Track Walk: 110th Indianapolis 500

The seventh round of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season is the 110th Indianapolis 500. For the first time in 16 years, the defending race winner is starting on pole position. Past winners take up the first two spots on the grid. However, the next seven spots over the first three rows feature drivers who have never won this race. Three of them have yet to win any IndyCar race. There are nine past winners in this race and 24 drivers hoping to become the 77th different winner of this famed event.

Coverage

Time: Fox's pre-race coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. ET on Sunday May 24.
TV Channel: Fox

Announcers: Will Buxton, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Georgia Henneberry and Jamie Little will work pit lane. Chris Myers, Danica Patrick and Tony Stewart will participate in pre-race and post-race coverage.

Indianapolis 500 Weekend Schedule
Carb Day:
Practice - 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET (2 hours). 

Pit Stop Competition - 2:30 p.m. ET
Sunday:
Race - 12:45 p.m. ET (200 laps).

Palou Pondering More History

Everything goes through Álex Palou, and the man who has won three consecutive IndyCar championships and won last year's Indianapolis 500 will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday from pole position. 

It is the first time the defending race winner has started on pole position since Hélio Castroneves did it in 2010 after Castroneves scored his third "500" victory in 2009.

For Palou, this is his second pole position for the Indianapolis 500. He started first in 2023 as well. This makes the Catalan driver the 19th person to win multiple Indianapolis 500 pole positions.

Every time Palou takes to the racetrack, he is likely on the verge of making history. This time is no different. He is seeking to become the 22nd pole-sitter to win the Indianapolis 500. It has not been done since 2019 when Simon Pagenaud took victory. Of the 18 other drivers with multiple Indianapolis 500 pole positions, eight also won the race from pole position. 

Another victory would be the 23rd of Palou's career and it would put him in a tie for 20th all-time with Tommy Milton, the first driver to win multiple Indianapolis 500s. A Palou victory would make him the seventh driver to win the "500" in consecutive years, and it would be the first time in the race's history that consecutive winners have happened in succession after Josef Newgarden won in 2023 and 2024.

Beyond the victory, Palou is 62 laps led away from 2,000 laps led in his career. He would be the 25th driver to reach that milestone. If he retains the championship lead after this race it will be the 58th race Palou has held the championship lead after. That would move him into fourth all-time surpassing Will Power. Palou is only six races behind Scott Dixon for third all-time in most times leading the championship. 

Like last year, Palou enters the Indianapolis 500 on a good run of form. He has four consecutive top five finishes, three of which were podium results. Through the first six races of 2026, Palou has won half the races. The only blemish is being caught in an accident early in the Phoenix race in March. Four of the last eight Indianapolis 500 winners had won a race prior to Indianapolis. Six of the eight had at least a top five finish. The exceptions are Takuma Sato, whose best finish in 2020 prior to Indianapolis was eighth, and Hélio Castroneves, who was a part-time entrant in 2021 with Meyer Shank Racing and Indianapolis was Castroneves' first start of that season. 

At Indianapolis, Palou has three consecutive top five finishes and five consecutive top ten finishes. Palou could become the ninth driver to have at least four consecutive top five finishes in the Indianapolis 500. Ted Horn holds the record with nine consecutive top five finishes from 1936 through 1948, as for three years the race was not held due to World War II. Rodger Ward had a six-year streak from 1959 through 1964.  Harry Hartz had five top five finishes in his first five Indianapolis 500 starts from 1922 to 1926. 

Five drivers have had exactly four-year streaks of top five finishes including Bill Holland (1947-50), Jim Rathmann (1957-60), Al Unser (1982-85), Roberto Guerrero (1984-87) and Al Unser, Jr. (1989-92).

Palou has never finished worse than ninth when driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in this event. Palou could also make a little history for his car owner. Chip Ganassi turns 68 years old on race day. Ganassi has never won the Indianapolis 500 when it has fallen on his birthday. The best finish for a Ganassi car in an Indianapolis 500 that has fallen on Ganassi's birthday was third with Charlie Kimball in 2015. Scott Dixon was fourth in that race as well. 

A Sleeper Starting Second

There was some excitement as Alexander Rossi qualified second to Álex Palou as it was Rossi's best qualifying effort ever for the Indianapolis 500. Rossi's only other front row start was in his sophomore year in 2017 when he rolled off from third starting position. This will be the sixth time Rossi has started in one of the first three rows of the Indianapolis 500. This is also Ed Carpenter Racing's return to the front row after a two-year absent. Celebrations were quickly sullied.

During the Monday practice session, Rossi spun exiting turn two and hit the barrier. Patricio O'Ward and Romain Grosjean were also collected in this accident. Rossi walked away from the accident, but he required outpatient surgery for an injury to a finger on his left hand and for an injury to his right ankle. Ed Carpenter Racing will be forced to switch to a backup car for Rossi and the #20 team. O'Ward will also be switching to a backup car while Grosjean's team repaired its primary entry. 

The accident was a setback for what was setting up to be a promising challenge for Indianapolis 500 victory for Rossi and ECR. The good news is Rossi's backup car is the car he ran in last year's "500." Rossi's race started from 12th on the grid in that car, and he led 14 laps before a fire in the pit lane ended his race after 73 laps. He was classified in 28th.

In ten Indianapolis 500 starts, Rossi has seen the checkered flag eight times. In seven of those races, he has finished in the top seven. The only time he did not finish in the top seven was in 2021, when Rossi was trapped a lap down after requiring emergency service to pit for fuel. Rossi could not get back on the lead lap and finished 29th, losing another lap in the process. He has six top five finishes in this event. 

Rossi enters this weekend having led 107 laps in his Indianapolis 500 career. That is tied with Sam Hornish, Jr. for 64th all-time. Among active drivers, Rossi ranks ninth. 

Though we are celebrating the ten-year anniversary of Rossi's memorable victory in the 100th Indianapolis 500, he enters this race approaching four years since his most recent victory. It has been 60 starts since he stood on the top step of the podium. After winning seven times in his first 60 starts, Rossi has only won once in his last 110 starts. 

It has been much longer since Rossi has won on an oval. His most recent oval victory wast he 2018 Pocono race. There have been 40 oval races since Rossi's most recent victory. Thirteen different drivers have won an oval race since Rossi.

Ed Carpenter Racing has won one of the three most recent oval races as Christian Rasmussen had a phenomenal drive to win at Milwaukee last August. It was the team's first oval victory since Josef Newgarden won at Iowa in 2016. ECR has had a top ten finisher in five consecutive Indianapolis 500s, but it has not had a top five finisher since Ed Carpenter was fifth in 2021.

The good news for Rossi is when he wins, he starts at the front. He has started in the top three for seven of his eight career victories. The lone expiation is his Indianapolis 500 victory where he started 11th. 

Chasing a First Indianapolis Victory

Recent years have been favorable to new winners. Three of the last four Indianapolis 500s have seen a first-time winner with the only exception in there being Josef Newgarden, who won in consecutive years. When do these first Indianapolis 500 victories occur?

For Marcus Ericsson, his Indianapolis 500 victory came in his fourth season in IndyCar. The year before, Ericsson scored the first two victories of his career. The 2022 Indianapolis 500 was the 52nd start of his career, but only his fourth in the "500."

Josef Newgarden had a longer wait for his first Indianapolis victory. It was his 12th start in the "500" and the 187th start of his career. He had won 26 times in his career up to that point. Only Will Power had won more races before his first "500" victory than Newgarden. Newgarden was also already a two-time champion.

As for Álex Palou, he had 15 career victories in his first 85 starts entering last year's Indianapolis 500, his sixth time starting the Memorial Day classic. He also had three championship to his name.

Covering all 76 drivers to win the Indianapolis 500, on average their first victory in the event took 4.815 starts to happen. If you adjust the numbers to only take into consideration the winners since World War II, that number increases to 5.52 starts. If you want to go hyper-recent and only look at the years since reunification, the ten first-time Indianapolis 500 winners during that span took 7.5 starts for that victory.

Considering careers beyond the "500," on average a driver had 5.263 victories in their career at the time of their first career Indianapolis 500 victories. If you adjust those numbers based on the time periods above, and the 50 Indianapolis 500 winners since World War II had on average 6.72 victories at the time of their first "500" win. For the ten first-timers since reunification, the average number of career victories when they won Indianapolis for the first time shoots up to 12.8. Only three of first-time winners since 2008 had fewer than a dozen victories.

Among the drivers seeking their first Indianapolis 500 victory in this race, 12 are making at least their fifth Indianapolis 500 start. None of these drivers have won more than nine races in their careers.

Patricio O'Ward leads all drivers with most victories without an Indianapolis 500 in this year's race. O'Ward's nine victories would be level with Ralph DePalma and Gil de Ferran, who each won nine times before they won their first Indianapolis 500. This will be O'Ward's seventh start in Indianapolis. DePalma and de Ferran each won in their fourth Indianapolis start.

Scott McLaughlin has seven career victories, but he has yet to win at Indianapolis in what will be his sixth career start. Rodger Ward, Gordon Johncock and Juan Pablo Montoya each had seventh career victories prior to their first Indianapolis victory. Ward and Johncock each won Indianapolis for the first time in their ninth starts. Montoya won his first "500" on debut as he had run a full season in CART before running Indianapolis as a one-off. 

Felix Rosenqvist is starting fourth, the inside of row two, and Rosenqvist's only victory came nearly six years ago Road America. Eight drivers had only one career victory to their name when they won at Indianapolis for the first time. The most recent was Takuma Sato, whose 2017 Indianapolis 500 victory came just over four years after his first career victory at Long Beach. Rosenqvist will be making his eighth Indianapolis 500 start this weekend. Sato's first Indianapolis 500 victory also came in his eighth start.

Rinus VeeKay and Christian Rasmussen have also each only won once in their IndyCar careers and are looking for their first "500" victory. This will be VeeKay's seventh "500" and Rasmussen's third.

Christian Lundgaard picked up his second career victory in the most recent race, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. It snapped a 46-race winless streak for Lundgaard. Marcus Ericsson is the most recent driver to have only two career victories prior to a first Indianapolis 500 victory. Other notable names that had only two career victories prior to their first "500" win was Bill Vukovich, Jim Rathmann, Parnelli Jones, Mark Donohue and Jacques Villeneuve. 

However, this will be Lundgaard's 76th career start. That is more than all the other drivers who had only two career victories at the time of their first Indianapolis victory.

