Palou’s record run earns Ganassi third straight Indy 500 pole

By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Alex Palou will lead the field to green in the Indianapolis 500 after the young Spaniard put together the fastest four-lap pole run in history Sunday. He edged Rinus VeeKay and Felix Rosenqvist and gave Chip Ganassi Racing its third pole in a row. Palou whipped four laps around the historic 2.5-mile speedway at an average of 234.217 mph. That was a mere 0.007 mph faster than VeeKay, who still gave Ed Carpenter Racing a front-row starting spot for the ninth time in the last 11 years. Palou surpassed the record pole run of 234.046 mph that Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon put up last year. It also was the second-fastest qualifying effort, trailing only Arie Luyendyk’s 236.986, which he set the day after pole qualifying in 1996.