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– Marco Andretti wins Honda’s eleventh pole ‘500’ in Fast Nine final standings
– Scott Dixon and Takuma Sato complete the lock on Honda’s row
– Honda gets 11 of the 12 most sensible qualifying spots in a dominant speed demonstration
– The 104th edition of the Indianapolis 500 will take place on Sunday, August 23
INDIANAPOLIS, August 16, 2020 / PRNewswire / – – In a thrilling “Fast Nine” final qualifying shootout for the coveted initial pole position, Marco Andretti beat fellow Honda Scott Dixon at just 0.017 mph for the honor of leading the peloton to the green flag on the 104th edition of the Indianapolis 500 next Sunday.
Takuma Sato finished a front row lock for Honda, while the manufacturer swept the front row and won 11 of the top 12 starting positions for next weekend’s race. Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe will begin second, fifth and sixth respectively. The third row is also completely Honda, with rookie Alex Palou starting seventh, followed by Graham Rahal and Alexander Rossi.
Four other Honda-powered groups are represented in the nine most sensitive, adding Andretti Autosport (Andretti, Hunter-Reay, Hinchcliffe and Rossi); Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Sato and Rahal); Chip Ganassi Racing (Dixon) and Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh (Palou).
Andretti’s four-round margin over second-fastest Scott Dixon is the third closest in the history of the “500.” Only 2012 (Ryan Briscoe at Honda’s James Hinchcliffe of 0.003 mph) and 1970 (Al Unser in 0.008 mph of Johnny Rutherford) were closer.
On Saturday, Honda drivers and groups also ruled the first-round qualifier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In addition to hitting 8 drivers in the Fast Nine shootout, Honda drivers filled the fourth row of the grid with Colton Herta, Marcus Ericsson and Spencer Pigot. Felix Rosenqvist will be placed in the middle of the fifth row, 14; with Zach Veach in the middle of the sixth row and Jack Harvey of Meyer Shank Racing in the middle of the seventh row. Santino Ferrucci will receive Harvey’s title after his 19th ranking; while James Davison finished the group of 15 Honda drivers and will rank 27th.
Honda Racing social media content and Indianapolis Motor Speedway test and rating videos are available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD). Produced through CoForce Digital Media, YouTube video packages are available at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.
NextThe 104th edition of the Indianapolis 500 will take place on Sunday, August 23, with live TV policy on NBC beginning with pre-race festivities at 1 p.m. Edt.
Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport Honda) Pole rating, his first Pole Indianapolis 500, 11th Pole Indy for Honda: “For me, I started to feel the wind on lap 2, which meant it was going to be a couple of long laps. Rounds 3 and 4 were inaccurate. [Taking the platoon to the green flag to begin next weekend’s Indianapolis 500.] It’s the most productive seat in the house! Clean air is smart here. The speed is smart here and man, the strength is so great, is it rarely much? It makes everything so much easier. Honda did an amazing job and our team ran very fast [from the first attempt]. I’m so excited! “
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) ranked in the middle of the front row, second: “Thank you very much to Honda and HPD, you did a wonderful job. We know they also worked very hard for the race. I feel like we didn’t leave much on the table, it’s possible that we’ve also made the car a little more neutral, it was “understeer” from the beginning. But that’s what it is, [qualifying for Fast Nine] is difficult, especially today windy conditions. That’s what makes it so exciting, it was incredibly tight [for the pole] right there at the finish line and, unfortunately, we got here a little short. But I’m incredibly satisfied by Marco [Andretti]. He is a wonderful user and a very intelligent broker. We just have to check to beat them [in the race] next week.”
Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) qualified outdoors in the front row, third: “First of all, congratulations to Marco [Andretti] and Andretti Autosport, they did a fantastic task [win the pole]. Starting from the front line is a wonderful achievement for us. Everyone at Rahal Letterman Lanningan Racing worked hard the off-season to improve our functionality here and the effects shown today. Honda, a wonderful task in its component, simply a wonderful task in its component and equipment. Now let’s move on to the preparation of the race. We have some other educational consultation this afternoon that will be incredibly important; also ‘Carb Day’ [final friday tests]. Sunday’s race.”
Ted Klaus (President, Honda Performance Development) the sweep of pole and the front row of the Indianapolis 500 for Honda: “It was a wonderful weekend for Honda, and we are very happy to have the pole and a full Honda front row. Everyone at HPD and our spouse groups can be proud of this weekend’s accomplishments. We all know the race will be a battle. You’ll see tire degradation and pit strategy and fuel-saving strategy as if you were playing. That’s why the race will be desirable and a laugh to see. I will cross my hands to do nothing to disturb the gods of the race so that one of our groups can bring her home. Victory Circle next Sunday.”
Indianapolis 500 range
Circuit:
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval), Indianapolis, IN
2019 Winner:
Simon Pagenaud (Penske team) 175,794 mph on average
Time:
Mostly sunny, warm, windy, F grades
104 Indianapolis 500-Mile Ranking Results:
Pd.
Driver
Team
Manufacturer
Average Speed
Observations
1.
Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport
Honda
231,068
Fast Nine Final Qualifying
2.
Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
231,051
Fast Nine Final Qualifying
3.
Takuma Sato
Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Honda
230,725
Fast Nine Final Qualifying
4.
Rinus VeeKay-R
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
230,704
Fast Nine Final Qualifying
5.
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Andretti Autosport
Honda
230,648
Fast Nine Final Qualifying
4.
James Hinchcliffe
Andretti Autosport
Honda
229 870
Fast Nine Final Qualifying
7.
Alex Palou-R
DCR with the Goh team
Honda
229,676
Fast Nine Final Qualifying
8.
Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Honda
229,380
Fast Nine Final Qualifying
9.
Alexander Rossi
Andretti Autosport
Honda
229,234
Fast Nine Final Qualifying
Ten.
Colton Herta
Andretti Harding Autosport
Honda
230,775
11.
Marcus Ericsson
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
230,763
12.
Spencer Pigot
RLL with Citrone / Buhl Autosport
Honda
230,539
13.
Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
Chevrolet
230,296
14.
Felix Rosenqvist
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
230,254
15.
O’Ward-R Duck
McLaren SP Arrow
Chevrolet
230,213
Sixteen.
Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
230,211
17.
Zach Veach
Andretti Autosport
Honda
229,961
18.
Conor Daly
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
229,955
19.
Santino Ferrucci
DCR with Vasser-Sullivan
Honda
229 924
20.
Jack Harvey
Meyer Shank’s careers
Honda
229.861
21.
Oliver Askew-R
McLaren SP Arrow
Chevrolet
229 760
22.
Be
Team Penske
Chevrolet
229.701
23.
Tony Kanaan
To J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
229,154
24.
Kellett Dalton
To J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
228,880
25.
Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228 836
26.
Fernando Alonso
McLaren SP Arrow
Chevrolet
228,768
27.
James Davison
DCR with Ware / Byrd / Belardi
Honda
228,747
28.
Helio Castroneves
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228,373
19M
Charlie Kimball
To J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
227,758
30.
Wise Karam
Dreyer and Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
227,099
31.
JR Hildebrand
Dreyer and Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
226,341
32.
Max Chilton
Carlin Racing
Chevrolet
225,819
33.
Ben Hanley
Dragon Speed Race
Chevrolet
220,946
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SOURCE Honda Racing / HPD