Chasing a First Victory Period

There are those who have not won the Indianapolis 500 and then there are those who have not won an IndyCar race ever. Fifteen of the 33 starters have never won an IndyCar race, and each of the first three rows of the grid feature a winless driver. Row four is home to two. 

These drivers do not have to fret. Though they have yet to taste glory anywhere that does not mean it is beyond their reach in IndyCar's greatest race. Eighteen drivers have had the Indianapolis 500 be their first career victory. However, nine of those drivers won over an 18-race stretch from 1913 to 1932. In the last 60 years, there have only been five drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 with zero victories to their name.

While that might sound defeating, a few drivers should be feeling confident that they could make their own little bit of history.

David Malukas is starting on the front row, and his first six races with Team Penske have been rather exceptional. Maukas is the top Penske driver in the championship in third on 185 points, 52 points behind Álex Palou in the championship lead. Malukas is coming off a runner-up finish in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and he has been the top Penske finisher in three of the last four races. Starting third, this is the sixth consecutive race where Malukas is the top Penske starter, and it is his fourth consecutive top five start. 

This will mark Malukas' 68th career start. He was runner-up in last year's race after post-race penalties were applied, and he has five podium finishes, four of which have come on ovals. 

In the middle of row two is Santino Ferrucci, who has already made Indianapolis 500 history with seven top ten finishes from his first seven starts, a record start to an Indianapolis 500 career. Three of those results have been in the top five. This is the third time in four years Ferrucci is starting on row two. While his results are incredible, he has only led 16 laps in his Indianapolis 500 career, 11 of which were in 2023 when he finished third. The only other time he has led multiple laps was when he led two in 2021.

Ferrucci will be making his 100th start in the Indianapolis 500. Only three drivers have taken 100 starts or more to pick up their first career victory. Two of Ferrucci's three career podium finishes came last year when he was second at Detroit and third at Road America. Nine of his 11 career top five finishes have come on ovals. Ferrucci's best finish this season was eighth at Barber Motorsports Park.

Seventh starting position is the home to Kyffin Simpson, who in 40 starts has yet to win the race, and he has only stood on the podium once in his career. Simpson was third last year at Toronto, one of three top five finishes in his IndyCar career. His best oval result was fourth in last year's Nashville season finale. 

This season, Simpson's best finish is tenth, which occurred at Phoenix and Long Beach. His career average finish is 16.9.

Then there is Conor Daly. Driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Daly picked up his best starting position for the Indianapolis 500 when he qualified eighth. Running as a one-off driver this year, Daly has a streak of four consecutive top ten finishes in the "500," and he hs finished eighth in two of the last three years. 

Daly has made 132 starts and has yet to win in IndyCar. The record for most starts before a first victory is Michel Jourdain, Jr.'s 129 before he won the 2003 CART race at Milwaukee. Daly has two podium finishes, a second at Belle Isle in 2016 and a third at Milwaukee in 2024. Both those races were the first races of doubleheader weekends. Daly's last race was the 2025 Nashville season finale where he finished fifth, the sixth top five finish of his career.

The only other winless driver starting in the top half of the grid is Marcus Armstrong, and Armstrong is starting 16th. Last season, Armstrong was eighth in the championship with 11 top ten finishes. He was third at Iowa, his second career podium finish. He was third at Detroit in 2024. He has finished 11th or better in five of six races in 2026. This weekend will be the 53rd start of Armstrong's career.

If there is any reason for encouragement for the winless drivers it is that of the five drivers in the last 60 years to have their first career victory come in the Indianapolis 500, three of them won in a year ending with the number six.

Graham Hill won on his IndyCar debut in the 1966 Indianapolis 500. Buddy Lazier won the first Indianapolis 500 during the Indy Racing League-era in 1996. Alexander Rossi won on his Indianapolis 500 debut, his sixth career start, in 2016.

Making Up for Last Year

While Álex Palou will look back on last year's race with some fondness, most will not share such joy. A few drivers will look back at 2025 and wish things had gone a little differently.

Marcus Ericsson was second on the road after leading with 15 laps to go in last year's race. Ericsson's car would ultimately be disqualified and relegated to 31st in the final results after an illegal modified Energy Management System cover was found on the car in post-race inspection. Either way, it completed a hat-trick of rough results for the Swede.

In 2023, Ericsson was second, but he was leading at the start of the final lap before Josef Newgarden passed him in the one-lap dash for victory, preventing Ericsson from becoming a consecutive winner of the race. In 2024, after hours of waiting out the rain-delay, Ericsson was caught in an opening corner accident and classified in 33rd. It capped off a month where Ericsson had to start on the last row after a having suffered an accident in practice. Tack on a 31st classification in 2025 and Ericsson has now finished outside the top thirty in three of his seven Indianapolis 500 starts.

With two consecutive results outside the top thirty at Indianapolis, Ericsson could become only the second driver in Indianapolis 500 history with three consecutive finishes outside the top thirty. Paul Bost had finishes of 31st, 37th and 40th in his three Indianapolis 500 starts from 1931 to 1933.

Also pinged with the same infraction for the illegally modified EMS cover was Kyle Kirkwood in last year's race, and like his Andretti Global teammate Ericsson, Kirkwood was knocked back from sixth to 32nd in the final results. It would have been Kirkwood's best finish at Indianapolis after starting 23rd.

Kirkwood enters this year's race riding a good wave of momentum. He has six consecutive top ten finishes to open this season and he is the only driver to finish in the top ten of every race this season. However, he is coming off his worst finish in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis where he was ninth. A lengthy pit stop due to an issue with the wheel nut on the front right tire cost him valuable positions, and he lost ground in the championship to Álex Palou.

Josef Newgarden had extra work to do in last year's race. After his car was found with an illegally modified attenuator before Sunday qualifying, Newgarden was moved to 32nd on the grid. In the race, Newgarden moved forward and was in a position to crack the top five, keeping his hopes of a third consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory alive. However, the fuel pump failed on his car with about 65 laps remaining. 

Newgarden went winless into the final race of the 2025 season, where he took victory at Nashville. At Phoenix in March, Newgarden won again thanks to fresh tires on a late pit stop that allowed him to make his way through the field. He has not won multiple times within the first seven races of the season since 2023, the first year he won the Indianapolis 500. For this year's race, Newgarden will start 23rd. It is the sixth time in the last seven Indianapolis 500s Newgarden has started outside the first four rows. 

The 109th Indianapolis 500 was in Ryan Hunter-Reay's hand as he took the lead though pit strategy, but he stretched his fuel far enough that he could make it on one fewer stop. However, Hunter-Reay ran out of fuel as he entered pit lane for his final stop, and his car would not restart to allow him to return to the race. His 48 laps led were the second-most of the race behind Takuma Sato's 51. 

It was the fourth consecutive Indianapolis 500 start where Hunter-Reay has finished outside the top ten, and he has not finished in the top five in his last six "500" starts. Last year was the fifth time he has led more than 25 laps in the Indianapolis 500, and he now ranks 27th all-time in laps led with 219. 

Then there is Scott McLaughlin. McLaughlin's fifth Indianapolis 500 start didn't even last a lap. He spun on the front straightaway while behind the pace car. Laps started to be counted though the track surface was still damp after a light shower passed over the track as the cars were about to leave the grid. If it weren't for the three disqualifications for post-race inspection violations to Ericsson, Kirkwood and Callum Ilott, for an illegal front wing end plate, McLaughlin would have been classified in 33rd. Instead, he was generously given 30th. In five Indianapolis 500 starts, McLaughlin's lone top ten finish remains a sixth in 2024, and his average finish is 19.8.

It has been 24 races since McLaughlin's most recent victory. While he was second from pole position at St. Petersburg to open this season, the New Zealander has not finished in the top five in the last five races. He has not gone six consecutive races without a top five finish since Long Beach to Road America in 2022.

Only twice has a driver won the Indianapolis 500 the year after finishing 30th or worse. Louis Meyer was 33rd in 1932 and then won in 1933. Mario Andretti was 33rd in 1968 and then won in 1969. 

The Rookie Scrap

Four rookies are in the field and thanks to a post-qualifying inspection infraction none of them start better than 27th. In Indianapolis 500s with at least four rookies, this is the first time none of the rookies have started better than 27th. 

The leading rookie on the grid will be Mick Schumacher in 27th. Schumacher was also the top starting rookie in the only other oval race this season at Phoenix where he started fourth. Unfortunately for Schumacher, he has yet to be the top rookie finisher this season. His best result was 17th at Long Beach, and that is one of only two times he has not been the worst rookie finisher. The other was when he was 18th at Phoenix. He was on his way to a top ten finish in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis before being penalized for spinning Santino Ferrucci in turn nine. Schumacher ranks last in the championship on 54 points. 

Starting in the middle of row nine will be Dennis Hauger. Hauger is currently the top rookie in the championship, 15th through six races on 100 points. He is only seven points behind Will Power and six points ahead Rinus VeeKay. Hauger has two top ten finishes, a tenth at St. Petersburg and an eighth in the most recent race, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He was 15th at Phoenix after an early spin and he led during a pit cycle. Hauger finished in the top five of all four of his oval starts last year in Indy Lights, and he had three podium finishes on ovals.

To Hauger's outside will be Jacob Abel, the only rookie who is a one-off entrant. Abel failed to qualify for last year's Indianapolis 500. This year, Abel is running for his family's team Abel Motorsports. This is Abel Motorsports' second Indianapolis 500 start. The team ran R.C. Enerson in 2023, who started 28th but his race only lasted 75 laps before a mechanical issue, classifying Enerson in 32nd. Abel had only one top fifteen finish last season. That was 11th in the second Iowa race. 

Caio Collet was the fastest rookie qualifier as he made the Fast 12, and Collet was set to start tenth until unapproved hardware was found on the car for the cover of the Energy Management System. Jack Harvey's car was also found with the same offense. Both these drivers were moved to the rear of the grid, and Collet will start 32nd. Collet's best finish this season was 12th at Arlington. He has not finished in the top fifteen of the other five races. In two Indy Lights seasons, Collet never won an oval race, and in eight starts his best finish was third with four top five finishes.

Three of the last four Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year have not been the best finishing rookie. Each of those three drivers did not make it to the end of the race. Five consecutive Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year have not finished in the top ten. This is the longest stretch without an Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year finishing in the top ten since the honor was first awarded in 1952.

