pole position.
In 2014, Ed Carpenter earned the Verizon P1 Award in the Fast Nine Shootout with a four-lap average speed of 231.076 mph. It was the second consecutive year that Carpenter started from the pole (11th time it’s happened). He’ll be seeking to become the first to earn the pole in three consecutive years. Twenty drivers have won from the pole – most recently Castroneves in 2009.
"Last year we we're pretty solid so I think we can get in (to the Fast Nine Shootout), but we got to play our cards right and find a little bit," said Carpenter, driver of the No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka CFH Racing Chevrolet. "The thing we've got to figure out is how to make the fourth lap still be good."
Real-time Timing & Scoring is available May 17 on RaceControl.indycar.com.
