After Verizon IndyCar Series teams had time to digest the rule changes and aerodynamic modifications required for Pole Day, a fast-paced afternoon of unpredictable outcomes followed.

INDYCAR’s call to reduce turbo boost—which trimmed horsepower figures—was matched with a downforce increase that championed safety while saving the pursuit of new lap records for the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2016.

Once the busy afternoon of single qualifying attempts was completed, Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon had captured his second Indy 500 pole position. The New Zealander had one previous pole at Indy, and he went on to win that “500” in 2008.

"We're starting in the right place but it's still a long race. Hopefully, we can replicate what we did in 2008," said Dixon, a three-time IndyCar champion for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. "We're starting on pole for the Indianapolis 500 and now we just have to finish first. I'm just so proud of everybody at Team Target, whether it's the engineers and everybody that has worked so hard to get the speed out of this car. It was definitely a tough day."

“Dixie,” as he’s called by his teammates, looked like the driver to beat late in the week, and his No. 9 Chevy did not disappoint when it was time to take on the rest of the Chevy and Honda runners. His pole was the latest in a series of fastest laps turned by the Ganassi team since “500” practice got under way, yet with the race just days away, it worth asking whether Dixon, 2013 Indy winner Tony Kanaan, or one of their other entries can drive into Victory Lane, or if one of the other powerhouse teams has a date with destiny.

Within the Chevy camp, Team Penske’s new four-car armada looks primed to interrupt Ganassi’s plans. Dixie might be on pole, but he has Penske’s Will Power, the defending Verizon IndyCar Series champion, and new Penske man Simon Pagenaud alongside him on the front row. He has Kanaan directly behind him on Row 2, but a certain three-time Indy 500 winner by the name of Helio Castroneves is next to his fellow Brazilian, and has designs on winning his fourth “500” for Roger Penske.

Ganassi and Penske drivers secured the first five positions in the field of 33 for Chevy, but with the move to higher downforce for qualifying—and the race, Honda made its presence felt with Andretti Autosport’s Justin Wilson, who was the fastest Honda driver in sixth.

Andretti’s Marco Andretti (eighth) and Carlos Munoz (11th) weren’t far behind, giving the 2014 Indy 500 winning team a decent shot at repeating, and with Ryan Hunter-Reay hoping for back-to-back victories, he’ll have another long journey to the front in store.

“We wanted to stay inside the top 20… we started 19th last year and that turned out OK,” Hunter-Reay said.

Carb Day is approaching and we’ll get one final look at how the split field of Chevys and Hondas perform in traffic—with a tow, but the early form shown last week suggests the American brand could have the edge in slightly cooler conditions where dense air increases downforce, and the Japanese brand could thrive on a hot day where its high-downforce superspeedway aero kit revels in the thin air.