Some numbers to note following qualifications for the 97th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race:
•Dario Franchitti has led 329 career laps in the Indianapolis 500, more than any other driver in this year’s field. Other drivers in the field who have led more than 200 laps are Scott Dixon (346), Helio Castroneves (231) and Tony Kanaan (221).
•There is a combined 144 previous Indianapolis 500 starts among the 33 drivers in this year’s field. The record is 260 years of experience, set in 1987 and 1992. There were 103 years of combined experience in last year’s field.
•The oldest driver in the starting field is Buddy Lazier, 45. The youngest is Carlos Munoz, 21.
•There are 18 veterans of the Firestone Indy Lights series among the 33 drivers in the field. The veterans: Marco Andretti, Ana Beatriz, Townsend Bell, Ed Carpenter, Helio Castroneves, Conor Daly, Scott Dixon, JR Hildebrand, James Hinchcliffe, Tony Kanaan, Charlie Kimball, Pippa Mann, Carlos Munoz, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Sebastian Saavedra, Oriol Servia and Tristan Vautier.
•In addition to the four rookies in the race, there are two drivers – Buddy Lazier and Pippa Mann – who did not start in last year’s race.
•Four women will start in the Indianapolis 500 for just the second time. This year’s female starters: Ana Beatriz, Simona De Silvestro, Katherine Legge and Pippa Mann. In 2011, Beatriz, De Silvestro, Mann and Danica Patrick started the race.
•The average qualifying speed for the 33-car field is 226.176 mph. This is the fourth-fastest field in Indianapolis 500 history, exceeded only in 1995, 1996 and 2002. The 2002 field averaged 228.648 mph, the fastest in history.
1 -- First pole for Ed Carpenter in the Indianapolis 500 and the first pole at Indy for car No. 20.
2 -- Highest qualifying position of the four rookies by Carlos Munoz, who will be recognized at the May 21 at the 39th Fastest Rookie of the Year luncheon.
3 -- Best starting position for Marco Andretti in eight years at Indianapolis.
4 -- Women to qualify (Simona De Silvestro, Ana Beatriz, Pippa Mann and Katherine Legge), the most since 2011.
5 -- It's the fifth consecutive year that Will Power qualified in the top nine.
10 -- Drivers who have won the race at least three times (A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser four times each; Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti, Johnny Rutherford, Louis Meyer, Mauri Rose, Wilbur Shaw, Bobby Unser).
13 -- Veterans of Firestone Indy Lights in the field.
17 -- Starts for Buddy Lazier, driver of the No. 91 Lazier Partners Racing car with Advance Auto Parts as the primary sponsor -- the most among the 33 drivers.
20 -- Winners from the pole, most recently by Helio Castroneves in 2009.
23 -- Date of the next on-track activity this month (Firestone Freedom 100 practice and qualifying) at the Speedway.
35 -- Most career starts (consecutive) by A.J. Foyt.
45 -- Driver-car combinations to log laps in practice.
144 -- Combined previous starts among the 33 drivers. The record is 260 years of experience, set in 1987 and 1992. There were 103 years of combined experience in last year’s field.
563 -- Field-high practice laps turned by Scott Dixon.
1952 -- Youngest winner (Troy Ruttman at 22 years, 80 days old).
1987 -- Oldest winner (Al Unser at 47 years, 360 days old).
2001 -- Last rookie winner (Helio Castroneves).
2,762 -- Practice laps turned on May 19.
13,390 -- Practice laps turned since Opening Day May 11.
226.176 -- Field average in miles per hour.
.2892 -- Difference in time between Ed Carpenter's pole-winning aggregate four-lap time and Carlos Munoz's time in the shootout.
228.762 -- Four-lap average speed by pole winner Ed Carpenter, the fastest since 2006 by Sam Hornish Jr.
229.808 -- Fastest lap in miles per hour in practice by Will Power on May 18. It was the fastest practice lap since 2003.