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2022 Indianapolis 500 Field Notes

May 23, 2022 | By Indianapolis Motor Speedway

• Scott Dixon earned his fifth career Indianapolis 500 pole, the second-most in history. Rick Mears holds the record with six poles. Dixon’s previous poles came in 2008, 2015, 2017 and 2021. He won the race from the pole in 2008.

• Scott Dixon produced the fastest four-lap average speed in history for an Indianapolis 500 pole winner, 234.046 mph. The previous record was 233.718 set in 1996 by Scott Brayton. Arie Luyendyk set the all-time four-lap qualifying average speed record of 236.986 in 1996, but his run came on the second day of qualifications and wasn’t eligible for the pole.

• Chip Ganassi Racing earned its first 1-2 start at Indianapolis since 2008 – when Dixon earned his sole victory in the race from pole and Dan Wheldon started second – as reigning series champion Alex Palou qualified second at 233.499 in the No. 10 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon and Palou led four Ganassi drivers in the Firestone Fast Six final qualifying session.

• This is the seventh Indianapolis 500 pole for Chip Ganassi Racing, the second-most of all time. Scott Dixon has won poles for the team in 2008, 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2022. Arie Luyendyk won CGR’s first pole, in 1993, and Bruno Junqueira won the pole for the team in 2002.

• The last time the No. 9 car won the pole was in 2021, with Scott Dixon at the wheel. This is the sixth pole for car No. 9.

• This is the fastest starting field in Indianapolis 500 history, with an average speed of 231.023 mph. The previous fastest starting field came in 2021, with an average speed of 230.294.

• Rinus VeeKay has qualified fourth or better in his three Indianapolis 500 starts. He qualified fourth as a rookie in 2020 and third in 2021 and this year.

• There are eight former Indianapolis 500 winners in the starting field: Juan Pablo Montoya (2000, 2015), Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021), Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013), Alexander Rossi (2016), Takuma Sato (2017, 2020), Will Power (2018) and Simon Pagenaud (2019). Between them, they have 13 victories. The record for most former winners in the field is 10, in 1992. The fewest, other than the inaugural race in 1911, is zero in 1912.

• There are seven rookies in the field, the most since 2014, when there were also seven first-time starters. This year’s rookies are Devlin DeFrancesco, Romain Grosjean, Callum Ilott, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard and David Malukas.

• Every driver in the field other than the seven rookies started in last year’s race.

• Helio Castroneves is the most experienced driver in the field, with 21 previous Indianapolis 500 starts. The record is 35, set in consecutive years from 1958-1992 by A.J. Foyt.

• Scott Dixon has led 570 career laps in the Indianapolis 500, more than any other driver in this year’s field. Other drivers in the field who have led more than 200 laps are Tony Kanaan (346) and Helio Castroneves (325).

• The oldest driver in the starting field is Tony Kanaan, 47 years, 149 days on Race Day. The youngest drivers is David Malukas, 20 years, 244 days on Race Day. A.J. Foyt is the oldest driver to start the Indianapolis 500. He was 57 years, 128 days old when he made his last start in 1992. A.J. Foyt IV is the youngest driver to start the Indianapolis 500. His 19th birthday was on Race Day, 2003.

• Twenty-two different drivers in this year’s field have led a total of 2,452 laps in previous Indianapolis 500-Mile Races.

• There is a combined 222 previous Indianapolis 500 starts among the 33 drivers in this year’s field. The record is 260 years of experience, set in 1987 and 1992. There were 237 years of combined experience in last year’s field.

• The most-experienced row in this year’s starting lineup is Row 2, with a combined 41 career starts (Ed Carpenter 18, Marcus Ericsson 3, Tony Kanaan 20). The least-experienced row is Row 3, with five combined career starts (Pato O’Ward 2, Felix Rosenqvist 3, Romain Grosjean 0).

• There are eight former Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year in this year’s field. The record is nine, in 2021.

• Twenty of the 33 starters in this year’s field are veterans of Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires. The veterans are Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, Helio Castroneves, Conor Daly, Devlin DeFrancesco, Scott Dixon, Jack Harvey, Colton Herta, JR Hildebrand, Tony Kanaan, Sage Karam, Dalton Kellett, Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas, Josef Newgarden, Pato O’Ward, Graham Rahal, Felix Rosenqvist, Rinus VeeKay and Stefan Wilson.

• Drivers from just two teams – Chip Ganassi Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing – occupy all the starting spots in the first two rows. There are four Ganassi drivers and two ECR drivers in the first two rows. The last time this occurred was 2012, when Team Penske and Andretti Autosport each put three drivers in the first two rows.