INDIANAPOLIS -- James Hinchcliffe watched the Indianapolis 500 last year from his hospital bed. He had nearly died from injuries six days earlier in a crash at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Now, he's the pole-sitter for the race's 100th running.
The Canadian driver who spent the past year fighting back from a life-threatening leg injury, completed a remarkable comeback Sunday by posting a four-lap qualifying average of 230.760 mph on the final run of the day to barely edge American Josef Newgarden for the pole.
Hinchcliffe, 29, said he understands why everybody is referencing last year's accident.
"I get it," he said after the race's fourth-closest pole finish, winning by 0.06 mph. "It was a big deal.
"You're coming back to this place and you want to focus on the here and now and not remember or focus on hitting the wall at 125 Gs. ... Hopefully, this [the pole] is the topic of conversation for the next week."
The pole shootout was so close that Ryan Hunter-Reay, who will start third, thought he actually had passed Newgarden on the second-to-last attempt when he was clocked at 230.648.
The large crowd in the front straightaway roared when Hinchcliffe's speed was announced, and it wasn't just fans who appreciated the accomplishment of one of the series' most popular drivers.
Newgarden and Hunter-Reay, the 2014 race champ and one of Hinchcliffe's former teammates with Andretti Autosport, both congratulated the pole winner, who missed the final 11 races last season after a broken suspension part punctured his left leg right and nearly caused him to bleed to death the day after Indy 500 qualifying ended.
"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.
Hinchcliffe also struggled to explain the frenzied finish on a wild qualifying weekend.
Newgarden thought he had given Ed Carpenter Racing its third pole in four years after finishing with an average of 230.700 on the 2.5-mile oval.
Hunter-Reay's teammate with Andretti, Townsend Bell, came up a little short on the next run and the last two Team Penske drivers, Helio Castroneves and Will Power, both posted averages under 230.
Newgarden started trading high-fives with his crew members when Hunter-Reay's speed was posted, but then had to watch Hinchcliffe pull off one of the most memorable pole-winning runs in recent years.
"It was a tough pill to swallow," Newgarden said. "It was difficult waiting. ... I wanted to win the pole so bad, it would have been amazing,"
Hinchcliffe's victory marks the first time in six races that Team Penske drivers have not won the pole and ends a 31-race pole drought for Honda, dating to the 2014 race in Houston. It's the first time Honda has taken the 500 pole since 2011, the year before Chevrolet rejoined the IndyCar engine competition.
It will be Hinchcliffe's first front-row start at Indy.
There was one crash Sunday.
Alex Tagliani spun coming out of the fourth turn of his warmup lap and slammed into the attenuator at the entrance to pit road. Though his car spun 5½ times, he was quickly checked, released and cleared to drive by the infield medical center. He will be the first race starter since 1924 to make the starting grid without an official qualifying speed.
Everything seemed a bit out of whack Sunday.
Defending series champion and 2015 Indy pole winner Scott Dixon needed his crew to change engines in 64 minutes -- a job that normally takes three hours -- after the No. 9 car developed a mechanical problem in practice. Dixon qualified 13th.
Defending 500 champ Juan Pablo Montoya will start 17th after a bizarre sequence in which he ran over a trash bag during his qualifying attempt. IndyCar said the debris on the track was its responsibility and gave Montoya a second chance.
And one day after Marco Andretti was bumped from the top nine by his teammate, the American lost his fifth gear before qualifying began and still finished 14th on a day that belonged to Hinchcliffe.
"It's crazy," Hinchcliffe said. "It's incredible what a difference a year makes."
Sports on 05/23/2016