The Weather Report

Showers appear to be persistently in the picture for the entire weekend.

Chance of precipitation sits at 31% for Friday with temperatures settling into the low-60s. Showers increase in probability around noon, the middle of the Carb Day practice. Winds will be between ten to 15 mph from the East Northeast.

Temperatures will creep up a few degrees on Saturday with a high around 66º F with the chance of precipitation inching up to 34%. Winds will die down and be between five and ten mph but shift to be from the West Northwest.

Sunday has a 33% chance of precipitation with temperatures climbing to a high around 74º F and winds dying down. There is a chance rain could hold off developing until later in the afternoon.

Carb Night Classic - Thursday Edition

In anticipation of the precipitation, the Road to Indy races from Indianapolis Raceway Park have been moved up to Thursday night, tonight, instead of taking place on Friday night.

USF Pro 2000 has 20 cars entered for the Freedom 90. 

Jack Jeffers and Frankie Mossman are tied on 87 points in the championship lead. Jeffers won on the IMS road course two weeks ago, his second victory of the season. Mossman has finished on the podium in three of four races this season. 

Leonardo Escorpioni had finishes of 12th and 16th on the IMS road course, and he is 29 points off the championship lead. Michael Costello is two points further back with Brady Golan in fifth on 54 points. Jacob Douglas won the first race on the IMS road course and he is tied for sixth in the championship with G3 Argyros. Andrés Cárdenas has 50 points with Christian Cameron on 45 points and Mac Clark rounds out the top ten on 44 points. Clark was second in the first IMS road course race.

Testing was held on Wednesday, and Cameron was fastest at 19.6723 seconds. Indy Lights driver Tymek Kucharczyk will be competing in the Freedom 90 to get oval experience, and he will be teammates with Cameron with TJ Speed Motorsports. Kucharczyk was second at 19.7327 with Thomas Schrage rounding out the top three for TJ Speed Motorsports at 19.7705 seconds. 

The Freedom 90 will close out tonight's proceedings at 7:30 p.m. ET. The race will be 90 laps or 50 minutes.

Sebastián Garzón leads the U.S. F2000 championship with three victories and five podium finishes from five races. Garzón has scored 141 points and he has a 47-point lead over Brad Majman, who won the third race of the IMS road course triple-header. Eddie Beswick has 77 points in third with Evan Cooley up to fourth on 68 points after a trio of top five finishes on the IMS road course. 

João Vergara has scored 65 points, two more than Ayrton Cahan. Liam Loiacono has scored 56 points. Anthony Martella won the Freedom 75 last year, and he won the first race from the IMS road course nearly two weeks ago. Martella has 54 points. The IMS road course marked the debut for Oliver Wheldon, who qualified on pole position. Broken suspension ended Wheldon's first race, but he finished third and second in the next two races, and he is ninth in the championship on 51 points despite missing the opening round. Welsey Gundler rounds out the op ten on 49 points.

Thomas Nordquist was the fastest in U.S. F2000's test on Wednesday at 20.8380 seconds ahead of his DEForce Racing teammate Garzón at 20.8890 seconds. Wheldon was third fastest at 20.9713 seconds with Majman in fourth at 21.0726 seconds and Ryan Giannetta in with at 21.0906 seconds. Beswick was sixth quickest at 21.0918 seconds.

The Freedom 75 will be held at 6:30 p.m. ET and run for 75 laps or 45 minutes.

Fast Facts

This will be the eighth IndyCar race to take place on May 24 and the first since Juan Pablo Montoya won the 99th Indianapolis 500 in 2015.

Only one IndyCar race held on May 24 was not the Indianapolis 500. Paul Tracy won the 1997 Gateway CART race on this day.

This year's race is on the 45th anniversary of Bobby Unser's third Indianapolis 500 victory, the 39th anniversary of Al Unser's fourth Indianapolis 500 victory, and the 34th anniversary of Al Unser, Jr.'s first Indianapolis 500 victory, the closest Indianapolis 500 victory ever at 0.043 seconds over Scott Goodyear.

The other May 24 Indianapolis 500s were Eddie Cheever's victory in 1998 and Hélio Castroneves' third victory in 2009. 

This will be the 179th 500-mile race in IndyCar history.

The United States has produced the most 500-mile race winners with 67. Brazil and the United Kingdom has each produced seven 500-mile race winners. Canada has had four, Italy and France have each had three winners. Sweden has two winners. The Netherlands, Mexico, Colombia, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Spain have each produced one winner. 

Eleven of the last 15 Indianapolis 500s have been completed in under three hours. Only five of the first 87 Indianapolis 500s that went the distance were completed in under three hours.

This year's grid features...

12 Americans...

Three New Zealanders...

Three Britons...

Two Swedes...

Two Brazilians...

Two Danes...

A Spaniard...

A Mexican...

A Caymanian...

A Dutchman...

A Japanese...

An Australian...

A Frenchman...

A German and...

A Norwegian.

This will be the 18th consecutive Indianapolis 500 to feature at least ten different nationalities.

Ten drivers have won on both the oval and road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They are Alex Lloyd, Jack Harvey, Dean Stoneman, Colton Herta, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi and Álex Palou.

The drivers who could become the 11th driver to win on both the oval and road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend are, Patricio O'Ward, Rinus VeeKay, Christian Rasmussen, Louis Foster, Kyle Kirkwood, Dennis Hauger, Jacob Abel and Sting Ray Robb.

Rinus VeeKay or Christian Lundgaard could join Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden and Álex Palou as the only drivers to win an IndyCar race on the IMS oval and road course. 

The last fastest rookie qualifier has been the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year in three consecutive years.

The average starting position for an Indianapolis 500 winner is 7.449 with a median of fifth.

Eight of the last nine Indianapolis 500 winners have started in one of the first three rows. 

The average number of lead changes in the Indianapolis 500 is 14.779 with a median of ten. 

In the DW12-era, the average number of lead changes in the Indianapolis 500 is 38.35714 with a median of 35. 

The driver who led the most laps has won only two of the last 14 Indianapolis 500s, Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014 and Simon Pagenaud in 2019. 

The driver who led the most laps has not won the last six Indianapolis 500s. The last time there were at least six consecutive Indianapolis 500s where the driver who led the most laps did not win the race was an eight-year streak from 1990 through 1997.

The average number of cautions in the Indianapolis 500 is 7.568 with a median of seven. The average number of caution laps is 43.411 with a median of 43.

In the last 15 Indianapolis 500s, 11 races have had more than five cautions.

This will be the 77th Indianapolis 500 victory for Firestone. 

This will be the 26th Indianapolis 500 victory for Dallara, extending Dallara's record for most Indianapolis 500 victories for a chassis manufacturer.

If Honda wins the race, it will be the manufacturer's 17th Indianapolis 500 victory. Honda is currently second all-time in victories for engine manufacturers, 11 victories behind Offenhauser's 27. 

Chevrolet is third all-time with 13 Indianapolis 500 victories.

Predictions

Álex Palou, but if it isn't Álex Palou... well... it is difficult to pick against Álex Palou. Most of Palou's laps led will come in the final 80 laps of the race, and the driver who leads the most laps within the first half of the race will finish outside the top five. Josef Newgarden will be the biggest improver from his grid position at the checkered flag. The best Dane will be Christian Lundgaard. Ryan Hunter-Reay does not have any issues running out of fuel. Marcus Ericsson has at least a top 15 finish. Kyle Kirkwood makes up at least 12 positions. Katherine Legge sees the checkered flag but she finishes at least one lap down. Ed Carpenter will be the best finishing Ed Carpenter Racing driver. Sleeper: Scott Dixon. 

Musings From the Weekend: What is Missing?

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

A driveshaft failure appears to be the only thing that stopped Max Verstappen (and Jules Gounon and Lucas Auer and Daniel Juncadella) from victory in the 24 Hours Nürburgring. Formula E fulfilled the Ascension Weekend tradition of racing at Monaco. NASCAR had an ordinary weekend in Dover with an unordinary prize for Dover. MotoGP had a rough race in Barcelona, and our thoughts and prayers are with Álex Márquez and Johann Zarco after their accidents. Rain washed out Saturday qualifying from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but on Sunday Álex Palou continued to make history as he took pole position. We also found out late last night the qualifying times for Caio Collet (tenth) and Jack Harvey (29th) were disallowed due to modifications made to the Energy Management System covers in post-qualifying inspection. Collet and Harvey will be moved to 32nd and 33rd respectively on the grid. Plenty happened on Sunday,  from this point of view, it has been a rather subdued week in the buildup to the Indianapolis 500.

What is Missing?

It feels like something is missing this May. I don't know what it is. 

It does feel like this is another race. Obviously, it is isn't. See the week of practice, special qualifying session, and everything else that fills the pomp and circumstance. It is the Indianapolis 500. We have a full week ahead and we still have to act like the pit stop competition is a good event. 

Yet, it feels lacking. 

Have all the good stories been told? 

I have been thinking about the 2020s, since we are more than halfway through the decade. 

We had a race behind closed doors in August because of a global pandemic, which also included Fernando Alonso and it was the first Indianapolis 500 with the aeroscreen...

We had a race that was a semi-return to normalcy with a limited crowd that turned into seeing the fourth four-time winner driving as a one-off with a new team after leaving the most successful IndyCar team...

A full return and a race that one of the greatest in IndyCar history lost due to a pit lane speeding penalty, and it turned out to be Jimmie Johnson's only Indianapolis 500 debut...

A one-lap shootout that gave a champion his first Indianapolis 500 victory...

A race that was delayed until the middle of the afternoon, that featured Kyle Larson attempting "The Double," which turned into a single, Team Penske entering as a pariah, and only the sixth driver to win the race in consecutive years thanks to a breathtaking last lap pass...

Another attempt at The Double, more Team Penske controversy, an unthinkable pole position for a rookie, a possible five-time winner, a possible three-consecutive winner for the first time in race history, a sold out crowd, and a race that turned out to be Álex Palou's crowning achievement after already winning everything else in IndyCar within his first five seasons, which was also the first Indianapolis 500 with the hybrid engine...

Especially based on the last two seasons, it is pretty tame entering the race in 2026. It is still a special race, there is still a driver attempting The Double, the grandstands sold out over a week before the race, and it still feels muted this May.

What am I looking for? 

Come race day, this malaise will be forgotten. The passion remains for this race. Looking through notes and record books and preparing for what we may see is still as enjoyable as it has ever been, but there is a zip that isn't quite there. 

