CHEVROLET RACING IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES
103RD RUNNING OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
POST-QUALIFYING REPORT
MAY 19, 2019
Chevrolet wins Indy 500 pole, sweeps front row for 2nd year in a row
Team Chevy earns sixth pole start in past eight years
Pole is 86th in NTT IndyCar Series competition since 2012
Simon Pagenaud claims the top spot in Fast Nine Shootout
Teammates Ed Carpenter, Spencer Pigot also on front row
Pole is 18th in Indy 500 for team owner Roger Penske
Six Chevrolet drivers to start from the first three rows
Kyle Kaiser bumps Fernando Alonso from field by slim margin
INDIANAPOLIS (May 19, 2019) – For the second consecutive year and sixth time since its return to NTT IndyCar Series manufacturer competition in 2012, a Chevrolet driver won the pole position for the Indianapolis 500.
Simon Pagenaud, driving the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, recorded a four-lap aggregate time of 2 minutes, 36.5271 seconds at an average speed of 229.992 mph on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval during the “Fast Nine Shootout” to claim the 18th Indy 500 pole for team owner Roger Penske.
“Simon Pagenaud drove four incredible laps to win the pole for the Indianapolis 500. It was a thrill to watch,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “The Menards Team Penske Chevrolet crew gave Simon the set-up and tools he needed for that outstanding effort. It will be very exciting to see an all-Chevy front row on race day.
“We are so proud of to have six Chevrolet drivers in the ‘Fast Nine’ with three from Team Penske and three from Ed Carpenter Racing. Thanks to all of the Chevrolet teams and our technical partners for the collaboration. Now, the focus turns to the race.”
It is the 86th pole for Chevrolet in 124 NTT IndyCar Series races since 2012.
Drivers powered by the 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct fuel-injected V6 Chevrolet engine occupy six positions in the top three rows, including a sweep of the front row for the second year in a row and fifth time since 2012.
Pagenaud will be joined on the front row for the 200-lap race May 26 by three-time Indy 500 pole winner and 2018 race runner-up Ed Carpenter in the No. 20 Preferred Freezer Services Chevrolet and his Ed Carpenter Racing teammate Spencer Pigot in the No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet.
Other Chevrolet front-row sweeps since 2012:
2018: First – Ed Carpenter. Second – Simon Pagenaud. Third – Will Power
2015: First – Scott Dixon. Second – Will Power. Third – Simon Pagenaud
2013: First – Ed Carpenter. Second – Carlos Munoz. Third – Marco Andretti
2012: First – Ryan Briscoe. Second – James Hinchcliffe. Third – Ryan Hunter-Reay
Pagenaud, who earned his 11th career NTT IndyCar Series pole, has a best finish of sixth in 2018 in seven starts in the 500-Mile Race.
“It’s a very special time. It’s just amazing. Thank you to Team Chevy and Menards,” said Pagenaud, who eight days earlier won the INDYCAR Grand Prix on the IMS road course. “Obviously, last week was amazing but this is even more special. Team Penske has been phenomenal giving me the best equipment. I can’t thank them enough and my teammates for always pushing me. This is the biggest race in the world.”
Ed Jones will start fourth in the No. 63 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet. Will Power, the 2018 race winner, claimed the outside spot of Row 2 in the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet. NTT IndyCar Series points leader and 2017 champion Josef Newgarden qualified eighth in the No. 2 Shell V-Power Nitro Plus Team Penske Chevrolet.
Positions 10-30 for the 103rd running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” were set May 18 on the first day of qualifications. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, driving the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified 12th as he seeks to become the fourth member of the four-win group. Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 winner, qualified 16th in the No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet.
Others who qualified on the first day include:
Charlie Kimball, 20th in the No. 23 Fiasp Carlin Chevrolet.
JR Hildebrand, 21st in the No. 48 DRR Salesforce Chevrolet.
Matheus Leist, 24th in the No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet.
Ben Hanley, 27th in the No. 81 10 Star DragonSpeed Chevrolet.
Pippa Mann, 30th in the No. 39 Driven2SaveLives Clauson-Marshall Racing Chevrolet.
Sage Karam, driving the No. 24 DRR WIX Filters Chevrolet, and Kyle Kaiser in the No. 32 Juncos Racing Chevrolet, qualified May 19 for the final row in the 33-car field. Kaiser bumped two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso, driver of the No. 66 McLaren Racing Chevrolet, from the field by one-hundredth of a second over the 10-mile run.
NBC will telecast the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at 11 a.m. ET May 26.