It will be all Indiana front row for the 68th running of the Pay Less Little 500 with New Castle driver Caleb Armstrong leading the field to the green flag.
Armstrong turned four laps in 44.281-seconds for an average speed of 81.3 miles per hour to claim his first Little 500 pole position. His best lap was 11.002-seconds.
“I was hoping to crack the 10-second mark,” Armstrong said following his run. “I expected to go the speed we went.
“It means a lot to lead the whole field to the green flag,” he said. “This is such a special race.”
Armstrong said the light rain that fell before the start of qualifying didn’t affect the track conditions.
It’s been quite a 24-hour period for New Haven driver Chris Neuenschwander at Anderson Speedway.
Neuenschwander won the Ivy Tech 60 on Wednesday night for his first career win with the Must See Racing Series for winged sprints and will start in the middle of the front row on Saturday.
“I’m living the life,” Neuenschwander said after his qualifying attempt. “The rain didn’t change the track; I was a little tight during qualifying. But you still get a grip.
“I’m real pleased with the run,” he said. “I have a little bit left in the car. It’s going to be different looking at no mayhem in front of you at the start.”
Transplanted Hoosier Bobby Santos III will start on the outside of the front row with a four-lap average of 80.4 miles per hour.
Defending race champion Chris Windom, driving for Anderson based Goacher Racing will start on the inside of the second row as he looks for his third Little 500 win.
It was a disappointing day for Contos Racing.
Former Little 500 champion Shane Cottle tangled with Tom Paterson in turn one during the practice session before pole day qualifying. Cottle didn’t make a qualifying attempt.
Another former Little 500 winner Brian Tyler made two laps of a qualifying run when the car suddenly shut down.
Former winners locked into the starting field include Dave Steele, Jacob Wilson and Jeff Bloom.
Tanner Swanson led four rookies attempting to make the race and qualified fifth.