Maybe we have been spoiled rotten the last few years through the good and the bad times. There was general thankfulness a race happened at all six years ago. The few years after that there saw gratefulness it returned and didn't lose a beat. Then we had some pretty phenomenal racing, and we have had landmark winners. We have had it pretty good. 

Some of it could be down to wondering what could come next, and the stories are there. Not everyone has an Indianapolis 500, and Patricio O'Ward sits in the sentimental chair, the fan favorite a growing number would like to see win after a number of close calls. There are the underdog stories, can Conor Daly and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, the little team that could, pull off a storybook ending? Can Scott McLaughlin find redemption after last year's accident on the pace laps? Does Ryan Hunter-Reay get another bite at the apple after his car quit on the final pit stop? 

We are not lacking on history either. Palou winning again would put him in another exclusive club. We could crown him driver of the 2020s at that point. If it isn't Palou, Scott Dixon has been waiting 18 years for his second Indianapolis 500 victory, one that would be more than deserved and everyone would be thrilled to celebrate. Josef Newgarden could snag a third and we could restart the watch for fourth. Hélio Castroneves can still win a fifth, creating a club of his own and becoming the oldest winner in the century-plus history of this race. 

This can still be the stage for a breakout performance. Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas, Santino Ferrucci and Christian Rasmussen are all going to be around for a while, but this race could set the course for their futures and how they will be remember in IndyCar history. 

The potential is there. Something special will happen. We don't know what it will be yet, and that is alright. It is ok that it isn't clear either. For the better part of this decade, it has been clear what we are watching for or the story has stood out from the very beginning. That has not been the case in 2026. No driver or group of drivers looked dominant in practice. The grid is pretty even at the moment. That does make it harder to set expectations. When many outcomes feel possible, you cannot focus on one.

Qualifying weekend did make me feel better. Even just writing these words got the hairs to stand up over what is possible. Coincidentally, I wrote about a similar feeling on this Monday last year. That was a little different because it had more to do with the tone around the series and this is a little more personal, but maybe it is something to note. Maybe I should be thinking differently entering practice week. It is a thought for 2027.

What matters most is this week and what happens on race day. Once it is over, the stubborn rut of practice week will become a forgotten feeling. The only trace will be these words to confirm it was not all hunky-dory in the lead up. Not every Indianapolis 500 is a building buzz from May 1st through the checkered flag. Life is more complicated than that. Sometimes it is flat, and that isn't a bad thing. 

It will work itself out. It always does. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Álex Palou, but did you know...

The #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol Mercedes-AMG of Maro Engel, Maxime Martin, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz won the 24 Hours Nürburging.

Fabio Di Giannantonio won MotoGP's Catalunya Grand Prix. Álex Márquez won the sprint race by 0.041 seconds over Pedro Acosta, the closest sprint race in MotoGP history. Manuel González won in Moto2, his second victory of the season. Máximo Quiles won in Moto3, his third consecutive victory and his fourth victory of the season.

Nyck de Vries and Oliver Rowland split the Monaco ePrix.

Nicolò Bulega swept the World Superbike races from Most, and Bulega is now 15-for-15 this season. Valentin Debise swept the World Supersport races.

Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR All-Star Race from Dover, his second All-Star Race victory. Corey Day won the Grand National Series race, his second victory of the season. Kyle Busch won the Truck race, his 69th career victory in that series.

Coming Up This Weekend

110th Indianapolis 500.

61st Canadian Grand Prix, which is a sprint weekend for the first time.

77th Coca-Cola 600.

Super Formula will have a doubleheader from Suzuka.

Supercars will be at Symmons Plains.

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters have a weekend at the shore racing along Zandvoort.

First Impressions: 110th Indianapolis 500 Sunday Qualifying

1. Álex Palou is inevitable. With four laps at a 232.248-mph average in the Fast Six session, Palou won pole position for the 110th Indianapolis 500. One year after an incredible victory to check all the boxes on an illustrious IndyCar before he even turned 30 years old, Palou adds to his legacy as he is now a two-time pole-sitter for the Indianapolis 500, the 19th driver to hold such an honor multiple times. Starting first, his defense of the Borg-Warner Trophy starts off on a strong note.

Palou wasn't blitzing the competition this week. He was there but it was not apparent he would be the driver to beat in qualifying. He doesn't need to be the fastest in qualifying. Palou just has to be close. Start in the top eight and his odds are greater than most starting on the front row.

Every race feels it is destined to be Palou's. This is no different. We are at a moment in time when every race goes through one driver. The question is "Who is finishing second?" That is even true for the Indianapolis 500.

Palou controls all history and every other driver's legacies. We are on the verge of looking back at a driver who has everything and a great number of talented drivers with little to show for their careers.

2. Alexander Rossi is on the front row, as Rossi ran at 231.990 mph to take second. Ed Carpenter Racing has not been the usual pole position threat in recent years, but it has found something, and Rossi's track record at Indianapolis is rather encouraging.

Rossi does not come from behind. His only victory from outside the top five is his first career victory, the 100th Indianapolis 500, which happened a decade ago, and he won from 11th on an empty tank. He is at the front this year. As long as he doesn't lose track position, we know Rossi can be a factor. He hasn’t really ever had to race Palou, a mighty task for all on the grid. Rossi has to find his 2018 form to win this one. 

3. David Malukas' first Indianapolis 500 for Team Penske sees him on the front row after running four laps at 231.877 mph. Malukas continues to be consistently quick. He is the best starting Team Penske driver for another race.

This change has not spooked Malukas. Being paired with Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin has not rattled him. Malukas is the driver Penske can feel most confident in, but Malukas still has much to prove to win a race. He has run well, but the closing laps of the Indianapolis 500 are a foreign realm for him. If the pressure hasn’t got to him yet, he could be fine, but we will find out a lot about him next Sunday 

4. It was another year where Felix Rosenqvist lost speed in qualifying, and after topping the Fast 12, Rosenqvist could not remain on the front row. He will start fourth after running at 231.375 mph.

Rosenqvist looks good. He has looked good all week, but as has been the problem with Rosenqvist for years, he qualifies well but then the pace vanishes in the race. We see him start in the top five but he does not finish there enough and he seldomly finishes better than where he starts when at the front. He could be a factor, but history suggests it will be tough to hang around.

5. Starting fifth will be Santino Ferrucci, as Ferrucci ran a 230.846-mph average. We know how well Ferrucci has run at Indianapolis. This pace was a little better than we were expecting. Ferrucci looked like a Fast 12 factor, but the Fast Six was perhaps out of reach.

For a driver who has finished in the top ten in every Indianapolis 500 start, it is tough to believe it will continue. Nothing lasts forever, even when you are quick. This field is tough. Ferrucci is up there, but he will need to beat some incredible drivers.

6. Patricio O'Ward rounds out row two after running at 230.442 mph. This has not been the most impressive week for O'Ward, but there are plenty of positives. Arrow McLaren has not looked spectacular, but O'Ward has shown good pace, He is in the conversation.

It might not feel like O'Ward's year at this moment, but he is in the picture. The team should be motivated. A teammate won the most recent race, but to cement himself as the McLaren leader, a victory in the Indianapolis 500 will go much further. He is still McLaren's favorite going into race day.

7. Falling shy of the Fast Six was Kyffin Simpson, who will start seventh. Simpson surprises us. He does well, but there are still races where he is anonymous. He is good until he isn't. On this occasion, he looked really good and he has held his own against two outstanding Chip Ganassi Racing teammates. Will it carry over to the race? There are a lot of tough drivers on the grid. Simpson will need his greatest performance on Sunday.

8. It is hard to be disappointed in your best starting position ever for the Indianapolis 500, but Conor Daly was expecting more. It has still been a successful qualifying week to start eighth. This has been the best May of Daly’s career. The tough part will be the race. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing raced well last year after Ryan Hunter-Reay wound up at the front. The strategy is much different when starting eighth. That is a question mark for this group entering race week.

9. The road to redemption will begin from ninth for Scott McLaughlin. It is a good spot. It felt like McLaughlin could make the Fast Six, but ninth is a good spot. As long as he gets through the pace laps, he should be fine. He is going to drive a smart race. He usually does.

10. Our fastest rookie qualifier is Caio Collet. Good for him! However, we have seen two other A.J. Foyt Racing drivers as the fastest rookie in recent years and those drivers were Matheus Leist and Benjamin Pedersen. How did it turn out for those guys? I hesitate to get too excited about any rookie qualifying tenth in the Indianapolis 500. We have seen them come and go. Four laps is one thing. The race is 200. After that we can draw conclusions about Collet.

11. Scott Dixon will start 11th. Good, but not great, and that has been the story of Dixon's season. He has done well, but he has been just outside the picture of being a challenger. Perhaps that is what he needs. Perhaps his next big result is just from the fringe.

12. Considering Juncos Hollinger Racing had never made the Fast 12 before this year, Rinus VeeKay ending up 12th is a big result for this group. VeeKay has run well at Indianapolis, and he should be filled with encouragement. The problem is seeing how JHR handles the pressure of being at the front. It hasn't run at the front of many races before let alone running at the front of the Indianapolis 500. Twelfth isn’t the sharp point of the grid, but it is closer to first than most. 

13. Takuma Sato just missed out on the Fast 12 as did Ed Carpenter and Hélio Castroneves to make one of the oldest rows in Indianapolis 500 history. If there was any magic left at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it would be hiding out on row five. Sato did well last year. Carpenter hasn't been that much of a challenger recently. You cannot rule out Castroneves. There is no shortage of feel-good stories. 

14. Row six will feature Christian Rasmussen, Marcus Armstrong and Marcus Ericsson. We have seen Rasmussen drive forward in each of his first two Indianapolis 500s. Armstrong is starting much better than last year, and he raced well. Andretti Global never really showed confidence all week. None of its cars crack the top half of the field. Ericsson is its best qualifier. I don't know if Ericsson can keep pulling out strong performances from 18th starting position.

15. The early draw did not benefit Christian Lundgaard as he and Nolan Siegel sandwich WIll Power on row seven. Lundgaard went forward last year. Power hasn't been great this year. Siegel has done better in recent races. 

16. You will see Louis Foster start 22nd next to two past winners, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Josef Newgarden. I didn't think Newgarden would be that far off. It felt like he had the pace to make the Fast 12. Starting 32nd didn't stop him last year, and if the car didn’t break, he could have been in the top five. He is actually in a better position this year but still has a lot of work to do. 

