INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Marco Andretti led a goal from Honda on the first day of qualifying at the Indianapolis 500, a consultation ruled by Andretti Autosport and Honda when the Penske team was excluded from pole position.
Andretti recorded a four-lap average of 231,351 mph at the most sensitive point on the speed chart on Saturday ahead of teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe.The nine fastest qualify for a shootout on Sunday that determines the 3 most sensitive locations in the Indy 500.
Andretti’s organization won 4 spots and Honda drivers won 8 overall.
“Honda brought it this year, ” said Andretti.” I was able to pass out and do my homework and, man, when it’s all together, it’s just beautiful.
Hunter-Reay second, Rossi third and Hinchcliffe fourth in Andretti’s sweep.
“It is not known if one opposes the 4,” Rossi admitted.
Andretti Autosport tried to put his six cars in the nine most sensitive, but Colton Herta finished tenth and Zach Veach 17 after several attempts.
It is also unclear that the Andretti Group owns the fastest car: Scott Dixon recorded the fastest lap of the day at 232,356 mph in a qualifying race interrupted at the bell.ran backwards for Chip Ganassi Racing.
“We were just going through a few things for tomorrow, we were looking to find the right balance,” Dixon said.
It was a depressing effort for Chevrolet, which only placed 19-year-old rookie Rinus Veekay of Ed Carpenter Racing in the rapids nine. Chevy’s camp has struggled with live speed since Friday’s power boost and penske’s 4 flagship innings.it will start deep into the package.
Josef Newgarden, the champion of the protective series, the highest rated Penske driver in 13th place.Will Power finished 22, current winner Simon Pagenaud finished 25th and three-time winner Helio Castroneves in 28th.
The race originally scheduled for its classic Memorial Day weekend, but postponed until August 23 due to the pandemic.Teams aren’t used to those temperatures and the heat has been one of Chevy’s biggest problems.
The manufacturer’s idea had taken a break when Newgarden and former race winner Power designed qualifying spaces, giving them the chance to shop in cooler weather.It worked, but Newgarden was just the fastest Chevrolet of the moment.
Power had one of the worst qualifying efforts of his Indianapolis career and will start at a top of his 23rd starting position, the worst in his career, when he made his debut in 2008.
“Probably one of my slowest cars. I’m surprised,” Power said.”We used less than Josef and we were slower.
Power said the four-car Penske organization will now prepare for the race and settle for lower-than-normal starting locations.
“Now we can go back to the races, ” said Power.” We’re better at racing, that’s for sure.
The pole shoot will consist of 4 drivers Andretti, Dixon, VeeKay, rookie Alex Palou of Dale Coyne Racing and Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Andretti likes his chances, even if he first feared his initial speed would not be maintained.He has not won in 14 previous attempts to win “The Biggest Show of the Race” and Andretti’s famous family circle has only one victory in the event, a victory by Mario Andretti in 1969.
“The biggest impediment when you come to Indy is speed,” Andretti said.”They gave it to us. But then you start to wonder: Does Chevy make sandbags?Is he too smart to be true? Dude, Honda brought it.We’ve slowed down. We just have to execute.”
Andretti earned praise from his father, Michael, the owner.
“I was stunned,” Michael Andretti said.We were all shocked. The last two laps, he pedaled at full speed.He did a wonderful job.”
Michael Andretti also prides itself on his entire organization for the preparation of six forged cars.
“One of the demanding situations is to find that all our cars are the same,” Andretti said.”They are as close to others as ever before. Until yesterday, I didn’t know where we were going to be.So I thought I had a valid chance of placing six cars among the nine most sensitive.
Fernando Alonso, in a Chevrolet, also did not locate much speed. The two-time Formula One champion seeks to close the Triple Crown edition for motorsport, however, his access to Arrow McLaren SP has been overdue since Alonso’s accident in Practice on Thursday..
Alonso’s qualifying time with 228,768 mph 12th thirteen drivers in his attempt.Alonso, who came out of the draw last year, will start 26.
“We were just looking to organize a race forged without drama and put the car on the show,” the Spaniard said.”We weren’t as fast as we were looking for and we had to settle for that.”
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