Fast Nine Shootout Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – The “Iceman” certainly melted the competition once again in the NTT IndyCar Series as Scott Dixon won his fourth Indianapolis 500 pole Sunday. His four-lap average of 231.685 mph certainly wowed the crowd, but also knew once again in order to win an IndyCar race, you’ll have to get through Dixon. Dixon went out first to qualify yesterday and went out last Sunday. Right out of the gate, Dixon set an opening lap speed of 232.787 mph and never looked back. Like yesterday,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – A day removed from a risk gone wrong crash during yesterday’s qualifying session, Alex Palou will roll off sixth (230.616 mph) for the 105th Indianapolis 500. The Spaniard had an opportunity of bringing Chip Ganassi Racing home the NTT P1 Pole Award. In fact, his three other teammates also had a shot at pole. However, the aforementioned accident could’ve possibly prevented him from fighting for the top spot. In a blessing in disguise, Palou didn’t need a backup car and was able toRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – They’re the Chevrolet flies in the Honda soup, but two cars from Ed Carpenter Racing are ready to take an important plunge into familiar waters – a run for the pole position in the Indianapolis 500.  On a day when Honda-powered cars dominated the speed charts Saturday on the first day of qualifying for the May 30 race, Ed Carpenter and Rinus VeeKay carried the Chevrolet banner. Carpenter qualified fourth fastest at 231.616 mph and VeeKay fifth at 231.483. The third Carpenter car, driven by Conor Daly, qualified 19th at 230.427. Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – On a hot Saturday at Indianapolis, 35 drivers had the daunting task of trying to put together four solid laps that’ll either get them into the Fast Nine or make the top-30. It’s no easy task as conditions, the luck of the draw and risking everything can dictate how a competitor go about their run. Scott Dixon wasted no time as not only he was the first man to qualify, he literally set the tone. His four-lap average of 231.828 mph was theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The first guy out to fight for the Indianapolis 500 pole position was Takuma Sato, and for awhile, it appeared Sunday would’ve been another milestone to his racing career. Then Scott Dixon and Marco Andretti stole his thunder and out-qualified him, but nonetheless, Sato will start third for next Sunday’s 104th Indy 500. In his 10 previous Indy 500 starts, Sato qualified no better than fourth back in 2017, the year he won the 500-mile race. After Sunday’s Fast Nine Shootout, he became the first JapaneseRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer An uncharacteristic moment unfolded at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday as Team Penske failed to have one of its four drivers advance into the Fast Nine shootout (Sunday at 1 p.m. on NBC) for the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500. It’s the first time Penske has been shut out of the first three rows since 2002 as two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden qualified no better than 13th, while the other three drivers, all former Indy 500 champions, failed to crack the top-20. NewgardenRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief INDIANAPOLIS – Josef Newgarden missed out on sitting on pole for the 100th Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil by 0.04s in the final seconds of Sunday’s Fast Nine Shootout. The 25-year-old went out fourth put down the fastest single lap on the afternoon at 231.551 mph on the opening of his four circuits around the 2.5-mile oval. With an energetic roar from the crowd, Newgarden came across with a four lap average of 230.700 mph and jumped to the top of the scoring pylon.Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief INDIANAPOLIS – Tony Kanaan struggled during his first and only attempt to break into the Fast Nine Shootout during qualifying on Saturday. The 41-year-old had an early draw and could only muster a four lap average of 227.679 mph with his No. 10 NTT Data Chevrolet. Regardless of the pace set in qualifying, Kanaan mentioned that the race-ability of the cars felt the same as last year. “I think for what I’ve seen, it’s pretty similar to last year,” Kanaan said. “You’re going to see theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief INDIANAPOLIS – James Hinchcliffe soared to the top of the pylon in one of the most dramatic Indy 500 qualifying sessions in recent memory, solidifying himself into the Fast Nine Shootout with a chance to win the pole on Sunday for the 100th Indianapolis 500 on May 29, 2016. Hinchcliffe’s first qualifying attempt wasn’t fast enough to advance, but in the final 30 minutes of the session the Canadian went out again and put down an electrifying four lap average of 230.946 mph in his No.Read More