A star-studded lineup of drivers will be going for the pole today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Ed Carpenter led the way on Day 1 of qualifications for the Indianapolis 500, with his speed of 230.468 making him the leader of eight drivers that broke the 230 mph barrier during the late afternoon qualification session. That group will be part of the Fast Nine that will battle for Pole Position for the 101st running of the race on May 28.
Carpenter, who claimed back to back poles in 2013-14, is joined by Takuma Sato, 2008 winner Scott Dixon, JR Hildebrand, last year’s winner Alexander Rossi, Indy Grand Prix winner Will Power, Formula One sensation Fernando Alonso, 2013 champ Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti in the Fast Nine, which is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. The other qualifying positions will be determined beforehand, with that session beginning at 2:45 p.m.
Saturday’s action was delayed by thunderstorms that rolled through during the morning hours and pushed back the qualifying start time to 4 p.m. Kanaan was the first to break the 230 mark, checking in at 230.007. That was quickly bested by Power, who turned a 230.072, then Dixon moved up to the top of the chart with a 230.333.
The qualifying was halted temporarily around 5:30 p.m. after a terrifying crash involving Sebastian Bourdais. The Frenchman’s car hit the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier almost fully head on, flipped over and back and caught fire briefly.
Safety crews were over to help Bourdais within 11 seconds of the crash. Bourdais was taken to IU Methodist Hospital with multiple fractures to his pelvis and a broken right hip, and was in surgery as of Saturday night.
Bourdais was awake and alert after the crash. Prior to the crash, Bourdais had been turning laps of over 231 mph; he had gone over 233 during practice on Friday.
When qualifying resumed, Rossi came on to the track and went 230.148. Sato followed a couple drivers later, and moved to the top of the speed list with a 230.382. All would eventually be bested by Carpenter, however, who put himself in excellent position for a run at another pole.
“It was exciting,” said Carpenter. “It was a little surprising. I thought we had a good car all week.”
Noblesville’s Conor Daly also earned a place in the field, which will be his fourth start in the Indianapolis 500. Daly qualified with a speed of 225.912, which placed him 27th.
“That was our best single-car run we’ve done all month,” said Daly. “I guess that’s good, but it’s still super-slow. We’re going to work on it for tomorrow. We knew today we weren’t going to be attempting the Fast Nine. We were planning to use today as a test session and hopefully improve tomorrow.”
Other notable drivers that will be in the first qualifying group are 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and three-time champ Helio Castroneves, who finished 13th and 14th respectively. Two-time winner Juan Pablo Montoya placed 18th on Saturday, while two-time runner-up Carlos Munoz, Daly’s A.J. Foyt Racing teammate, qualified 23rd. James Hinchcliffe, last year’s pole winner, qualified 19th.
Conor Daly poses for a selfie with a fan Saturday at the Speedway. Daly qualified for his fourth Indianapolis 500, finishing 27th on the first day of qualifications. (Kent Graham)
Ed Carpenter led the Saturday qualifying session with a 230.468. (Kent Graham)