SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- He almost died at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a year ago. On Saturday, James Hinchcliffe had the fastest car in qualifying for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
The Canadian who missed last year's Indianapolis 500 after a near-fatal crash during practice led the first day of qualifying for the 100th running of the 500 with an average speed of 230.946 MPH. Hinchcliffe's qualifying run came on his second try on Saturday, and it was barely faster than the speeds of Ryan Hunter-Reay (230.805), Will Power (230.736) and three-time champion Helio Castroneves (230.500).
Hinchcliffe's crash in 2015 was the heaviest impact ever recorded for a crash in Indy Car history. A piece of shrapnel blew into the car and through Hinchcliffe's left thigh, clipping an artery and causing a heavy loss of blood.
.@Hinchtown team cheering him on as he shoots to the top with the fastest four lap avg 230.946mph! pic.twitter.com/MRgbJ4wTkv
— Katie Hargitt (@katiehargitt) May 21, 2016
The top four drivers are joined in the Fast 9 by Townsend Bell, Josef Newgarden, Mikhail Aleshin, Carlos Munoz and Simon Pagenaud. Those nine are guaranteed spots in the first three rows, but they will race again on Sunday for the 500 pole. The remaining drivers will try to qualify for the remaining 24 spots in the race.
