Indy 500 Qualifying: Complete 2014 Starting Grid, Times and Speeds

Many think of Memorial Day as a time for remembering the fallen soldiers who have given their lives for the United States, but there are events like the 2014 Indianapolis 500 that are worthy of taking place during such a special weekend.

From the hallowed 2.5-mile track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 33 of the fastest drivers will make their way around the historic course and reach speeds of well over 220 miles per hour.

After a wild qualifying session that saw seven drivers top 230 mph, here is the full starting grid for the 2014 Indianapolis 500, the times and the speeds for each driver in the field.

Starting Spot	Driver/ Manufacturer	Qualifying Time	Speed (MPH)
1	Ed Carpenter, Chevy	2:35.7992	231.067
2	James Hinchcliffe, Honda	2:35.9528	230.839
3	Will Power, Chevy	2:36.0488	230.697
4	Helio Castroneves, Chevy	2:36.0812	230.649
5	Simon Pagenaud, Honda	2:36.1049	230.614
6	Marco Andretti, Honda	2:36.1526	230.544
7	Carlos Munoz, Honda	2:36.4224	230.146
8	Josef Newgarden, Honda	2:36.5946	229.893
9	JR Hildebrand, Chevy	2:37.3938	228.726
10	Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevy	2:35.8396	231.007
11	Scott Dixon, Chevy	2:35.8930	230.928
12	Kurt Busch, Honda	2:35.9913	230.782
13	Jack Hawksworth, Honda	2:36.1779	230.506
14	Justin Wilson, Honda	2:36.3480	230.256
15	Mikhail Aleshin, Honda	2:36.4881	230.049
16	Tony Kanaan, Chevy	2:36.5750	229.922
17	Sebastien Bourdais, Chevy	2:36.6259	229.847
18	Oriol Servia, Honda	2:36.6905	229.752
19	Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda	2:36.7132	229.719
20	Graham Rahal, Honda	2:36.7756	229.628
21	Carlos Huertas, Honda	2:37.0328	229.251
22	Pippa Mann, Honda	2:37.0521	229.223
23	Takuma Sato, Honda	2:37.0671	229.201
24	Alex Tagliani, Honda	2:37.1038	229.148
25	Townsend Bell, Chevy	2:37.1990	229.009
26	Charlie Kimball, Chevy	2:37.2376	228.953
27	Jacques Villeneuve, Honda	2:37.2400	228.949
28	James Davison, Chevy	2:37.2977	228.865
29	Martin Plowman, Honda	2:37.3333	228.814
30	Ryan Briscoe, Chevy	2:37.4028	228.713
31	Sage Karam, Chevy	2:37.5931	228.436
32	Sebastian Saavedra, Chevy	2:37.8335	228.088
33	Buddy Lazier, Chevy	2:37.9501	227.920

Driver to Watch: Juan Pablo Montoya

While there will be many eyes focused on NASCAR veteran Kurt Busch and the other top IndyCar talents, fans can’t underestimate the skill of Juan Pablo Montoya behind the wheel of one of the Penske cars in Sunday’s Indy 500.

As the 2000 winner of the Indianapolis 500, it has been a long time since Montoya has taken the checkered flag at the track, but he finally has the equipment needed with Team Penske to accomplish the feat again.

Montoya knows the track and knows how important this race is to the sport.

When asked about his return to the historic track, Montoya spoke to Tim Tuttle of Sports Illustrated about his thoughts on the whole situation:

"

I'll tell you the truth, I was really surprised when I came on Sunday (for the first Indy 500 practice day). I went out and said, 'I'm going to take my time.' Full throttle, I lifted on (turns) three and four, second lap, third lap, fourth lap, I'm good. It was nice.

One of the cool things about being with Team Penske, they do such a good job with the cars. The experience here is so good. They really know what they're doing. It makes it so easy for us, it really does.

"

As great as it is for the sport to have a polarizing star like Montoya running in a good car toward the front of the pack, he was far from perfect on the track leading up to the event. The entire team must improve the handling of the car if they want to win this race.

Montoya took to Twitter to talk about his redemption on the track and how he wants more:

Nate Ryan of USA Today talked about Montoya’s joy being back at Indianapolis:

There are few drivers with as much confidence as Montoya, and the strong runs in practice sessions should be a great sign of just how well his car is performing. With a few finishing touches, his car could contend for a win.

As good as the car has been and as ready as the Penske team is for the event, Montoya must race smart and save the aggressiveness for the latter stages of the race.

If Montoya doesn’t wreck his car moving through traffic, he will contend for the victory at the end of the race.

Predicted Finish: Top Five

*Stats via IndyCar.com.

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