Ganassi wins his 3rd straight Indy 500 pole with Alex Palou’s record performance

After the young Spaniard put together the fastest four-lap pole run in history on Sunday, Alex Palou will lead the field to green in the Indianapolis 500. He beat Rinus VeeKay and Felix Rosenqvist to earn Chip Ganassi Racing its third consecutive pole in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Palou, who won the road course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, ran an average of 234.217 mph over four laps of the historic 2.5-mile track. That was only 0.007 mph faster than VeeKay, who nonetheless earned Ed Carpenter Racing a front-row starting spot for the ninth time in the past 11 years.

“It means the world to me now, to the boys, to everybody,” said Palou, who is possible moving to Bolt McLaren one year from now.

When Rosenqvist failed to secure Arrow McLaren’s pole position in the final race of the day, he roared.

Palou declared, “I’m just super happy,”

Palou surpassed Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon’s previous pole run record of 234.046 mph. It likewise was the second-quickest qualifying exertion, following just Arie Luyendyk’s 236.986, which he set the day after shaft qualifying in 1996.

“He did exactly what he needed to do. He’ll be the first to tell you it was a total team effort,” said Ganassi, who put a car on the pole at the Indy 500 for the eighth time. “We’re going to sail into the 500 starting on the pole. We’re pretty excited.”

Even though Rosenqvist was the fastest during the Fast 12 efforts earlier in the day, Palou was confident that he had a fast car.

“We have to go fast. Are you ready to go really fast?” team manager Barry Wanser asked Palou over the radio, as the 26-year-old headed off pit road under sunny skies and before a huge crowd lining the old speedway. “Let’s get it done.”

He did, leaving his rivals searching for more.

“I got everything out of it. Wish I had just a little more,” VeeKay said. “It’s so close, and the thing really had a shot for the pole position, but also, I’m a bit spoiled to say that. This is only the start to the race. Proud of the team, proud of the whole crew.”

Santino Ferrucci qualified fourth, within Line 2 for longshot A.J. Foyt Dashing, which has stopped people in their tracks throughout the week. Benjamin Pedersen, a rookie Foyt driver, was included in the Fast 12, starting 11th for the May 28 race.

Pato O’Ward and Ferrucci will start, and Dixon, who was aiming for a record-breaking third straight pole, qualified sixth.

Alexander Rossi was seventh on the grid and was the fastest of those who didn’t make the Fast Six. He’ll be within Column 3 alongside Takuma Sato and Tony Kanaan, who will begin 10th in what he says is his last Indy 500.

Pedersen, the only Team Penske driver to make the Fast 12 from Saturday’s qualifying runs, and defending Indy 500 champion Marcus Ericsson, who will start 10th for the strong Ganassi contingent, were the other drivers who were unable to advance to the pole shootout.

“All weekend we’ve been struggling to do four laps. It’s been an issue pretty much every day,” Ericsson said. “This morning we did three pretty good laps [in practice] and had a moment. I did stay flat out for four laps, but just had too much sliding.”

During practice, VeeKay experienced his own moment when smoke escaped from the No. 21 car. His Ed Carpenter Racing team’s engineers determined that there was no damage to the engine and that it was a failed header. They claimed to be confident before putting him on the sunny, warm track for the hour-long qualifying session.

“This morning was a bit tough. A bit tough. We had some issues,” VeeKay said, “but the 21 crew, they gave me their A-game. We even had time to spare. The engine felt great. The car felt great. All I had to do was stay flat-out for four laps.”

Ferrucci also did that, as the Foyt team has emerged as Gasoline Alley’s cheerleaders. Last month, A.J. Foyt lost his wife of 68 years, Lucy. The 88-year-old Foyt considered skipping May’s race in Indianapolis, where he is one of four people who have won the race four times.

But Foyt decided to come, and his team has given him some of the fastest laps around the track. He requested that all interview requests be held until the end of the day as he watched both qualifying sessions inside a garage that was closed.

However, when Ferrucci got back to the carport to see Foyt after his passing run, he was trailed by a company of well-wishers that included previous Indianapolis Engine Speedway proprietor Tony George and Jim Campbell, top of Chevrolet’s dashing system.

“That’s the fastest I’ve ever been for four laps,” said Ferrucci, who nearly clipped the wall on his first lap during the Fast 12, moments after his team told him over the radio: “Remember we have to race this thing. Let’s not do anything dumb.”

Foyt vehicles had not progressed into the passing shootout adjusts for the Indy 500 since the organization was presented in 2010.

Foyt won four pole positions in the Indianapolis 500 while he owned the team. He is the first driver to win four Indy 500s; Helio Castroneves became the fourth member of the club in 2021, when he won his fourth race.

Foyt rushed to call attention to after Ferrucci ended up fourth that Foyt himself had always lost the 500 from the first line, yet two times did it from fourth and both were his last two Indy 500 triumphs.