17. Row nine features Romain Grosjean, Kyle Kirkwood and Katherine Legge. Kirkwood has seemed frustrated the entire week. At least Dale Coyne Racing wasn't bumped this year. I think 27th was rather good for Legge.

18. Mick Schumacher is the second-fastest rookie qualifier in 28th. That is probably as good as it was going to be for Schumacher. He is two spots ahead of Graham Rahal. Some things never change. Jack Harvey will be between the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers. I wasn't convinced Harvey would make the Fast 12. I didn't think he would be on row ten though.

19. The last row party features two rookies, Dennis Hauger and Jacob Abel. Last-place will be Sting Ray Robb. With no reason to push it, I am sure they are happy just to get through qualifying. The big prize is on Sunday. It does not feel like any of these three have what it takes to pull off the unprecedented. Each will be happy to complete all 200 laps. 

20. And now we wait! One week until race day. Plenty of time to ponder what is to come. And that is what we will do. Stay tuned.  

First Impressions: 110th Indianapolis 500 Saturday Qualifying

1. Rain washed out the first qualifying day for the 110th Indianapolis 500, and Sunday will see a modified schedule to set the grid.

There will be a practice session at 9:30 a.m. ET, split into two groups with each group getting 30 minutes.

At noon, qualifying will begin with each car getting only one attempt. There will be no second attempts. At the end of the first session, the top 12 cars will advance to the Fast 12, which will take place at 4:30 p.m. Like in recent years, the Fast 12 will see each car get one attempt in reverse order of their qualifying speeds from round one. The top six will advance to the Fast Six and repeat the process to set the first two rows. The Fast Six will follow the Fast 12 after a mandatory cooling off period.

2. It is a bummer qualifying did get rained out, however, there is something nice about this streamlined approach.

Each car gets one run. Get it right the first time or live with the consequences.

There are only 33 cars. There will be no bumping. There is no need to jump through hoops and qualify over and over again. The draw will favor some. The draw will bite others. Everyone is going to get to race. This is fine.

This is reminiscent of 2017. Though a qualifying day was not lost that year, rain delayed Saturday qualifying, and there was only enough time to get one run to make the Fast Nine on that Saturday. There was heightened urgency on each qualifying run. You had to nail it to make it to the next round. Just like this year, there were only 33 cars in 2017.

I don't think Indianapolis 500 qualifying should just become a single-car run, but it is not a bad alternative when the schedule is condensed.

3. I am not going to miss the Final 15 attempt. Not much excited me about seeing if the 13th fastest car can be one spot better or if the 15th fastest car could somehow make up three spots only to have to qualify again and need to make up six more spots.

As we covered during the week, it was an unnecessary change with a necessary reason behind it to fill the television window. I just cannot say I found anything exciting about who could be 15th after Saturday. That is practically seeing who can be in the top half of the field. There is no need to see half the field qualify again just to see three cars be eliminated to fill row five.

4. The reason for the Final 15 session was the lack of bumping, and IndyCar president Doug Boles said to Racer Magazine he understands the importance of bumping and expressed an interest in having it moving forward. Boles also noted a few things went against IndyCar this year with the absence of Prema and Andretti Global pulling its fourth entry after Formula Two added a round in Montreal forcing Colton Herta out of that seat.

There is a good chance we would have had bumping if Prema had remained afloat and Formula Two did not need to reschedule a round. For the last 20 years, IndyCar has played limbo with bumping. We will have three or four years where there is none of it. We will have three or four years where it will be there. This was the first time since 2022 we did not have bumping. Prior to 2022, there was bumping in three of the previous four years. It has been more common than not since 2018, but it is scarier when there is not bumping than when there is.

We have already touched upon bumping, and at a later time we can dive deeper in what could be done to increase car entry. At the moment, this is an off year. History suggests bumping will be back. It is ensuring that it is a yearly thing that is the hard part.

5. In the qualifying preview, we considered who will benefit from the qualifying draw and who has their work cut out for them. Early qualifiers should be feeling good.

Scott Dixon, Rinus VeeKay and Scott McLaughlin, three drivers that have been toward the top of the time sheet on a consistent basis should be happy going out first, fifth and sixth respectively. Christian Lundgaard has greater hope of making the Fast 12 going out second.

The late draws for Kyle Kirkwood (23rd), Takuma Sato (26th), Christian Rasmussen (27th), Jack Harvey (30th) and Álex Palou (31st), likely are not helping their confidence tonight.

If there is any hope for late qualifiers in 2017, it is best to look back to 2017 when each car had only one attempt. The Fast Nine participants in 2017 had equal representation from each third of the qualifying line. Three drivers went out in the first 11 cars (Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Will Power), three drivers went out in the second 11 cars (Fernando Alonso, Alexander Rossi and Marco Andretti) and three cars went out in the last 11 cars (Takuma Sato, Ed Carpenter and J.R. Hildebrand)

If you expand that to the next three cars, Ed Jones was tenth after going out sixth. Charlie Kimball and Max Chilton took the next two spots after going out 19th and 18th respectively.

A difference between 2017 and 2026 is that in 2017, everyone went out on a green track. There was no practice beforehand. The track was getting more rubber on each run. That session also didn't start until 4:00 p.m. and went until after 7:00 p.m. This session will be held at noon and after a brief practice session, how much that changes the track remains to be seen.

It will not be as cut-and-dry as the Fast 12 will all come in the first 16 qualifiers. A few cars will do better because of a better draw. A few cars will be a few spots down the order because of the timing. It will be fine.

It will come down to one run for the Fast 12. There is no room for error, and that an error on Sunday could setback hopes of glory on race day. Even without bumping, the pressure is still on.

110th Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Preview

Practice is mostly behind us all but for a shakedown early ahead of Saturday qualifying for the 110th Indianapolis 500. Over the course of the next two days, the grid will be set for this year's race, with some drivers shooting for the stars and looking to enter race week on a great wave of confidence, while others are hoping just to have a good day and shake whatever troubles have been following them. 

This year, 33 cars are going to qualify. There will be no bumping. The hope is to be one of 15 drivers who will have a shot at qualifying for pole position on Sunday afternoon. A few teams look strong and appear to be the top contenders for the top spot. However, this practice week did not see a regular group at the front. A number of drivers rotated through at the top, and it feels wide-open who could continue into Sunday. 

What is the Qualifying Weekend Schedule?

The field will be split into two groups for the Saturday morning practice session. Each group will get a half-hour of track time starting at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Qualifying will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET and the session will run until 5:50 p.m. ET. As long as a car is on track by 5:50 p.m. ET to start on qualifying run, that team will be allowed to complete their attempt.

The top nine teams at the end of Saturday will advance to the Fast 12 session on Sunday. Tenth through 15th from Saturday qualifying will advance to the Final 15 session, which will open Sunday qualifying. The fastest three from the Final 15 session will join the Fast 12. The three slowest cars from the Final 15 will start on row five. The cars ranked 16th to 33rd at the end of Saturday will be locked into those starting positions.

There will be two hours of practice on Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m. The Final 15 participants will get an hour before the nine cars in the Fast 12 will get the final hour of practice at 2:00 p.m. 

The Final 15 will run at 4:00 p.m. with each car getting one qualifying attempt. The Fast 12 will take place at 5:00 p.m. with each car getting one attempt. The Fast Six will close out qualifying at 6:35 p.m. ET.

What is the Weather Forecast?

Ominous at best. Rain is in the forecast, and it could plague all proceedings on Saturday.

The morning practice session should be fine with a temperature around 66º F and winds blowing at ten miles per hour from the South Southwest. However, showers could start around 10:00 a.m. and continue through about 4:00 p.m. The chance of precipitation over the entire day is 63%.

While the rain will continue on-and-off throughout the night into Sunday, it should clear by sunrise, and Sunday appears to be devoid of any precipitation. Temperatures will climb to their highest for this entire week. At 1:00 p.m., when the practice session is scheduled to begin for the Final 15 and Fast 12 participants, it would be about 79º F and the winds will continue to blow from the South at 11 mph. 

At 4:00 p.m., the scheduled start time for the Final 15, temperatures are forecasted to be 82º F with the temperature increasing another degree around the start of the Fast 12 session. The temperature will remain around 82-83º F through the end of the scheduled qualifying session, and winds will remain consistent from the South. 

What does rain mean for qualifying?

Reports from Zion Brown and Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star are if not every car makes it through the qualifying line on Saturday, everyone will need to qualifying on Sunday. IndyCar will do all it can to get through all 33 cars on Saturday. I would imagine everything is on the table in terms of extending the session late into the evening.

If qualifying were not to have taken place on Saturday or if qualifying were need to be restarted on Sunday, the exact format is not known in terms of everyone getting one run and then the make up of a Final 15/Fast 12 format.

What is the Qualifying Order?

1. Scott Dixon

2. Christian Lundgaard

3. Ryan Hunter-Reay

4. Ed Carpenter

5. Rinus VeeKay

6. Scott McLaughlin

7. Nolan Siegel

8. Graham Rahal

9. Josef Newgarden

10. Will Power

11. Felix Rosenqvist

12. Santino Ferrucci

13. Marcus Ericsson

14. Conor Daly

15. Mick Schumacher

16. Romain Grosjean

17. Marcus Armstrong

18. Patricio O'Ward

19. David Malukas

20. Alexander Rossi

21. Dennis Hauger

22. Sting Ray Robb

23. Kyle Kirkwood

24. Caio Collet

25. Hélio Castroneves

26. Takuma Sato

27. Christian Rasmussen

28. Louis Foster

29. Kyffin Simpson

30. Jack Harvey

31. Álex Palou

32. Jacob Abel

33. Katherine Legge

Who is in play for the Final 15?

Team Penske looks good. 

Over the four days, Scott McLaughlin had the best average overall practice result. McLaughlin's average overall practice result was 7.5, and he was third on Friday, but he also ran the fastest no-tow lap on the final day of practice. McLaughlin had the second-best no-tow time on Thursday. His worst practice day overall was 12th on Thursday.

Meanwhile, David Malukas was tied for the best average no-tow result over the for days at 6.75 with Rinus VeeKay. Malukas ranked in the top ten all four days, and his best no-tow day was third on Thursday. 

