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Hinchcliffe takes the Indy 500 pole

He barely survived one of the worst crashes in IndyCar history, and it may have somehow made James Hinchcliffe a faster driver.
Posted at 6:16 PM, May 22, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-23 09:49:42-04

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- He barely survived one of the worst crashes in IndyCar history, and it may have somehow made James Hinchcliffe a faster driver.

The self-proclaimed Mayor of Hinchtown was the last driver on the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Indy 500 qualifying on Sunday. He also had the fastest car, barely, as he eked out a pole position for the 100th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The Canadian's average speed of 230.760 MPH was just enough to move past Josef Newgarden for the inside of the front row.

"Josef had a quicker lap time, but we had the consistency over the four laps," Hinchcliffe said.

Newgarden will be the middle of the front row, with an average speed of 230.700, while Ryan Hunter-Reay will be on the outside of row 1.

MORE FROM POLE DAY:

Hinch is first: The full 2016 Indy 500 lineup

 
 
Hinchcliffe already had a great story simply by racing again and by having run the fastest speed on day 1 of qualifying. His crash during practice for the 2015 Indy 500 sent a piece of shrapnel through his leg, causing a heavy loss of blood. It was the highest-impact crash ever recorded by IndyCar, yet Hinchcliffe was walking again just four days after the accident. 

"It's crazy to think of where we were a year ago," Hinchcliffe said. "It's crazy to think my first-ever pole comes at the Speedway, a year from what happened last year, on the 100th running of the biggest race in history."

Row 2 next Sunday will be comprised of Townsend Bell, Carlos Munoz and Will Power. The third row will be Mikhail Aleshin, Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves, who is still looking for what would be a record-tying fourth Indy 500 win.

Oriol Servia had the fastest car among those qualifying outside of the 'Fast 9' from Day 1 - Servia will start on the inside of row 4. The only crash during Sunday's qualifying came when Alex Tagliani lost control on Turn 4 of his warm-up lap, hit the entrance to pit row and spun several times. Tagliani was not hurt, but he will start from the 33rd position.

For more from James Hinchcliffe, watch the video above.

Copyright 2016 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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