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.
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.
.@Hinchtown takes the @Verizon P1 Award for the 100th #Indy500! #INDYCAR #INDYRIVALS https://t.co/1I2XeiVHry https://t.co/oyZ5D16LQR
— IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) May 22, 2016
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.
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.