Josef Newgarden has been a little more quiet, but he was 13th-best in terms of average overall practice result at 13.75, and his average no-tow result was tied for 14th at 15.5.

It should come as no surprise that Álex Palou appears to be a factor. Palou was second to McLaughlin in average overall practice result at 7.75, and Palou was first, second, 22nd and sixth over the four days. His teammate Scott Dixon was third-best, averaging eighth overall over the four practice days. 

On no-tow times, Palou was tied for the fifth-best average at 10.25, and he was fourth and second-best on no-tow times over the final two practice days. Dixon never cracked the top ten in the no-tow report over the four days, but his average was equal to Newgarden's.

The other three drivers who topped a practice day overall were Conor Daly (Wednesday), Patricio O'Ward (Thursday) and Felix Rosenqvist (Friday). The fastest no-tow drivers each day along with McLaughlin were Kyle Kirkwood (Tuesday), O'Ward (Wednesday) and Takuma Sato on (Thursday).

Practice week was jumbled up as there was not a consistent number of drivers clearly at the top. Marcus Armstrong had the fourth-best average overall practice result at 9.25, but he was second and third on Tuesday and Thursday respectively, and 11th and 21st on the other two days. Armstrong's Meyer Shank Racing teammate Felix Rosenqvist was right behind Armstrong with an average of 9.75, but Rosenqvist was 22nd and 12th in the first two days before ending up fourth and first in the final two days. 

Malukas and VeeKay were tied for the best average no-tow result, but the only other two drivers to average tenth or better on the no-tow report over four days were O'Ward (7.25) and Christian Rasmussen (10.0). 

Alexander Rossi has been particularly quick, ranking fifth and second overall over the final two practice days, and he had the ninth-best average no-tow result at 12.75, falling back on being second on Wednesday and fourth on Friday. 

Daly was just behind Rossi at an average overall practice result of 10.5. Daly was third and first the first two days, but 25th and 13th in the next two days. On Friday, he was seventh on the no-tow results. Daly's Dreyer & Reinbold Racing teammate Jack Harvey had respectable no-tow results. Harvey's average no-tow result over four days was 10.25, equal to Palou's, but Harvey was third and seventh in the first two days before dropping to 15th and 16th in the next two days.

Both A.J. Foyt Racing drivers have looked capable of making the Final 15. In terms of no-tow results, Caio Collet was tied for the 11th-best average at 13.5, and Santino Ferrucci was 13th at 15.25.

Andretti Global did not end Friday feeling confident, but it did end the week with two drivers ranked in the top ten of average no-tow result. Marcus Ericsson was eighth with an average of 12th. Kyle Kirkwood was tenth with an average of 13th. However, Ericsson was fourth and third in the first two days before dropping to 19th and 22nd in the next two. Kirkwood ran the fastest no-tow lap on Tuesday, but did not register one on Wednesday, was seventh on Thursday and closed the week in 31st on Friday. 

Romain Grosjean ranked in the top ten overall on the first three practice days, but Grosjean was 30th on Friday, and his average no-tow result was 23.5, 28th best over the week.

On Friday, Christian Lundgaard was 12th on no-tow times, his best result of the week, but Lundgaard only cracked the top 20 overall once, and that was him being in 19th on Friday. The Dane has the third-worst average overall practice result at 24.75, only ahead of Katherine Legge (30.75) and Mick Schumacher (31.75).

Louis Foster is a sneaky outsider for the Final 15. Foster never ranked worse than 18th on the no-tow report over the four days, and his best day was fifth on Wednesday. While his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing teammate Takuma Sato was the fastest no-tow driver on Thursday, Sato was 17th or worse on that chart over the other three days. 

Who got a favorable qualifying draw?

Everyone in the first six cars should be feeling good. Lundgaard and Ryan Hunter-Reay have not shown blistering pace at any point this month. Hunter-Reay is tied with Katherine Legge for worst average no-tow result over four days at 27.75. However, an early draw could be a blessing. Lundgaard saved his best stuff for the final practice day. An early draw could put Lundgaard at the front and time could be on his side.

Ed Carpenter had his best no-tow result of the week on Friday in 13th, and Carpenter will qualify fourth. Going out fifth plays well for Rinus VeeKay. Graham Rahal could net a few extra positions as the eighth qualifier. A semi-early draw could save Marcus Ericsson again, as he will be the 13th driver to take to the track. Fourteenth is not a bad spot in line for Conor Daly, especially just to crack the top 15 and stay alive into Sunday.

Who is handcuffed thanks to the qualifying draw?

The tricky thing is we don't know when qualifying will take place. It could start on-time tomorrow and being late in the order isn't great. It could be delayed and the final qualifiers could be going out after 6:00 p.m., which could be more beneficial. There is a world where qualifying could be seriously segmented with 11 cars qualifying from 11:00 a.m. to noon, a delay preventing qualifying runs until 3:00 p.m. where another 11 cars get on track and then another delay could happen and IndyCar could decide to run the final 11 cars post-6:00 p.m. Those are three distinct parts of the day.  

If qualifying is completely delayed to Sunday or they have to restart, going out late could be worse, especially if everyone only gets one guaranteed run before progressing to the Final 15/Fast 12. Sunday looks particularly warm in the middle of the afternoon. It will be better to go out early in those circumstances.

Just based on this draw, 20th isn't great for Alexander Rossi, nor is 23rd any better for Kyle Kirkwood. Takuma Sato and Christian Rasmussen are 26th and 27th respectively. If Jack Harvey was having any hope of being a qualifying spoiler, he will really need to work for it from 30th in line. Álex Palou will be the 31st qualifier, and while we have seen Palou pull out great runs at anytime, it feels like Palou could be forced to run a second or third time before the conditions will not be in his favor his first moment on track. 

Can we acknowledge that the final two entries that materialized for this year's Indianapolis 500 are the final two qualifiers in line? No breaks were given to Jacob Abel or Katherine Legge this year. Not that it really mattered. It feels like both are likely going to run once and call it a day. Both drivers were ranked 25th or worse in three of the four practice days. Legge was the slowest in three of the four days. 

What Does the Qualifying Order Tell Us?

Last year, eight of the Fast 12 made it based on their first qualifying run, including the fastest six times from Saturday qualifying. However, there was an even distribution of where those drivers came from the qualifying order. 

While three of the first four qualifiers on Saturday made the Fast 12 based on their first qualifying run, another three drivers made it and came 25th or later in the order. The other two were the 13th and 14th qualifiers. 

Marcus Ericsson was the first car on track, and that run was good enough to be 11th. Patricio O'Ward was the second qualifier and his time was fourth at the end of the day. Robert Shwartzman was the fourth qualifier last year, and his time held on to be the sixth-best on the day. 

Despite the late draw, Álex Palou qualified fastest on Saturday from the 25th position in the qualifying line. Scott McLaughlin went two drivers later and was second fastest on Saturday. Josef Newgarden was 33rd in line, but he skipped his run only to go out after Rinus VeeKay, the 34th and final driver in the initial qualifying line ran.

Felix Rosenqvist and Scott Dixon were the 13th and 14th qualifiers, each making the Fast 12 based on their first qualifying attempts.

As for the other four drivers to make it, they all made it on their second attempts, however, two of them would have been fine on their first runs. 

David Malukas and Takuma Sato would have been fine with their first qualifying runs. They were eight and ninth respectively after being 16th and 21st in the initial qualifying line. However, on their second attempts, they each improved their qualifying times. Malukas moved up to seventh. Sato was faster on his second run, but he remained ninth. These two qualifying runs each came in the final 12 runs of the day. Sato was the 65th attempt out of 76 on the first qualifying day, and Malukas was 69th.

Will Power was 11th after his first qualifying run, and Power was the 18th in the qualifying line. Power returned to the track and improved to tenth.

The final driver to make the Fast 12 was Christian Lundgaard, and he made it on his second attempt, the 50th of the day. At that point, Alexander Rossi had qualified 12th three attempts before Lundgaard. Kyffin Simpson had been holding onto 12th since the first run through the line and was knocked down to 13th. Lundgaard has been eighth in the initial qualifying line, and his four-lap average improved by 1.505 mph from the first to the second attempt. Lundgaard was ranked 22nd after the first run through the qualifying line. Rossi was 13th on the first run through the line. 

Of the top 30 qualifiers from last year's Saturday session, only 13 made it on their first attempt speed. In 2024, 20 of the top 30 qualifiers were locked in based on their first qualifying attempt. In 2025, 15 of the top 30 were fastest on their second attempts. The only drivers to make it based on their third attempts were Conor Daly and Rossi. Daly had his first qualifying time disallowed after his car did not pass technical inspection post-qualifying run. That disallowed time would have been 13th-best after the first run through the qualifying line.

Only two drivers made only one attempt last year in Saturday qualifying. They were Robert Shwartzman and Josef Newgarden. Seven drivers made at last three attempts, and only two of those made a fourth attempt. Conor Daly, Marcus Ericsson, Santino Ferrucci, Will Power and Rinus VeeKay all made three attempts. Rossi and Marco Andretti, who did not make the top 30 and had to qualify via the Last Chance Qualifying session on Sunday, each made four attempts. 

There were 73 qualifying attempts made last year during Saturday qualifying, one fewer than occurred during Saturday qualifying in 2024. However, in 2025, only 11 attempts were waved off after 19 were waved off in 2024.

Qualifying Format Changes and A Double Attempt

Two days of practice are complete from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the 110th Indianapolis 500. While plenty of laps have been turned, two news stories have emerged involving a semi-frequent topic ahead of each Indianapolis 500 and... well... another semi-frequent topic ahead of each Indianapolis 500, but one that does not happen often and generally attractions more attention and fanfare.

The Necessary Reason for an Unnecessary Qualifying Change

As you may have heard, there has been an adjustment to Indianapolis 500 qualifying. This year's format sees an increase in potential pole-sitters competing on Sunday as the top fifteen from Saturday qualifying will advance to the three-round run for pole position the following day. 

The top nine from Saturday will be guaranteed a spot in the Fast 12 while tenth through 15th will compete in the "Final 15" to determine the final three Fast 12 participants. From there, the Fast 12 and Fast Six will take place as they have since 2022. 

With only 33 entries for this year's race, the Last Chance Qualifying session will not be held. That session had taken place between the Fast 12 and Fast Six.

