The 2014 Indianapolis 500 is set for Sunday, and like he did last year, Ed Carpenter will open the race in front after winning the pole. Carpenter, who finished 10th last year, will be joined on the front row by James Hinchcliffe and Will Power.
Indy 500 starting grid 2014: Ed Carpenter, James Hinchcliffe, Wil Power will start in front row
It’s almost time for the drivers to start their engines at the Indianapolis 500, and for the second straight year, Ed Carpenter will begin the race in front.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Carpenter averaged 231.067 mph during qualifying, just fast enough to edge out Hinchcliffe’s 230.839 mph average. Power claimed his spot on the front row with a 230.697 mph average, just enough to surpass Helio Castroneves and his qualifying speed of 230.649 mph. He’ll be joined on the second row by Simon Pagenaud and Marco Andretti.
Castroneves is one of six former Indy 500 champions in the 33-car field. He will have the best starting position of the former winners and will be the only former champion starting on the front three rows. Juan Pablo Montoya will start 10th, Scott Dixon 11th, Jacques Villeneuve 27th and Buddy Lazier 33rd. Defending champion Tony Kanaan will start 16th. While Kanaan will have some initial ground to make up, it won’t be anything he hasn’t done in the past. He was 12th on the starting grid last year and went on to win.
In addition to the six former champions, there will be seven first-timers in the starting grid. Of those, NASCAR driver Kurt Busch will start closest to the front. He’ll be on the fourth row of the starting grid, in the 12th position. Jack Hawksworth will start 13th, Mikhail Aleshin 15th, Carlos Huertas 21st, James Davison 28th, Martin Plowman 29th and Sage Karam 31st.
Here is a full look at the 2014 Indianapolis 500 starting grid:
Row | Inside | Middle | Outside |
1 | No. 20 Ed Carpenter | No. 27 James Hinchcliffe | No. 12 Will Power |
2 | No. 3 Helio Castroneves | No. 77 Simon Pagenaud | No. 25 Marco Andretti |
3 | No. 34 Carlos Munoz | No. 67 Josef Newgarden | No. 21 JR Hildebrand |
4 | No. 2 Juan Pablo Montoya | No. 9 Scott Dixon | No. 26 Kurt Busch |
5 | No. 98 Jack Hawksworth | No. 19 Justin Wilson | No. 7 Mikhail Aleshin |
6 | No. 10 Tony Kanaan | No. 11 Sebastien Bourdais | No. 16 Oriol Servia |
7 | No. 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay | No. 15 Graham Rahal | No. 18 Carlos Huertas |
8 | No. 63 Pippa Mann | No. 14 Takuma Sato | No. 68 Alex Tagliani |
9 | No. 6 Townsend Bell | No. 83 Charlie Kimball | No. 5 Jacques Villeneuve |
10 | No. 33 James Davison | No. 41 Martin Plowman | No. 8 Ryan Briscoe |
11 | No. 22 Sage Karam | No. 17 Sebastian Saavedra | No. 91 Buddy Lazier |
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