Scott Dixon starts the Indy 500 from pole and as the favourite but knows he must pull off a near-perfect race to take the chequered flag on Monday.
Along with the Le Mans 24 Hour, the Indy 500 is one of the hardest races to win. Dixon is a six-time
Motorsport: Scott Dixon ready to roll the Indy 500 dice
Scott Dixon is out to claim an elusive second Indy 500 crown. Photo / AP
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"The only thing [pole] guarantees is where you start the race. You just have to look at last year, when we started on pole and got a bit greedy trying to extend our pit window.
"There was a crash and pit lane was closed, so we had no option but to run the car out of fuel and went two laps down and the race was done."
But starting up front does have its advantages.
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The opening lap is a fierce struggle for position as the mid-field drivers in the 33-car pack jostle for track position. Being in clear air lessens a potential wreck early in the race.
Dixon earned his fifth Indy 500 pole with an average speed over four laps of 234.046 mph (376.66km/h) — the fastest pole run in the event's 111-year history — but qualifying did not start well for him.
"It was cool getting another pole. Our week had gone really well, but on Saturday, we got into a bit of a tizzy when we went too conservative.
"We had too much downforce and the car wouldn't accelerate. Luckily we made the 12, so could have another go at it. I told the engineers on Sunday that we had to get aggressive and not pussyfoot around and go flat out, and that's what we did."
Team owner Chip Ganassi will be rapt all five of his drivers made the fast 12. After qualifying, Dixon was on pole, Alex Palou second, Marcus Ericsson fifth, Tony Kanaan sixth and Jimmie Johnson 12th.
"That's hard to do," Dixon said. "We've seen teams in the past try to run five cars and it doesn't go well. There are hundreds of small details that go into a qualifying car, so to try and do that across five cars means lots of man hours are required.
"It's been hard for us as well, with all the expansion that has been going on [Xtreme E, IMSA, four cars in IndyCar] and it's been hard to hire good people. Chip should be happy with the result, and if Jimmie hadn't had his issue [a big slide at turn one at 360km/h], he would have been much further up the field."
The Penske organisation is the most successful Indy 500 team with 18 wins compared with Chip Ganassi Racing's four. However, as happened last year, Penske have struggled in the run-up to the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", with Aussie Will Power their best starting in 11th, Josef Newgarden 14th and New Zealander Scott McLaughlin languishing back in 26th.
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"It was a bit strange really," Dixon said. "They used Thursday to focus on qualifying, while no one else did. But, man, you can never rule those guys out. You know at some point, you're going to be racing them hard."
Dixon has had a modest start by his standards to this IndyCar campaign. After five races, his highest placing is fifth (twice) and he's fifth overall on 133 points, 37 behind leader Power.
"I feel like Long Beach and Alabama, the car in qualifying either had parts missing, or the wrong parts on it. They were silly things that should never happen. There's been a few personnel changes and we're just starting to get to be a tight-knit group and you'll notice some improvements in the next couple of races.
"The field is so tight and tough that if things aren't completely right, you find yourself at the back of the field having to fight to get to the front. It's been frustrating for sure, but we can work through it. It's nuts that we're only 30-odd points out of the lead."
The Indy 500 starts at 4.45am on Monday.
