After two thrilling days of qualifying last weekend with 35 cars racing for only 33 starting spots, the field for the 2021 Indianapolis 500 is set, with six-time IndyCar Series champ Scott Dixon on the pole.
Dixon won the Indy 500 pole on Sunday for the fourth time in his career after knocking out the fastest laps on both Saturday, when starting positions 10 through 30 were set, and Sunday, when the Fast Nine Shootout and the Last Row Shootout determined the top-9 and final three spots, respectively.
“It’s a crazy lead up to this race,” Dixon told For The Win about the two-day qualifying process. “The race for pole is such an event in itself. … It’s really nerve-racking.
“Emotionally, it’s crazy. It’s one of the toughest things. And I think unfortunately, being a veteran of the sport, having done it for so long, it hasn’t got any better. I was so nervous on Saturday, and then on Sunday, I was so nervous.”
The 105th Indy 500 is Sunday with the green flag scheduled to fly at 12:45 p.m. ET on NBC. And this year’s race features several previous Indy 500 winners: Dixon, Hélio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and defending Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato.
Here’s a breakdown of the starting grid for the 2021 Indy 500.
- Related: Every Indy 500 champion since 2000
[mm-video type=video id=01f6fsnvjxzb5tnhyk42 playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f6fsnvjxzb5tnhyk42/01f6fsnvjxzb5tnhyk42-236ace75f9a9a47adcb756d4e78469df.jpg]