New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin will start from pole in next week's Indianapolis 500 after he won the Fast Six qualifying.
McLaughlin set the fastest time in the 108-year history of The Great American Race, posting an average speed of just over 234 mph (377kmh) over his four laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday (Monday NZ Time).
LATEST HEADLINES:
It was the first career Indy 500 pole for McLaughlin, who also set the fastest four-lap average pole speed in the history of the race of 234.220 mph.
McLaughlin's Australian teammate Will Power will start second and reigning champion Josef Newgarden, another Team Penske driver, third for the 108th edition next Sunday (Monday NZT).
It was McLaughlin's second pole start at an oval race, having secured pole at the Indycar race at Gateway in Madison, Illinois last year. However, this is the big race with huge on-track audiences and viewership.
"I owe my Mum and Dad back home in New Zealand. Indy hasn't been kind for me and a lot of that is my doing. I need to work on things and this is the first step," said McLaughlin.
In his three Indy 500 races so far, McLaughlin's best finish was 14th.
Fellow New Zealanders Marcus Armstrong will start from 16th on the grid, on the inside of the sixth row, while Scott Dixon, who won the race in 2008, will be 21st, on the outside of the seventh row.
Dixon's crew had to change engines before qualifying, with the 42-year-old uncharacteristically off the pace on Saturday (Sunday NZT).
Comments