The fastest pole run in Indianapolis 500 history grabbed the headlines on Sunday night, and for a good reason.

It was Honda’s fourth straight pole at the Speedway and Dixon’s fifth in total, while two of the series’ biggest teams struggled and last year’s winner will have to break a 90-year record to repeat that success.

But it wasn’t just Dixon who had reason to celebrate on Sunday night, so we’ve sorted some of the under-the-radar winners for your enjoyment – as well as those with a mountain to climb next weekend.

Winners

Chip Ganassi Racing

winners and losers from 2022 indy 500 qualifying

Of course, this entry could have been solely Scott Dixon but, in his own words, he’s only completed half of the job this weekend and what he’d consider a real success will be to win the race next Sunday.

However, the best way to achieve Dixon’s wishes is to qualify well, and Chip Ganassi Racing put four cars in the Fast Six and all five in the Fast 12.

Alex Palou and Marcus Ericsson had looked strong across the month and it wasn’t a surprise to see them in contention. In the end, Ericsson scored his best IndyCar qualifying result in fifth as Palou narrowly missed out to Dixon.

Tony Kanaan hit electrical issues in the morning, so getting him through was a huge success.

Jimmie Johnson had hit the wall and explored the track limits but impressed hugely, and while a moment at Turn 1 cost him a chance at the top six, the save with no more than a sheet of paper between his car and the wall on the first turn of his first lap was mesmerising, and how he rebounded from that was no shock for a seven-time NASCAR Cup champion.

Five cars in the top 12 is an incredible feat and that was marked by Dixon. He’s complained in recent races about the performance of his car and all month he hasn’t been totally pleased with his car. Even as recently as Saturday, he was displeased and wouldn’t have made the pole battle on Sunday with last year’s qualifying format.

An overnight change helped to put him in the window and it showed the resilience of the Ganassi team, which has been under the cosh of Chevrolet’s strong start to the season.

Rinus VeeKay

winners and losers from 2022 indy 500 qualifying

He may not be on pole but few rookies have been as consistently brilliant at the Speedway as VeeKay. Fourth, third and third in his three qualifying attempts, the Ed Carpenter driver has learned from errors at other ovals and become a formidable opponent in qualifying.

Now he just needs some luck and good strategy to better his eighth from last year in the race.

Romain Grosjean

winners and losers from 2022 indy 500 qualifying

The top rookie and the only Andretti driver to make it to Sunday’s action, the ex-Formula 1 driver was an unlikely star of qualifying.

Indy has certainly shown Grosjean that even the best drivers in the world must respect the process in order to tame it, whether that be adapting to the weather, knowing when to risk a lap and when to admit defeat and also the mental challenge of the rapid fire days of action Indy throws at you.

There have been some glum faces along the way, but with every challenge Grosjean has hunkered down and battled hard for himself and his team. His reward is a ninth-place starting spot.

All right, it might be tough to win the race. The last person to win from there was another ex-Formula 1 driver, Emerson Fittipaldi, 29 years ago. But Grosjean’s first target is to finish the race and a top 10 would be a fantastic addition.

Indy, IndyCar and the battle for safety

winners and losers from 2022 indy 500 qualifying

Consider this. IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are linked in their desire for speed. The fans aren’t happy if the engines aren’t larger and the power isn’t huge.

In 2020, IndyCar introduced the aeroscreen and there were worries over the extra weight it added higher up and it certainly caused set-up headaches for the teams.

Fast forward to 2022 and the teams have made these cars among the fastest the Speedway has ever seen. Even with the added safety features and weight, they’ve engineered and powered their way around it.

Kudos to every single team and each engine manufacturer – Honda and Chevrolet – on the meteoric feat they have achieved at Indy this year.

And for the record, with the aeroscreen the current IndyCar looks like a fighter jet heading into Turn 1 and that’s cool.

Adding safety features usually means more weight and lower speeds. IndyCar has avoided the second.

Santino Ferrucci

winners and losers from 2022 indy 500 qualifying

A driver who didn’t make it to Sunday’s battle for pole, but deserves a mention.

