Scott McLaughlin at the 110th Indianapolis 500. Image: Matt Fraver
McLaughlin was fourth fastest in the opening leg of qualifying in which all 33 cars set a four-lap average. Dixon, meanwhile, was eighth.
The pair advanced to the Top 12 but ultimately couldn’t convert it into a Fast Six berth.
McLaughlin qualified ninth on a 230.577 mph four-lap average for Team Penske while Dixon was 11th with a 230.347 mph run in his Chip Ganassi Racing entry.
The other cars that failed to make it through included Kyffin Simpson (Chip Ganassi Racing) in seventh, Conor Daly (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing) in eighth, Caio Collet (AJ Foyt Racing) in 10th, and Rinus Veekey (Juncos Holiger Racing) in 12th.
Speaking after his run, McLaughlin said he didn’t have enough downforce on the nose of his #3 car.
The Kiwi reached 242 mph (389 km/h) entering Turn 3.
“The Pennzoil Chevy just needed a little more front,” said McLaughlin.
“I was really battling into [Turn] 3 most laps. I was trying to play with the tools and weight jacker and front bar and all that sort of stuff to get it to turn. It just wouldn’t turn there.
“I put the white flag up and did what I could. Sometimes you’ve just got to do that.”
Top 12 qualifying was topped by Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, who translated his form from the first leg of qualifying into the first knockout round.
Rosenqvist was the only driver to go above a 231 mph four-lap average.
The Swede topped the session with a 232.065 mph effort to lead Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou and Team Penske’s David Malukas.
Palou was the biggest round-on-round improver from 11th to second. AJ Foyt Racing driver Santino Ferrucci was another to make big gains from 10th to fourth.
The other drivers to make it into the Fast Six were Pato O’Ward (McLaren) and Alexander Rossi (Ed Carpenter Racing).
The Fast Six gets underway at 8am AEST with live and exclusive coverage on Stan Sport.
Results: 110th Indianapolis 500 Qualifying, Top 12
Pos
Num
Driver
Team
Average Speed
Lap 1
Lap 2
Lap 3
Lap 4
Total Time
1
60
Felix Rosenqvist
Meyer Shank Racing
232.065
232.325
232.127
231.791
232.017
2:35.1289
2
10
Alex Palou
Chip Ganassi Racing
231.665
232.056
231.465
231.391
231.749
2:35.3969
3
12
David Malukas
Team Penske
231.486
231.536
231.388
231.265
231.755
2:35.5171
4
14
Santino Ferrucci
AJ Foyt Racing
231.098
231.237
231.414
230.865
230.878
2:35.7780
5
5
Pato O’Ward
McLaren
231.088
231.247
231.213
231.289
230.604
2:35.7847
6
20
Alexander Rossi
Ed Carpenter Racing
231.005
231.624
230.66
230.858
230.88
2:35.8407
7
8
Kyffin Simpson
Chip Ganassi Racing
230.883
231.06
231.051
230.571
230.852
2:35.9229
8
23
Conor Daly
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
230.712
231.063
231.242
230.487
230.058
2:36.0390
9
3
Scott McLaughlin
Team Penske
230.577
231.88
231.307
229.98
229.162
2:36.1300
10
4
Caio Collet
AJ Foyt Racing
230.539
231.858
231.09
229.415
229.808
2:36.1560
11
9
Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
230.347
230.852
230.487
230.068
229.983
2:36.2862
12
76
Rinus VeeKay
Juncos Holinger Racing
229.585
232.138
230.344
228.617
227.299
2:36.8048