From a sporting perspective, there was no reason to change the qualifying format. When it came to broadcasting, something had to be done since there was no Last Chance Qualifying. IndyCar was budgeted three hours for qualifying on Sunday, and without the Last Chance Qualifying, they only had two hours worth of track activity. They had to fill the hour. 

The Final 15 is a quick fix, but what happens should 34 cars or more enter in 2027? This is where IndyCar could have its hand caught in the cookie jar. It has just filled three hours by making the pole position portion into a three-round affair. Taking away three cars and returning to the Fast 12 next year devalues the Final 15 as just a schtick.

It is all arbitrary. Why was the Fast Nine chosen over 15 years ago when it it was first introduced? There was no need to increase to the Fast 12 from the Fast Nine. No one was expressing a desire to see more cars qualifying. We were happy with nine. This change does make qualifying feel like more of a sideshow if one year it is 15 cars potentially competing for pole position and the next year it is back down to 12. 

Qualifying is not a holy event. We have seen qualifying butchered a lot over the last 20 years. From only locking in 11 cars at a time over three qualifying days before bump day to the 24-9 split over two days to the Fast Nine to everyone qualifying on Saturday to determine the Fast Nine and then everyone qualifying again on Sunday to set the entire grid, we have seen qualifying manipulated practically every way imaginable to justify its existence as a two-day process a week before the race itself.

It would be nice if IndyCar stuck to something and didn't change it. 

That is how qualifying was for decades. It never changed. Nothing was added. The rules were consistent each year. Not all change is bad. There can be evolutions, but the tweaks every three or five years don't really do much.

My concern is qualifying will continue to be expanded on Sunday, especially if it is more difficult to get more than 33 entries. My fear is qualifying becomes bloated again with everyone running again and each row becomes an elimination format. The bottom six run and then the slowest three fill row 11. The next six run and then row ten is filled. That is extreme, but where do we draw the line? We are already expanding to 15 qualifiers with a shot at pole position. What is stopping an expansion to 18 in the future? 

If we are going to have a "Final 15" and three rounds on Sunday, the only request I make for Saturday qualifying is to bring back the limit of three attempts. Cars are still going to qualify multiple times as there will be teams hoping to break into the top fifteen and teams that want to break into the top nine, but we shouldn't see teams running four or five times and waving them off after two laps. 

The attempts should matter. How many times do we need to see the same cars on track doing the same thing to set the grid? If teams are going to run over and over again, there should be some stakes when a car makes a qualifying run. That gives a viewer a reason to tune in. If we are going to see 45 waived off attempts, there becomes a decrease in urgency to watch. You are seeing more cars bail out after one or two laps than cars completing full attempts. 

I can live with every team getting one attempt where they do not have to withdraw a time, but if you are going to return to the track for a third run, that third run should be the one you are going to live with. It forces the teams to make a decision and brings some strategy into Saturday qualifying. 

Last year, there were 73 qualifying runs attempted on Saturday. That was about 5.6 attempts an hour over the entire session, and it always takes about three hours to get through the line the first time. If you limited every entry to three attempts, there would still be the possibility of seeing 99 attempts in a 33-car field. Even if everyone only took two attempts, that would still be 66 qualifying runs, plenty to fill a day. Last year, there were 11 waived attempts. We saw 62 competed attempts in 2025 anyway. What are we losing if we prevent teams from going out four or five times with no fear of losing their grid spot?

Returning to a three-attempt limit would not curb on-track action. It would heighten the on-track action we would get to see. If we are considering anymore qualifying changes for 2027, limiting the number of attempts on Saturday should be on the table.

Legge's Double

Somewhat unexpectedly, it was announced early Wednesday Katherine Legge would attempt "The Double" of running the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day. Legge is entered in the Indianapolis 500 in the #11 Chevrolet for HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing. She will drive the #78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet at Charlotte.

Legge returns to the Indianapolis 500 after last competing in 2024, and she has run two of the last three Indianapolis 500s. Last year, she made her NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix in March, and she started seven Cup races in 2025. Her best finish was 17th in the Brickyard 400. She also competed on the 1.5-mile oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. She ran the Cup race at Watkins Glen last Sunday. 

On Monday night, while walking the dog, I thought about The Double and the decade waits between attempts. Robby Gordon made his final attempt in 2004, and there was not another serious attempt until 2014 when Kurt Busch entered both events. That was Busch's only run at it, and it was another decade before the next driver stepped up to the plate. That was Kyle Larson, and he attempted it in two consecutive years. 

I was content that it would be another decade until someone would try it again, and I was thinking the next driver to attempt it would be someone we are not thinking about, a driver not even on our radars. I also thought that might be the time an IndyCar driver decides to add Charlotte to their schedule rather the other way around with a NASCAR driver. 

Then enters Katherine Legge. 

She will be the seventh driver to attempt it. John Andretti was the first in 1994. Davy Jones also made an attempt in 1995, but Jones didn't qualify for the Coca-Cola 600. Robby Gordon made five attempts between 1997 and 2004. Tony Stewart first made the attempt in 1999, and Stewart completed all 1,100 miles in 2001. Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson are the two most recent drivers to attempt it.

For as much as we bemoan the lost spontaneity in motorsports and drivers trying to run everything they can, Legge fulfills what we wish drivers would be. Even if there was a lot of planning, the fact it was not announced until 11 days until race day makes it appear it is done on a whim, and that is fine. This wasn't a case of looking for the best car or trying to do it right. It is about attempting it with what you can put together, and some times that is all you need in motorsports. The little teams can punch above their weigh and do the unthinkable. 

The hope is to complete all 1,100 miles. It has only happened once in 12 attempts from some of the best drivers to every live. Three of the six drivers before Legge won NASCAR Cup championships. Andretti and Gordon both won in practically everything they ever drove. Even Jones won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall, the most recent American driver to win Le Mans overall. 

This is a challenge, but this is why we love it and we should appreciate what Legge is attempting. It might not work. We will live with that, but if it does, we will celebrate it, and Legge will rightfully receive her plaudits for doing what many dream but few actually chase. 

Even if Legge completes all 200 laps in Indianapolis and finishes 22nd and completes all 400 laps in Charlotte and finishes 31st, it is a remarkable achievement. Yes, Tony Stewart would have better finishes from his 2001 attempt, but if it was easy, we wouldn't have been waiting a decade between each attempt. We wouldn't have drivers saying all the right things but never pulling the trigger. There wouldn't be drivers always putting on the qualifier that they would attempt The Double "with the right team” or “under the right circumstances.” They would just do it. 

Legge has nothing to lose in this attempt, and God bless her for going for it. Many drivers have spoken glowingly of attempting The Double and never go for it. For drivers that are not full-time in either series, or really have nothing to lose, The Double should be a goal. It is a chance to standout while the racing world has forgotten you. Plenty of drivers are out there with talent who are anonymous. The Double would at least get everyone's attention. There is no reason why it isn't something attempted every two or three years even if by drivers we would never expected it form.

In 2026, Legge is going for it, and if she succeeds, we win in the process. 

110th Indianapolis 500 Practice Preview

The seventh round of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season requires the most time and attention. It is more than a three-day weekend with two practice sessions, qualifying and a warm-up before the main event on Sunday. It requires more than a weekend, and frankly more than a week. We are 12 days from the 110th Indianapolis 500, far away and yet time is disappearing quickly.

Thirty-three cars are entered this year, 18 Chevrolet and 15 Hondas. On the entry list are nine past winners, the seventh consecutive year to feature at least eight past winners. Three of the last four years have seen a first-time winner of this race.

Every team has already been on track after the two-day test held over April 28-29. However, those test results do not tell us everything, and there will be much to learn over the next few days.

What is the schedule?

Practice will begin Tuesday May 12 and for four days cars will be on track from noon to 6:00 p.m. ET. 

The qualifying draw will be held on Friday May 15 at 6:15 p.m. after final practice.

On Saturday May 16, practice will be held at 8:30 a.m. for one hour. 

There is a change to the qualifying format this year. 

Qualifying will start at 11:00 a.m. and run until 5:50 p.m. At the end of that session, the fastest nine cars will transfer for the Fast 12 session set for Sunday. Tenth through 15th will transfer to the “Final 15” session, also held on Sunday. In the Final 15, each car will get one run with the top three from that session filling out the Fast 12. 

With only 33 cars entered, there will not be a last chance qualifying session.

Practice will begin Sunday May 17 as the remaining 15 cars will have an hour session at 1:00 p.m. The Final 15 session is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. The Fast 12 will follow at 5:00 p.m. Each car will have one attempt with the top six advancing to the Fast Six session. The final round of qualifying will be held at 6:25 p.m. with each of the top six getting one run for pole position.

Monday May 18 will have a post-qualifying practice at 1:00 p.m., and it will run for two hours.

What is the forecast?

The forecast looks favorable for practice week. Tuesday will be partly cloudy with a chance of precipitation at 2% and a high will be around 78º F. Temperatures will remain in the mid 60s over the next few days, and the chance of precipitation will remain low.

On Friday, chance of increase to about 40% and the temperature should break 70º F.

Qualifying weekend will see the warmest temperatures of the week. Saturday will see the temperature jump to the high of 83º F, but the chance of storms remains high, as there is a 47% of precipitation. Sunday will see the temperature remain consistent with Saturday. The chance of precipitation will drop to 24%.

The temperature will remain around the low 80s for Monday practice, but the chance of thunderstorms increases to 70%. The chance of storms remains over 40% through Carb Day on Friday May 22.

The Rookie Class

Four rookies are entered in this year's race. Three are full-time drivers.

Caio Collet will drive the #4 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Racing. Dennis Hauger is driving for Dale Coyne Racing in the #18 Honda after winning the Indy Lights championship last year. Collet was second to Hauger in Indy Lights after Hauger won six races to Collet's three. Mick Schumacher is driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the #47 Honda. Schumacher spent the last two seasons competing for Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship. 

Jacob Abel is back for his second Indianapolis 500 attempt. Last year, Abel failed to qualify for the race driving Dale Coyne Racing. This year, Abel will attempt the race in the #51 Abel Motorsports Chevrolet.

Who is not there?

Six drivers from last year's race are not entered this year. 

We start with the pole-sitter. After being the fastest qualifier on debut, Robert Shwartzman is not back at the Speedway as the Prema organization has been absent from the entire IndyCar Series this season. Along with Shwartzman, Callum Ilott has also been sidelined due to the Prema issues.

