Álex Palou wins Indy 500 pole

Álex Palou will lead the Indianapolis 500 field to green after winning pole for the 110th running of the race with the fastest four-lap average in qualifying. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver secured the top spot on Sunday, May 17, continuing a month in which he arrived as the defending race winner. (foxsports.com) The result put Palou at the head of the full 33-car grid for Sunday, May 24, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Friday’s final practice then shifted attention from outright qualifying pace to race trim, with Josef Newgarden posting the fastest Carb Day speed. ### How fast was Palou’s pole run? Palou posted a four-lap average of 232.248 mph in the Fast Six shootout to win the pole. (sports.yahoo.com) Fox Sports said that made him the first defending Indianapolis 500 winner to take pole for the following year’s race since Hélio Castroneves in 2010. The front row behind Palou will be Alexander Rossi in second and David Malukas in third. Fox Sports and Motorsport.com both listed Felix Rosenqvist fourth, Santino Ferrucci fifth and Pato O’Ward sixth, filling out the first two rows. ### Where does the rest of the starting grid stand? (foxsports.com) IndyCar’s official event page lists the 33-car lineup for the 110th Indianapolis 500, with Palou on pole and Jack Harvey in the 33rd starting spot. The field includes nine past winners, according to race previews published ahead of Sunday’s start. USA Today reported Friday that the starting grid was fully set for Sunday, May 24. (foxsports.com) That locked in the race order after qualifying weekend and moved the focus to final practice, pit work and race-day conditions. ### Why did Carb Day matter after qualifying was over? Josef Newgarden led Friday’s Carb Day practice, the final on-track session before the race. USA Today and Yahoo Sports both identified Newgarden as the fastest driver in that last two-hour tune-up. (indycar.com) Friday’s session mattered because teams were no longer chasing a single-lap number for grid position. Carb Day is used to sort traffic behavior, fuel strategy and race setup before the 500-mile event, and Newgarden’s speed added another data point for the Team Penske driver as he tries to contend on Sunday. (usatoday.com) ### What was Alexander Rossi’s status after his crash? Alexander Rossi returned to the lineup after a hard crash earlier in the week. Yahoo Sports reported that Rossi was back on track for Carb Day after the Monday accident. (usatoday.com) Rossi’s presence on the front row made that return more notable, because he had already qualified second for the race. His car will start alongside Palou despite the interruption to his week. ### What happens next on race day? Sunday, May 24 is race day for the 110th Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the green flag scheduled for 12:30 p.m. (sports.yahoo.com) ET, according to multiple race previews. Palou will start first, Rossi second and Malukas third when the 33-car field rolls off. The race will bring together the pole winner, the full starting grid and the final practice pace shown by Newgarden on Carb Day. (sports.yahoo.com) Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar list the event details on the official race page. (indycar.com) (cbssports.com) (foxsports.com)