May 23 (UPI) -- Scott Dixon edged Colton Herta by a mere 0.03 mph Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to win his fourth Indy 500 pole.
Dixon, a six-time IndyCar champion, was the ninth and final driver to make his four-lap qualifying attempt around the Indiana track. His average speed of 231.685 mph pushed the 21-year-old Herta to second and 20-year-old Rinus VeeKay to third.
"It was pretty hairy, glad it's over. It was definitely pretty tense," said Dixon, who noticed his crew making adjustments to his car shortly before his qualifying runs. "I could see the mechanics working on the car as we rolled through, adjusting the wings.
"I asked them not to tell me. It's definitely a roller coaster of emotions for everybody and I'm actually really relieved that that's all over."
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Dixon became the fifth driver to earn the Indianapolis 500 pole four times. He earned his only Indy 500 victory from the pole in 2008, and he also started first in 2015 and 2017.
Ed Carpenter finished fourth and will line up next to Tony Kanaan and Alex Palou on the second row. Kanaan and Palou are Dixon's teammates at Chip Ganassi Racing, along with Marcus Ericsson, who qualified ninth.
Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti Autosport was seventh, while Meyer Shank Racing's Helio Castroneves was eighth.
The 2021 Indy 500 is scheduled for May 30. The 33-car field will compete in front of more than 135,000 fans in the 230,000-seat grandstands at the Indianapolis race track.
Indianapolis 500 Starting Lineup:
1. Scott Dixon, 231.685 mph
2. Colton Herta, 231.655 mph
3. Rinus VeeKay, 231.511 mph
4. Ed Carpenter, 231.504 mph
5. Tony Kanaan, 231.032 mph
6. Alex Palou, 230.616 mph
7. Ryan Hunter-Reay, 230.499 mph
8. Helio Castroneves, 230.355 mph
9. Marcus Ericsson, 230.318 mph
10. Alexander Rossi, 231.046 mph
11. Ed Jones, 231.044 mph
12. Pato O'Ward, 230.864 mph
13. Pietro Fittipaldi, 230.846 mph
14. Felix Rosenqvist, 230.744 mph
15. Takuma Sato, 230.708 mph
16. James Hinchcliffe, 230.563 mph
17. Scott McLaughlin, 230.557 mph
18. Graham Rahal, 230.521 mph
19. Conor Daly, 230.427 mph
20. Jack Harvey, 230.191 mph
21. Josef Newgarden, 230.071 mph
22. J.R. Hildebrand, 229.980 mph
23. Santino Ferrucci, 229.949 mph
24. Juan Pablo Montoya, 229.891 mph
25. Marco Andretti, 229.872 mph
26. Simon Pagenaud, 229.778 mph
27. Sebastien Bourdais, 229.744 mph
28. Stefan Wilson, 229.714 mph
29. Max Chilton, 229.417 mph
30. Dalton Kellett, 228.323 mph
31. Sage Karam, 229.156 mph
32. Will Power, 228.876 mph
33. Simona de Silvestro, 228.353 mph
