‘The Iceman’ will not play too much on Indianapolis Motor Speedway, not even at record speed.
Scott Dixon broke the Indianapolis 500 pole winning record by exhaling at 376 km / h.
His hands were shaking when he got out of his car after his first run on Monday (AEST), but New Zealand weren’t upset and went back for an incredible final run.
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His four laps around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gave Dixon the fifth Indy 500 pole of his career at an average speed of 376.66 km / h.
He will lead the field green in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” next Monday (AEST).
“With this place, the ups and downs you’ve made in just one day are crazy,” Dixon said.
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“I think we all secretly improve like this, don’t we? It’s an amazing feeling to live on that edge and that’s what happens when you nail it. Such days are amazing.”
Considered the best driver of his generation, Dixon’s average Scott broke Breton’s record of 376.13 km / h pole set in 1996.
Ari Luandik has four lap qualifying records with a speed of 381.39 km / h, which was also done in 1996, but did not run for the pole.
Dixon’s qualifying run was the second fastest of 106 runs in the most prestigious race in the world.
Dixon’s first lap was 377.28 km / h and drew a roar from the fans.
The speed of his second lap was 376.84 km / h and wife Emma bowed against the wall of the ditch in amazement, her hands covering her face.
From there Dixon’s drop-off was small: his fourth and final lap was 376.14km / h as his consistency gave Chip Gansi Racing his seventh Indy 500 pole.
“The first number means a lot, and when I saw 234 (m / h), it was ‘OK, this is going to be a good run,'” Dixon said.
“But you’re busy, you’re swallowing. The first year of just hitting the top and enjoying the speed is gone.”
Dixon also started the poll in 2008 when he won his only Indy 500, as well as 2015, 2017 and last year.
Gansi led his five drivers in a two-round qualifying shootout to set the starting three-row starting order for next week’s race.
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmy Johnson needed a huge save in the first turn of his first lap and could not advance beyond the Round of 12.
But Dixon did the same with his other three Honda-powered teammates.
In a head-to-head “Fast Six” shootout against Chevrolet-powered teammates Ed Carpenter and Rinas VK, Dixon made Indica champions Alex Palo, Marcus Erickson and Tony Canaan reign supreme.
“That’s what the real contestants want, the real contestants want it,” Gansi said before the session.
“It’s a moment made for the champions.”
The 21-year-old VeeKay posted the third-fastest qualifying race in track history but that wasn’t enough for Dixon’s big, big lap.
Palo, with an average of 375.78 km / h, finished second with his teammate and VK finished third at 375.59 km / h.
Palo, who managed 35 laps last year and finished second to Helio Castronves, said he knew he would be defeated by his teammates.
“There weren’t many nerves, I knew he was going to get it,” Palo said.
“I was very comfortable and I did what I had to do. I wanted to because Scott already has four poles here. He could have given me one, but he doesn’t share too much.”
‘That guy is a punk!’
VeeKay, who qualified third last year, as well, has not started less than fourth.
“I’m very proud to be in the front row again, and I didn’t qualify worse than the fourth in my three qualifying attempts, so I’m very proud of it,” VeeKay said.
But the 21-year-old said his best run was Sunday (AEST) – “I did what Scott did yesterday” – and he knew quickly that he could not beat Dixon for the pole.
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“I think we could have put rocket fuel into our engines and I still don’t think we could hit Scott,” VK said.
“Not only was he a fraction faster, he was much faster than everyone else.”
Carpenter was fourth and followed by Ericsson and Canaan, who were 373.96 km / h in the last six shootouts.
But even the slowest cars were flying around the indie, which has not seen such a speed since 1996.
This weekend will be the eighth-fastest qualifying race in Kanan’s four lap record books before rewriting driver history.
The 32 cars that turned into the qualifying lap did so at an average of 231,034, making next Monday’s (AEST) field the fastest field in race history.
– Auxiliary printing press
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