Alex Palou blazed his way to pole position for the 107th running of the Indy 500 on Sunday, with a record run that edged Rinus VeeKay by a razor-thin 0.006mph!
Palou's four-lap average speed of 234.217mph around the Speedway during Sunday's dramatic Fast Six shootout sees the Honda-powered Chip Ganassi Racing driver etch his name in the history books of 'The greatest spectacle in Racing' as the first Spaniard to take the top spot at the head of the grid.
Palou also delivered to CGR its third consecutive Indy 500 pole at the Brickyard.
"It means the world to me now," Palou said after his record run. "It was really tight, but the 10 car crew did an amazing job.
"Super proud of the work they did all month, all year to get to this point. We knew we had to go aggressive, to trim the car a lot to get a good first lap and try to be consistent.
"The fourth lap was really tough to keep it flat, but we did it. I knew it was one chance only."
Palou was third in line to take to the track, but the tension was palpable after his run as the Spaniard watched his remaining three rivals complete their nail-biting attempts.
Ed Carpenter Racing's Rinus VeeKay and crew
Ed Carpenter Racing's VeeKay just missed out by a whisker with a speed of 234.211mph that was just 0.004s slower than Palou.
"I got everything out of it, but it’s just so tight," said the Dutchman. "I thought we really had a shot at pole position."
Arrow McLaren's Felix Rosenqvist completed the front row for next Sunday's race after clocking in with a four-lap average of 234.114mph.
AJ Foyt's Santino Ferrucci will start fourth, flanked on the second row by Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward and CGR's Scott Dixon.
The final row of the grid was also decided on Sunday, with Christian Lundgaard starting 31st, ahead of Sting Ray Robb and Jack Harvey.
The latter bumped Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammate Graham Rahal thanks to an all-or-nothing third run completed in the final seconds of the group's qualifying.
With an average speed of 231.023mph, this year's 33-car field is the fastest in the history of the Indy 500.
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