Ferrucci is an absolute demon at the 500, finishing seventh, fourth and sixth from 23rd, 19th and 23rd respectively.

2020 was his best race where he started 19th and finished fourth. He’s starting four positions better in 2022, so perhaps that can power him to victory!

He’s driving for the Indy-only Dreyer & Reinbold effort that finished seventh as a one-car team last year. It knows how to get around the Speedway and this might be a formidable combination.

Losers

McLaughlin’s gamble, weather saves Newgarden

winners and losers from 2022 indy 500 qualifying

Penske entered the month under the spotlight. As an organisation, it put a lot into the 2021 Indy 500 and it had a nightmare qualifying still, so even if the team felt confident entering qualifying this year, that wasn’t necessarily a sign of pace.


Penske’s Indy 500 qualifying in aeroscreen era

2020 13. Newgarden 22. Power
25. Pagenaud

2021 21. Newgarden 26. Pagenaud
32. Power

2022 11. Power 14. Newgarden
26. McLaughlin


This year was certainly better than last, but it’s still not Penske-perfect on the 50th anniversary of its first 500 win and in what will be the first 500 with full spectator capacity since Roger Penske bought it, due to the pandemic.

If you consider the 500 a 50/50 effort between engine manufacturer and car preparation/set-up, then the expectation has to be that it is the best Chevrolet car having taken care of its side of the bargain.

However, both of Ed Carpenter Racing’s cars and two out of the three Arrow McLaren SP entries headed the Penske trio.

Josef Newgarden was the most fortunate and Scott McLaughlin the least on Saturday.

With two weather interruptions, both drivers forfeited their times from 14th and 15th respectively to have another qualifying run. However, McLaughlin fell to 26th as the air density and humidity wreaked havoc with the aero balance.

Lightning struck in the area just as Newgarden started his lap, which meant he kept his original effort.

All in all, a better qualifying effort and pace than 2021, but still third of the Chevy runners.

Tech infringement killed Montoya’s big chance

winners and losers from 2022 indy 500 qualifying

Juan Pablo Montoya won his debut Indy 500 from second on the grid, and since then has qualified 10th, 15th, 17th, 18th and 24th.

It’s safe to say at least in recent years qualifying hasn’t been his main focus or area of expertise.

However, the stars aligned this year as he drew the near-perfect ninth qualifying spot to go out on track. Then, the drama.

His car failed pre-qualifying inspection because of a broken diffuser strake which affected the ride height measurement, and he had to forego his slot to go at the end. The conditions were woeful and he could only manage 30th, his worst starting spot at the speedway.

The race has never been won from that far back on the grid, while his team-mates Pato O’Ward (seventh) and Felix Rosenqvist (eighth) offer a more likely winning position to start from.

Recent winners Andretti, Rahal struggle

winners and losers from 2022 indy 500 qualifying

Rahal Letterman Lanigan hasn’t qualified spectacularly well at the Speedway in recent years, but its race pace is usually good and that’s where it looks good again.

Its car was very susceptible to gusts of wind in qualifying which has left Graham Rahal 21st, Christian Lundgaard 31st and Jack Harvey 32nd.

At least it knows its race car is good, which can’t be said with certainty for Andretti.

Its second-highest starter behind Grosjean is Alexander Rossi, who narrowly missed out on the top 12 and then was shuffled back further. With no bumping, he withdrew his time to go later in the day but didn’t improve and dropped to 20th.

Marco Andretti found Takuma Sato in the middle of the track – gifting Sato an impeding penalty, although a broken plenum was a bigger issue for Andretti – and he could only manage 23rd on his second attempt, while rookie Devlin DeFrancesco and Colton Herta followed just behind.

Herta was slightly annoyed that an engine change in the morning robbed him of nice conditions early on, but he praised his team for getting the engine changed and allowing him to qualify 25th.

Keyword: Winners and losers from 2022 Indy 500 qualifying

CAR'S NEWS RELATED

Best cars for a 'Love Bug' remake

Tennessee’s Yard Art The Thorndyke Special The Hot Rod The Hippie Van Jim’s Lamborghini Growing up, it’s safe to say my absolute favorite movie was Disney’s “The Love Bug.” As a kid living in a world before Pixar’s “Cars,” it was pretty much the best car movie. I loved ...

