Indy 500 Qualifying Results 2016: Sunday Times, Pole-Position Winner, Reaction

Qualifying for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 concluded Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and James Hinchcliffe parlayed his position in the Fast Nine Shootout into top-tier status as the pole-sitter for next Sunday's race.  

IndyCar on Twitter offered a look at Hinchcliffe’s final qualifying lap before he notched the day’s top speed:

Row 1 will also feature Josef Newgarden and 2014 Indy 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay after they finished second and third, respectively. Townsend Bell, Carlos Munoz and Will Power headline Row 2. 

USA Today's Brant James noted that Penske Racing's stranglehold of the top spot on the IndyCar Series pole ended Sunday afternoon: 

Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Star's Zak Keefer put Hinchcliffe's triumph into perspective: 

The top nine spots in next Sunday's racing spectacular were reserved for drivers who posted the fastest qualifying times Saturday. Those who failed to qualify for the Fast Nine were then left to compete for the remaining spots on the grid. 

Here's a look at the full race order following Sunday's qualifying finale: 

Position	Driver	Average Speed (mph)
1	James Hinchcliffe	230.760
2	Josef Newgarden	230.700
3	Ryan Hunter-Reay	230.468
4	Townsend Bell	230.481
5	Carlos Munoz	230.287
6	Will Power	229.669
7	Mikhail Aleshin	229.562
8	Simon Pagenaud	229.139
9	Helio Castroneves	229.115
10	Oriol Servia	229.060
11	Alexander Rossi	228.473
12	Takuma Sato	228.029
13	Scott Dixon	227.991
14	Marco Andretti	227.969
15	JR Hildebrand	227.876
16	Charlie Kimball	227.822
17	Juan Pablo Montoya	227.684
18	Tony Kanaan	227.430
19	Sebastien Bourdais	227.428
20	Ed Carpenter	227.226
21	Gabby Chaves	227.192
22	Max Chilton	226.686
23	Sage Karam	226.436
24	Conor Daly	226.312
25	Pippa Mann	226.006
26	Graham Rahal	225.847
27	Matt Brabham	225.727
28	Bryan Clauson	225.266
29	Spencer Pigot	224.847
30	Stefan Wilson	224.602
31	Jack Hawksworth	224.596
32	Buddy Lazier	222.154
33	Alex Tagliani	Crashed

Before the Shootout got underway, drivers who finished outside of the elite Fast Nine range jockeyed for spots Nos. 10-33. 

However, the first stage of Sunday's qualifying halted shortly after it started when Alex Tagliani made contact with the wall on Turn 4 and spun several times before hitting the track's safety attenuator.

MotorSport.com's Nick DeGroot provided a medical update on the Canadian driver, who captured the top pole position at Indy 500 qualifying in 2011, shortly after the accident occurred: 

As a result of his truncated run, Tagliani will start last and be at a severe disadvantage as he seeks to capture his first career IndyCar win. 

One of the other big stories of the day's first qualifying run revolved around 2015 Indianapolis 500 pole-sitter Scott Dixon, who will start in the 13th position. 

But before his final qualifying sprint got underway, Dixon's team was forced to scramble. According to DeGroot, the engine on Dixon's No. 9 car needed to be replaced when the 2008 Indy 500 winner lost power shortly before practice concluded.

Dixon's rebound in qualifying was impressive given the trying circumstances, and he'll now be bunched up with the likes of Oriol Servia, 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan, JR Hildebrand and Takuma Sato after all four of his qualifying laps topped 227 mph. 

Defending Brickyard champion Juan Pablo Montoya also bounced back from brief turbulence. Although Montoya clocked in what was momentarily a field-worst average speed of 213.968 mph, debris on the track that caused the uncharacteristically low figures gave him a shot at redemption. 

Montoya returned for a second attempt once the racing surface was clear, and he briefly nestled himself into a comfortable spot, as the Indianapolis Star's Curt Cavin noted: 

Montoya will need to make a championship-caliber run from the 17th spot if he hopes to capture the third Indy 500 title of his career, but last year proved he's capable of making aggressive moves from the middle of the grid. 

Throttling past the likes of Newgarden, Hunter-Reay, Bell, Munoz and Helio Castroneves won't be easy, but Montoya has a history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that's hard to ignore.  

Post-Qualifying Reaction

Following his big outing, Hinchcliffe reflected on the win: 

"I came into this month hoping we'd have a new story to talk about after what happened last year and I think we did it," Hinchcliffe added, according to Yahoo Sports' Nick Bromberg. "I can't believe it. I'm honestly at a loss for words. Which is rare for me."

"I don't think anyone can describe nearly losing your life at a track, then going back there to go 240 mph into a corner," Hunter-Reay said of Hinchcliffe's journey back, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com).  

In regard to the debris that threw a wrench into his first run, Montoya admitted he was caught off guard.

"I came out of Turn 3 and (the bag) was in the racing line. It scared the hell out of me," Montoya said, per the Indianapolis Star's Scott Horner. "It's a shame because we had the fastest car in this group."

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com and IndyCar.com unless noted otherwise.