Dixon, Honda Claim Pole for 106th Indianapolis 500

• Scott Dixon, Alex Palou will start one-two with Honda power
• Dixon records second-fastest qualifying run in Indianapolis 500 history
• Third consecutive Indy 500 pole for Honda, two-in-a-row for Dixon

SPEEDWAY, Ind., May 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- For the fifth time in his incredible career, Scott Dixon will lead the field to green at the Indianapolis 500. The 2008 Indy 500 winner and six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion claimed pole in an electric Firestone Fast Six final qualifying run Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a four-lap average speed of 234.046 mph, the fasted pole speed – and second-fastest qualifying run – in Indianapolis 500 history.

Dixon will line up on the front row alongside his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, defending series champion Alex Palou.  Two other Ganassi Honda drivers – Marcus Ericsson and veteran Tony Kanaan – will start fifth and sixth, respectively.

Honda's HI22TT V-6 Indy car engine powered four of the six qualifiers in today's "Fast Six" qualifying round session, as well as seven of the top 12 qualifiers who advanced out of yesterday's first-round qualifying.

The other Honda drivers to advance out of first-round qualifying included Romain Grosjean, who will start ninth; two-time Indy winner Takuma Sato, who will start 10^th; and seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, who will start his first '500' from 12^th.

Quotes
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Pole qualifier, his fifth Indianapolis 500 pole; second only to Rick Mears with six Indy poles: "That's what this place is all about, it's so amazing.  The ups and downs you can have just in one day are crazy.  A massive 'thank you' to all the fans, it's so good to see everyone in the grandstands.  Thank you so much to the #9 team and Honda, they brought it today.  To get all five of our [Chip Ganassi Racing] cars into the Top 12, and then four into the Fast Six, I hope [team owner] Chip [Ganassi] has got a smile on his face!  Hard work and people, that's what it takes.  I'm one of the lucky guys that gets to drive, but the amount of effort from everyone back at the shop; and though HPD and Honda, the speed that they bring; and all my teammates; it takes everyone.  But this is only stage one, it won't mean anything come next Sunday.  We're starting in the right spot, and we'll definitely be trying to keep it on the right spot come race day."

Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Honda) Will start his third Indianapolis 500 from the middle of the first row: "Super happy to be starting on the front row, that's a first for me at Indianapolis.  The entire Chip Ganassi team did an amazing job and Honda is starting 1-2 with Scott Dixon and me.  So, really happy about that and hope we can take one of our cars to Victory Lane next Sunday!"

Kelvin Fu (Vice President, Honda Performance Development) on Honda's 15^thIndianapolis 500 pole: "This is Honda's third consecutive pole for the '500' and two in a row with Scott Dixon.  The team at HPD did a great job dealing with the new [qualifying] format, and the sheer bravery of the whole Ganassi lineup in all of their qualifying runs was absolutely amazing.  It's been a tough start of the season for us, but this is a validation of all the hard work going on at HPD and our partner teams.  They came through today, on the biggest stage in our sport.  There's still next week, and we've got a race to win.  We'll enjoy the moment tonight, but then it's back to work for next weekend's 500."

Fast Facts

• This is Honda's 13^th pole in 22 races at the Indianapolis 500, and 7^th pole in 16 Indianapolis 500s with multi-manufacturer competition. It is Honda's third consecutive '500' pole, a streak begun by Marco Andretti in 2020 and continued by Dixon in 2021-22.
• This is Scott Dixon's fifth Indianapolis pole in 20 Indianapolis 500s, with his previous pole runs coming in 2008 (when he also won the race), 2015, 2017 and last year. It is the seventh Indianapolis 500 pole for Chip Ganassi Racing.
• Honda has won more Indianapolis 500 races than any major automaker: 14 victories from 21 races – a win ratio of 66% – since the company entered the INDYCAR competition in 1994.
• Honda has had more race starts at the Indianapolis 500 than any other auto manufacturer: 405 starts. Honda drivers also have completed more race laps at the Indianapolis 500 than any other carmaker: 70,935 laps.

Where to Watch Sunday's 106^th Running of the Indianapolis 500
Live NBC network coverage of the 106^th running of the Indianapolis 500 begins at 11 a.m. EDT, with the green flag to start Sunday's 200-lap contest at 12:45 p.m. EDT.  Live streaming will also be available on NBC Peacock.

Honda Racing social media content and video links from Indianapolis can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD).  Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

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SOURCE Honda Racing/HPD