View more: Best cars for a 'Love Bug' remake

Audi timing belt tensioner prompts Utah bomb squad visit

An aftermarket timing belt tensioner found in a Salt Lake City apartment prompted a visit from the bomb squad this week after it was mistaken for a potential explosive device. Police partially evacuated the apartment complex in which it was found “out of an abundance of caution” and called ...

View more: Audi timing belt tensioner prompts Utah bomb squad visit

2023 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 will get more expensive

GMC Sierra HD pickups are about to get more expensive again after recently becoming more expensive, according to GM Authority. In July, GMC and Buick raised the prices on certain vehicles in their lineups anywhere from $975 to $1,675 by making the previously optional OnStar a standard feature. Next ...

View more: 2023 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 will get more expensive

Our week with EVs: Recapping the diverse collection of electric cars we tested

Mercedes-Benz EQB First Drive Review: Next electric Benz is a little different 2022 Chevy Bolt EV Road Test Review: Time to play EV, gas or airplane 2023 Genesis GV60 Road Test Review: The third of Hyundai Group’s E-GMP EVs is the fastest, but softest It may be hard to ...

View more: Our week with EVs: Recapping the diverse collection of electric cars we tested

Europe car sales lowest since 1996 after 12-month decline

BERLIN – Europe registered the lowest number of new passenger cars in the month of June this year since 1996 at just over 1.06 million vehicles, with some carmakers seeing sales drop by nearly 50%, data from Europe’s automobile association showed on Friday. Volkswagen Group was the hardest-hit major ...

View more: Europe car sales lowest since 1996 after 12-month decline

More Than Just A Carmaker: Toyota Motor PH Launches Toyota Mobility Solutions

Automotive industry leader, Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP) inaugurated today Toyota Mobility Solutions Philippines, Inc. (TMSPH), a wholly owned subsidiary that will be a provider of mobility-related services. TMSPH ventures into the development and offering of a range of ‘new mobility solutions’ that will enhance Toyota as a brand ...

View more: More Than Just A Carmaker: Toyota Motor PH Launches Toyota Mobility Solutions

'F1 22' feels fast and familiar | Gaming Roundup

‘F1 22’ impressions ‘Construction Simulator’ is launching Sept. 20 Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. This week in racing game news: ‘F1 22’ impressions At its core, “F1 22,” the latest installment in the F1 ...

View more: 'F1 22' feels fast and familiar | Gaming Roundup

Watch a single-engine plane crash-land on 91 Freeway in California

A single-engine Piper Cherokee airplane was forced to crash land on the 91 Freeway in California after losing power about 45 minutes outside of Los Angeles. Yes, that means this was a very busy highway, practically bursting at the seams with traffic. No, amazingly nobody died, either in the ...

View more: Watch a single-engine plane crash-land on 91 Freeway in California

Ford files 'Mustang Dark Horse' trademark application

Make adventures more comfortable with high-quality Jeep grab handles

New Lucid Air variant to debut & Stealth Look to be on display during Monetary Car Week

Chevy offers incentives to prevent Corvette Z06 flipping

Average U.S. gas price falls below $4/gallon

German court: SUV driver must pay more than a car for running red light

Australian vehicle crash tests to include underwater performance

Toyota C-HR rumored to get revamp next year and an EV version

Geely's electric Zeekr 009 is an EV Alphard we never had; 700 km, 542 PS, top speed 190 km/h

