Indy 500 Qualifying 2016: Pole Results, Starting Grid and Pre-Race Storylines

The field is set. Now it's time to race.

All that was left to begin the hype for next Sunday's Indianapolis 500 was figuring out who will start where. After strong performances Saturday and Sunday, James Hinchcliffe will be the pole-sitter for next Sunday's race, with Josef Newgarden driving alongside him.

Hinchcliffe's return from last year's nearly fatal crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the big story to take away from this weekend's qualifying run, and he'll have a chance to put a stamp on his storybook comeback with a win next week.

Eyes will be on those two when the green flag waves, but here's a look at the rest of the pole results for next week's race:

Pole Position	Driver	Driver	Pole Position
1	James Hinchcliffe	Josef Newgarden	2
3	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Townsend Bell	4
5	Carlos Munoz	Will Power	6
7	Mikhail Aleshin	Simon Pagenaud	8
9	Helio Castroneves	Oriol Servia	10
11	Alexander Rossi	Takuma Sato	12
13	Scott Dixon	Marco Andretti	14
15	JR Hildebrand	Charlie Kimball	16
17	Juan Pablo Montoya	Tony Kanaan	18
19	Sebastien Bourdais	Ed Carpenter	20
21	Gabby Chaves	Max Chilton	22
23	Sage Karam	Conor Daly	24
25	Pippa Mann	Graham Rahal	26
27	Matt Brabham	Bryan Clauson	28
29	Spencer Pigot	Stefan Wilson	30
31	Jack Hawksworth	Buddy Lazier	32
33	Alex Tagliani

It was almost one year ago to the day when Hinchcliffe was involved in one of the most terrifying crashes in IndyCar history.

Hinchcliffe was making his way around Turn 3 when he lost control of his car and crashed into the wall. The car rolled all the way to Turn 4, caught on fire for about a second and flipped halfway over before finally coming to a halt. A suspension piece pierced his left thigh, and he lost a large amount of blood.

Despite seeing the video many times, Hinchcliffe has said he doesn't remember any of it, per USA Today's Brant James. A win next Sunday would bring the story full circle.

"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 said, per Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports. "I can't believe it. I'm honestly at a loss for words. Which is rare for me."

Hinchcliffe won the pole with a top average speed of 230.760 mph, edging out Newgarden's 230.700 mph mark. But while Hinchcliffe's run was impressive and a feel-good story, being the pole-sitter hasn't led to a win at the Indy 500 in recent memory, per Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star:

That stat doesn't bode well for those who will start in the top 10. The last four winners of the Indy 500 have started 10th or worse.

Juan Pablo Montoya, last year's winner, will be starting 17th. His speed dwindled when he ran over a trash bag Sunday, but he got another chance to run. His average speed the second time around was 227.684 mph.

The 227.684 mph mark looks better compared to his original run, per Matt Glenesk of the Indianapolis Star:

Montoya will come into next week's race third in the IndyCar points standings, one spot ahead of three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves, who will start ninth.

There's a lot to look forward to next week. A Hinchcliffe win would be the front-runner for the best feel-good sports story this year, and a lot of people should be pulling for him.