Scott Dixon will start on the pole in the 2017 Indy 500 after qualifying with a four-lap average of 232.164 mph, the fastest qualifying time since Arie Luyendyk set the record at 236.986 mph in 1996.
"We took a little bit of a gamble," Dixon told the Indianapolis Star. "When I saw that first lap, I was in a little bit of shock myself. ... This place is nerve-wracking."
Ed Carpenter and Alexander Rossi will join Dixon on the front row.
MORE: Live updates from the Indy 500
While Dixon won the Indy 500 from the pole in 2008 (he finished fourth after starting from the pole in 2015), starting position has not been a major factor in the race’s outcome in recent years. Per The Star, Dan Wheldon in 2011 is the most recent driver to start in the first three rows and win the race. Since then, the winners started 16th (Dario Franchitti), 12th (Tony Kanaan), 19th (Ryan Hunter-Reay), 15th (Juan Pablo Montoya) and 11th (Alexander Rossi).
Here is the starting grid for the 101st running of the Indy 500:
Indy 500 lineup, starting grid
Row 1: Scott Dixon, Ed Carpenter, Alexander Rossi
Row 2: Takuma Sato, Fernando Alonso, JR Hildebrand.
Row 3: Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Will Power
Row 4: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ed Jones, Oriol Servia
Row 5: Mikhail Aleshin, Graham Rahal, Max Chilton
Row 6: Charlie Kimball, James Hinchcliffe, Juan Pablo Montoya
Row 7: Helio Castroneves, Jay Howard, Sage Karam
Row 8: Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Carlos Munoz
Row 9: Gabby Chaves, Conor Daly, Jack Harvey
Row 10: Pippa Mann, Simon Pigot, Buddy Lazier
Row 11: Sebastian Saavedra, Zach Veach, James Davison
MORE: Odds to win | Indy 500 pick
Indy 500 qualifying results
Here are the full Indy 500 qualifying results with car number, time and speed in parentheses:
| 1. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 02:35.0630 (232.164 mph) |
| 2. (20) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 02:35.3976 (231.664) |
| 3. (98) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 02:35.5163 (231.487) |
| 4. (26) Takuma Sato, Honda, 02:35.5981 (231.365) |
| 5. (29) Fernando Alonso, Honda, 02:35.6423 (231.300) |
| 6. (21) JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, 02:35.9191 (230.889) |
| 7. (10) Tony Kanaan, Honda, 02:35.9601 (230.828) |
| 8. (27) Marco Andretti, Honda, 02:36.1998 (230.474) |
| 9. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 02:36.3859 (230.200) |
| 10. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 02:35.5463 (231.442) |
| 11. (19) Ed Jones, Honda, 02:36.1293 (230.578) |
| 12. (16) Oriol Servia, Honda, 02:36.3118 (230.309) |
| 13. (7) Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, 02:36.3377 (230.271) |
| 14. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 02:36.3499 (230.253) |
| 15. (8) Max Chilton, Honda, 02:36.4758 (230.068) |
| 16. (83) Charlie Kimball, Honda, 02:36.5514 (229.956) |
| 17. (5) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 02:36.6169 (229.860) |
| 18. (22) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 02:36.8180 (229.565) |
| 19. (3) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 02:36.8528 (229.515) |
| 20. (77) Jay Howard, Honda, 02:36.9213 (229.414) |
| 21. (24) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 02:36.9447 (229.380) |
| 22. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 02:37.5488 (228.501) |
| 23. (1) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 02:37.8303 (228.093) |
| 24. (14) Carlos Munoz, Chevrolet, 02:37.9497 (227.921) |
| 25. (88) Gabby Chaves, Chevrolet, 02:38.6458 (226.921) |
| 26. (4) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 02:38.9831 (226.439) |
| 27. (50) Jack Harvey, Honda, 02:39.4741 (225.742) |
| 28. (63) Pippa Mann, Honda, 02:39.9944 (225.008) |
| 29. (11) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 02:40.6768 (224.052) |
| 30. (44) Buddy Lazier, Chevrolet, 02:41.1340 (223.417) |
| 31. (17) Sebastian Saavedra, Chevrolet, 02:42.7911 (221.142) |
| 32. (40) Zach Veach, Chevrolet, 02:42.8360 (221.081) |
| 33. (18) James Davison, Honda, N/A (replacement) |