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" James Hinchcliffe&amp;#039;s 2015 season, his first with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, started strong with a win at the one-off Grand Prix of Louisiana. At Indianapolis, however, it took a nightmarish turn when a near-fatal crash left him out for the season. IndyCar&amp;#039;s expert travelling safety team would save him after he suffered life-threatening bleeding, but the wreck still left him seriously injured and out for the season. 2016, his first full season with SPM, started poorly, but has recently picked up steam with finishes of eighth, sixth and third over the past three races. He kept the momentum going by making the Fast Nine with his qualifying speed yesterday, and while it seemed at the time that Andretti Autosport had an unbeatable setup, Sam Schmidt&amp;#039;s team would impress as well with two of their three representatives making the one-attempt fight for pole. After one-off SPM driver Oriol Servia impressed earlier in the day by qualifying tenth, leading those outside the Fast Nine (though, at 229.06 MPH, his time would be slower than any set in the final shootout), the team had finally found a setup and track conditions that worked well together. Hinchcliffe posted a speed of 230.76 in the shootout, and though Josef Newgarden\u00A0brought his Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet close with a speed of 230.70, the time would stand. The pole is Hinchcliffe&amp;#039;s first at the 500 Mile Race, but the second for the former Sam Schmidt Motorsports team, which previously grabbed the first spot among the field-of-33 with Alex Tagliani\u00A0in 2011, the final year of the IR03 era. Though the team has yet to win an Indianapolis 500,\u00A0partner team\u00A0Bryan Herta Autosport would go on to win with Dan Wheldon that year. Joining Hinchcliffe and Newgarden on the front row is Ryan Hunter-Reay, leading an Andretti Autosport contingent that many have favored since practice began on Monday. After struggling with their 2016 updates on road courses and short ovals (and at Indianapolis last year), the pole is Honda&amp;#039;s first of the year. The four lap average\u00A0pole\u00A0speed of 230.76\u00A0is the second-fastest of the DW12 era, behind Ed Carpenter&amp;#039;s 231 MPH effort in 2014,\u00A0though practice speeds were significantly down from last year, when qualifying was slowed by rain and a series of frightening crashes. The 100th Indianapolis 500 is one week away, airing on ABC at 12:00 PM Eastern time on the traditional last Sunday in May. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/news/a29280/james-hinchcliffe-wins-100th-indianapolis-500-pole/>