A powerful qualifying performance from Honda teams and drivers has set the stage for an exciting 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 as the manufacturer seeks its 13th victory at the famed “Brickyard”on Sunday.
Led by pole qualifier Marco Andretti, Honda drivers swept the front row in qualifying, and claimed 11 of the top-12 starting positions. Andretti’s pole was the 11th for Honda on the famed 2.5-mile oval, and the first Indy pole for the third-generation racer from the “first family”of American motorsports.
“Honda has a long history of success at Indianapolis, and everyone at Honda Performance Development has played an important role in our 12 previous wins,”said Ted Klaus, HPD president. “Qualifying was a great success, and we were thrilled to have the pole and an all-Honda front row. Everyone at HPD worked hard through the off-season with our partner teams to improve our overall performance. We all know that the race on Sunday is going to be a battle, and that’s why it will be fascinating and fun to watch.
“Honda’s commitment to innovation through motorsports, remains just as strong today as when the company was founded in 1946. We’re proud of Honda’s success at Indianapolis, and our long history of participation in this great race. We are looking forward to an exciting 500 miles, and to finishing in Victory Circle for the 13th time!”
Two former “500”winners – Scott Dixon and Takuma Sato – fill out the first of the 11 rows of three that make up the field, and will start second and third, respectively. Dixon is the current championship points leader with three previous wins this season, while Sato is Honda’s most recent “500”winner, from 2017.
Another Honda-powered former race winner, Ryan Hunter-Reay, will start fifth, with former pole qualifier James Hinchcliffe alongside in sixth. Hunter-Reay was victorious at Indy in 2014; while Hinchcliffe returned from serious injuries in 2015 to claim the pole in 2016.
The third row is also all-Honda, led by promising rookie Alex Palou in seventh, Graham Rahal in eighth and 2016 winner Alexander Rossi, ninth. Continuing the Honda-dominated top half of the field, Colton Herta will start from the inside of the fourth row, 10th; with Marcus Ericsson 11th and returning Honda racer Spencer Pigot filling out the row in 12th.
The remainder of the 15-driver Honda field at Indianapolis include 14th-starting Felix Rosenqvist; Zach Veach, who will start 17th; Santino Ferrucci and Jack Harvey, who will start 19th and 30th, respectively; and James Davison, who qualified 27th.
Honda is the most successful major car manufacturer at the Indy 500, winning more races, having more starts and completing more laps than any other major automaker in the 103 previous editions of the event. Since 1994, Honda has taken part in 19 Indianapolis 500 races, and powered 12 race winners at The Brickyard.
During 26 years of IndyCar competition, Honda has won 14 Manufacturers’ Championships, with Honda drivers winning 249 races and 16 series championships – a record unmatched by any other car company since Honda entered Indy car competition in 1994.
Honda’s Indianapolis 500 Highlights:
Honda has won more Indianapolis 500 races than any major automaker: 12 victories from 19 races; or a win ratio of 63%
Honda has had more race starts at the Indianapolis 500 than any other #auto manufacturer: 372 starts
Honda has completed more race laps at the Indianapolis 500 than any other carmaker: 65,103 laps
2020 Indianapolis 500 Starting Field:
Ps.
Driver
Team
Manufacturer
Speed
1.
Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport
Honda
231.068
2.
Scott Dixon-W
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
231.051
3.
Takuma Sato-W
Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Honda
230.725
4.
Rinus VeeKay-R
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
230.704
5.
Ryan Hunter-Reay-W
Andretti Autosport
Honda
230.648
6.
James Hinchcliffe
Andretti Autosport
Honda
229.870
7.
Alex Palou-R
DCR with Team Goh
Honda
229.676
8.
Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Honda
229.380
9.
Alexander Rossi-W
Andretti Autosport
Honda
229.234
10.
Colton Herta
Andretti Harding Autosport
Honda
230.775
11.
Marcus Ericsson
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
230.763
12.
Spencer Pigot
RLL with Citrone/Buhl Autosport
Honda
230.539
13.
Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
Chevrolet
230.296
14.
Felix Rosenqvist
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
230.254
15.
Pato O’Ward-R
Arrow McLaren SP
Chevrolet
230.213
16.
Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
230.211
17.
Zach Veach
Andretti Autosport
Honda
229.961
18.
Conor Daly
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
229.955
19.
Santino Ferrucci
DCR with Vasser-Sullivan
Honda
229.924
20.
Jack Harvey
Meyer Shank Racing
Honda
229.861
21.
Oliver Askew-R
Arrow McLaren SP
Chevrolet
229.760
22.
Will Power-W
Team Penske
Chevrolet
229.701
23.
Tony Kanaan-W
A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
229.154
24.
Dalton Kellett-R
A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
228.880
25.
Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.836
26.
Fernando Alonso
Arrow McLaren SP
Chevrolet
228.768
27.
James Davison
DCR with Ware/Byrd/Belardi
Honda
228.747
28.
Helio Castroneves-W
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.373
29.
Charlie Kimball
A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
227.758
30.
Sage Karam
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
227.099
31.
JR Hildebrand
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
226.341
32.
Max Chilton
Carlin Racing
Chevrolet
225.819
33.
Ben Hanley
Dragon Speed Racing
Chevrolet
220.946
W – Previous Indianapolis 500 winner
R – Indianapolis 500 rookie