A Newey, Brawn and Anderson row that shows F1 doesn’t change

Sorry, EV buyers, you won't get to pick your own pedestrian safety sounds

There won't be enough copper to meet climate goals, study indicates

OTHER CAR NEWS

; Top List in the World https://www.pinterest.com/newstopcar/pins/
Top Best Sushi Restaurants in SeoulTop Best Caribbean HoneymoonsTop Most Beautiful Islands in PeruTop Best Outdoor Grill BrandsTop Best Global Seafood RestaurantsTop Foods to Boost Your Immune SystemTop Best Foods to Fight HemorrhoidsTop Foods That Pack More Potassium Than a BananaTop Best Healthy Foods to Gain Weight FastTop Best Cosmetic Brands in the U.STop Best Destinations for Food Lovers in EuropeTop Best Foods High in Vitamin ATop Best Foods to Lower Your Blood SugarTop Best Things to Do in LouisianaTop Best Cities to Visit in New YorkTop Best Makeup Addresses In PennsylvaniaTop Reasons to Visit NorwayTop Most Beautiful Islands In The WorldTop Best Law Universities in the WorldTop Richest Sportsmen In The WorldTop Biggest Aquariums In The WorldTop Best Peruvian Restaurants In MiamiTop Best Road Trips From MiamiTop Best Places to Visit in MarylandTop Best Places to Visit in North CarolinaTop Best Electric Cars For KidsTop Best Swedish Brands in The USTop Best Skincare Brands in AmericaTop Best American Lipstick BrandsTop Michelin-starred Restaurants in MiamiTop Best Secluded Getaways From MiamiTop Best Things To Do On A Rainy Day In MiamiTop Most Instagrammable Places In MiamiTop Interesting Facts about FlorenceTop Facts About The First Roman Emperor - AugustusTop Best Japanese FoodsTop Most Beautiful Historical Sites in IsraelTop Best Places To Visit In Holy SeeTop Best Hawaiian IslandsTop Reasons to Visit PortugalTop Best Hotels In L.A. With Free Wi-FiTop Best Scenic Drives in MiamiTop Best Vegan Restaurants in BerlinTop Most Interesting Attractions In WalesTop Health Benefits of a Vegan DietTop Best Thai Restaurant in Las VegasTop Most Beautiful Forests in SwitzerlandTop Best Global Universities in GermanyTop Most Beautiful Lakes in GuyanaTop Best Things To Do in IdahoTop Things to Know Before Traveling to North MacedoniaTop Best German Sunglasses BrandsTop Highest Mountains In FranceTop Biggest Hydroelectric Plants in AmericaTop Best Spa Hotels in NYCTop The World's Scariest BridgeTop Largest Hotels In AmericaTop Most Famous Festivals in JordanTop Best European Restaurants in MunichTop Best Japanese Hiking Boot BrandsTop Best Universities in PolandTop Best Tips for Surfing the Web Safely and AnonymouslyTop Most Valuable Football Clubs in EuropeTop Highest Mountains In ColombiaTop Real-Life Characters of Texas RisingTop Best Beaches in GuatelamaTop Things About DR Congo You Should KnowTop Best Korean Reality & Variety ShowsTop Best RockstarsTop Most Beautiful Waterfalls in GermanyTop Best Fountain Pen Ink BrandsTop Best European Restaurants in ChicagoTop Best Fighter Jets in the WorldTop Best Three-Wheel MotorcyclesTop Most Beautiful Lakes in ManitobaTop Best Dive Sites in VenezuelaTop Best Websites For Art StudentsTop Best Japanese Instant Noodle BrandsTop Best Comedy Manhwa (Webtoons)Top Best Japanese Sunglasses BrandsTop Most Expensive Air Jordan SneakersTop Health Benefits of CucumberTop Famous Universities in SwedenTop Most Popular Films Starring Jo Jung-sukTop Interesting Facts about CougarsTop Best Hospitals for Hip Replacement in the USATop Most Expensive DefendersTop Health Benefits of GooseberriesTop Health Benefits of ParsnipsTop Best Foods and Drinks in LondonTop Health Benefits of Rosehip TeaTop Best Air Fryers for Low-fat CookingTop Most Asked Teacher Interview Questions with AnswersTop Best Shopping Malls in ZurichTop The Most Beautiful Botanical Gardens In L.A.Top Best Mexican Restaurants in Miami for Carb-loading rightTop Best Energy Companies in GermanyTop Best Garage HeatersTop Largest Banks in IrelandTop Leading Provider - Audit and Assurance In The USTop Best Jewelry Brands in IndiaTop Prettiest Streets in the UKTop Best Lakes to Visit in TunisiaTop Highest Mountains in Israel