Scott Dixon wins 2017 Indy 500 pole position

The audible gasps from the crowd said everything as Scott Dixon clicked off his four laps in Indianapolis 500 qualifying Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver recorded the fastest four-lap average in 21 years en route to winning the pole for the May 28 race. Dixon’s speed of 232.164 mph was the fastest since Arie Luyendyk averaged a track-record 236.986 in 1996.

“I thought maybe the dash had broken on the steering wheel and brought up a fake number,” Dixon said. “We seriously didn’t think we expected to see the speed that we did. When I saw that first number, I was like, ‘Wow, this is impressive.’”

Ed Carpenter, who led first-round qualifying Saturday, improved his speed on Sunday but couldn’t unseat Dixon and will start second. Defending race winner Alexander Rossi qualified third, with Takuma Sato fourth and Fernando Alonso fifth. Honda-powered drivers took four of the top five positions. Carpenter in a Chevrolet was the lone exception.

Alonso races in Formula One full-time, but is skipping the Monaco Grand Prix to compete in his first Indianapolis 500. Despite having never turned a lap on an oval before this month, the two-time world champion has made the transition look rather seamless.

“The car was on the limit, but I don’t know if it was possible to be on pole position, but definitely very close,” Alonso said.

Going into the day, Dixon figured the conditions were such he could increase his speed from Saturday, where the fastest nine drivers earned a shot at the pole on Sunday. He also understood Carpenter and Sato, who both out-qualified him in Round 1, had good chances to also up their times. What Dixon didn’t think would happen was a record-breaking run that had spectators cheering wildly.

It is Dixon’s third Indianapolis 500 pole, having also taken the spot in 2008 and 2015. His lone Indianapolis 500 victory occurred in 2008.

“We knew the conditions were much better today and we took a little bit of a gamble in trimming out,” Dixon said. “When I saw it, I was a little surprised myself.”

Team Penske, which had won the previous five Indianapolis 500 poles, uncharacteristically struggled in qualifying. Of Penske’s five drivers, only Will Power advanced to the Fast 9 group on Saturday. He will start ninth next weekend.

Teammates Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden, and Simon Pagenaud each showed little-to-no improvement Sunday. Montoya will lineup 18th, with Castroneves 19th, Newgarden 22nd, and Pagenaud 23rd.

“The speed is not there,” said Pagenaud, the defending IndyCar Series champion. “It’s not exactly where we want to be.”