There will be no double attempt this year, as Kyle Larson is not returning for a third attempt at the Indianapolis 500 after running the last two years with Arrow McLaren. 

Colton Herta is off in Formula Two as he pursues a Formula One opportunity with the Cadillac program. Herta was hoping to run an additional entry with Andretti Global this year before a Formula Two round was rescheduled to Canadian Grand Prix weekend, which falls on the same weekend as the Indianapolis 500. 

Devlin DeFrancesco is not back after he returned in 2025 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. DeFrancesco had also missed the 2024 race when he was sidelined. 

For the first time since 2005, Marco Andretti is not entered for the Indianapolis 500, as Andretti has retired from competition. Andretti made 20 Indianapolis 500 starts with five top five finishes and eight top ten finishes in his career. Unfortunately, his Indianapolis 500 career ended with eight consecutive finishes outside the top ten. 

This will be the first time since 1957 that the Indianapolis 500 will not feature a member of either the Foyt, Unser or Andretti families.

Along with the four rookies, Romain Grosjean and Katherine Legge return to the Indianapolis 500. Both last competed in 2024. Grosjean will be driving the #18 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing as he competes full-time. Legge will pilot the #11 Chevrolet run in partnership between HMD Motorsports and A.J. Foyt Racing.

What trends should we know for the Final 15/Fast 12/Fast Six?

Typically, topping the no-tow report in practice means you are likely going to make the Fast 12. With three more spots, there is a greater chance to be qualifying on Sunday. 

Last year, Kyle Kirkwood topped the no-tow report on the first two days of practice and then qualified 25th on time before moving up to 23rd on the grid after two Team Penske entries were penalized for modified attenuators found prior to the Fast 12 session. 

Kirkwood was the third driver since 2016 to top a no-tow report on a practice day and not start in the top 12. It was the second consecutive year it has happened. Colton Herta topped the no-tow report for one day in 2024 before he qualified 13th.

Based on average no-tow report position last year, only two of the top six made the Fast 12. They were Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin. Only six of the top 12 based on that average made the Fast 12. Robert Shwartzman's average no-tow report position last year was 13th-best over the four practice days.

Friday practice is the one day where every team will run with the qualifying boost levels of 150 Kilopascals (kPa). In 2024, nine of the top 12 from Friday practice made the Fast 12. Last year, seven of the top 12 from Friday made it. Those drivers were Álex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, Scott Dixon, Will Power, Christian Lundgaard, Felix Rosenqvist and Takuma Sato. The five drivers who did make the Fast 12 but were not in the top 12 on Friday were Shwartzman (13th), Newgarden (16th), Marcus Ericsson (19th), David Malukas (20th) and Patricio O'Ward (23rd).

The top five cars based on average overall practice session results made the Fast 12 last year, but only one other car in the top 12 made the Fast 12. Shwartzman was 32nd with an average overall practice position of 26.5. Rosenqvist and Sato both had an average practice result worse than 20th last year and made the Fast 12 at 20.5 and 21.75 respectively. 

The fastest drivers overall each day were Will Power Dixon (Tuesday), Álex Palou (Wednesday), Josef Newgarden (Thursday) and Scott McLaughlin (Friday).

Last year, Palou became only the second driver in the last 13 Indianapolis 500s to win the race after topping a pre-qualifying practice session. The only other was Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014, who topped the Monday pre-qualifying practice day.

Over the four practice days last year, Palou was third, first, sixth and third.

How much do testing results carry over?

Few would have expected Caio Collet would have topped the open test, but he did. A usual suspect was right behind him, Josef Newgarden. Conor Daly was third and not far behind those two cars was Palou in fourth. Hélio Castroneves rounded out the top five. 

The rest of the top ten is a pretty good list of drivers. Patricio O'Ward, a twice runner-up of the Indianapolis 500, was sixth. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato was seventh. The all-time leader in laps led in Indianapolis 500 history, Scott Dixon, was eighth. Then you had Team Penske's David Malukas in ninth and 2016 Indianapolis 500 Alexander Rossi in tenth. 

Outside of the driver at the very top, there were no other stunners in test and there was nothing being experience and success leading the way. Will anyone else breakthrough? There were some notable names down the order.

If there was any take away from this year's test, it was a number of teams were not running their dedicated Indianapolis 500 car, meaning it is hard to take the results as gospels. None of the Chip Ganassi Racing cars were their Indianapolis 500 cars, and Palou was still fourth overall was eighth. Palou was using the car he won with at Long Beach. If Palou is that quick in a car that was swapped from road course setup to oval setup, how good will his dedicated car for this race be? 

It feels like testing should be taken with a grain of salt, and we could see a shift over this week that counters the results of a few weeks ago.

Who wants testing results to carry over the most?

Jacob Abel, who was 12th overall in the test driving for his family's team. Last year, Abel was never close to making the field of 33. Many were intrigued with Abel ending up 12th, and it would be a big boost to his confidence and possibly his future if Abel can have a respectable month. 

Who makes a gain this week?

Take Andretti Global as an example. The three Andretti cars ranked 18th (Will Power), 27th (Kyle Kirkwood) and 30th (Marcus Ericsson). Andretti had a good race last year prior to Ericsson and Kirkwood being demoted from second and sixth respectively for illegally modified hybrid covers found post-race. Qualifying was not great for Andretti last year, and the team has not been the most competitive in recent years at Indianapolis. Does the team find something or will this year be another case of fighting from behind?

Scott McLaughlin was 15th overall. In his first three years, McLaughlin's pace was not the most explosive. In the last two years, he has been a proper contender. With his two teammates both in the top ten, it is likely we see McLaughlin move forward. 

Collet topped testing but his A.J. Foyt Racing teammate Santino Ferrucci was 16th. Ferrucci has finished in the top ten in all seven of his Indianapolis 500 starts. In the last four years, he has never started worse than 15th. Last year, he went from 15th to fifth. The previous two years saw Ferrucci start on the second row, and he was third in the 2023 race. In his first three Indianapolis appearances, he started 23rd, 19th and 23rd with finishes of seventh, fourth and sixth.

While Patricio O'Ward was in the top ten, none of the other three Arrow McLaren entries ranked in the top twenty. Christian Lundgaard was 21st with Nolan Siegel in 25th and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 28th. Last year, Lundgaard ranked 18th or worse in the first three practice days and still made the Fast 12. 

While Alexander Rossi was in the top ten, the other two Ed Carpenter Racing entries ranked outside the top 25. Ed Carpenter was 26th and Christian Rasmussen was 29th. After starting no worse than fourth in seven of ten Indianapolis 500s from 2013 to 2022, Carpenter has not started better than 13th the last three years. Rasmussen has never been a strong qualifier. He has started in the top ten in four times in his 38 career starts. Even at Phoenix in March, a race where Rasmussen led the second-most laps and looked to be the best car for most of the race, he started 18th that day, and the Dane has started 24th and 18th in his first two Indianapolis 500s.

Is Dreyer & Reinbold Racing legitimately quick?

In each session at the two-day open test, Conor Daly was toward the top. Daly led the morning session on the first testing day, and his best time was still good enough for third overall. Add to it, Jack Harvey had the fastest no-tow lap over the two-day test. 

Last year, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was on the verge of a stunning victory with Ryan Hunter-Reay in a backup car. Partly at the front due to fuel strategy and timely cautions, Hunter-Reay was holding a good pace entering the final pit cycle before the car stalled on the final stop. The year before that, Hunter-Reay made the Fast 12 driving for D&R and he ranked no worse than 14th over the four practice days in 2024. Daly was tenth in the 2024 race driving for D&R.

This team has only run the Indianapolis 500 since 2014. It has three top ten finishes in the last five Indianapolis 500s after having only one top ten finish in the seven Indianapolis 500s before that. Since 2021, D&R's average finish in the Indianapolis 500 is 16.556 while it was 19.9 from 2014 through 2020.

Daly joins the team on a run of four consecutive top ten finishes coming with three different teams. In each of those years, Daly has made up positions from his starting position, he has never started between than 11th. Harvey's "500" results are not as good. He has never started better than 20th for this race, and his lone top ten finish in eight starts was ninth in 2020. His only only finish in the top half of the field was 16th in 2018.

Who is not being mentioned that could receive more attention going into qualifying?

Marcus Armstrong was a real contender for the Fast 12 last year, and he possibly had the pace to make the Fast Six prior to his practice accident on Saturday morning ahead of qualifying. Instead of fighting to start on one of the first four rows on Sunday, Armstrong was fighting to make the race. He did with some comfort, but Armstrong lost an opportunity to be a factor. Instead of starting in the first third of the grid, Armstrong was 30th on the grid and he drove up to 18th. 

Armstrong was ranked in the top ten on three of four practice days last year with his worst practice result being 14th.

Who has yet to be mentioned?

For those keeping score at home, 28 of the 33 entered driver for this year's race have been mentioned. Who hasn't?

Kyffin Simpson, who was 30th in the test, and he has started 18th and 13th in his first two Indianapolis appearances. As a rookie, Simpson was the final finisher to complete all 200 laps, and he was 21st. As a sophomore, Simpson was caught in a turn two accident when Kyle Larson spun, and Simpson was out after 91 laps. 

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing does not have to worry about bumping this year, and it is probably happy it will not have to worry about it. While Sato was seventh at the test, Schumacher was 20th with Graham Rahal in 22nd and Louis Foster in 32nd. There is some breathing for Schumacher and Rahal. Foster would have been in a precarious situation and might have already been subconsciously preparing himself for a tense qualifying weekend. 

We have not mentioned Juncos Hollinger Racing! Rinus VeeKay was 14th in the test. Sting Ray Robb was 24th. After never starting worse than seventh in his first five Indianapolis 500 appearances, VeeKay started 31st last year with Dale Coyne Racing and was 27th in the race after spinning in the pit lane. Robb was also caught in the Kyle Larson spin and was classified in 23rd. 

Last year, Juncos Hollinger Racing picked up its first top ten finish in the Indianapolis 500 when Conor Daly was eighth. The team's average finish in the Indianapolis 500 is 21.3636. Even before the Team Penske penalties, JHR was set for its best starting position at Indianapolis last year. Daly slid up to 11th on the grid. Prior to last year, the best JHR starter in this race was 17th. Its average starting position is 23.4545 and a JHR car has started 26th or worse in six of the team's 11 successfully qualified entries.

What will this race mean for the championship?

It feels too early to say this race is a tipping point for the championship even if this is the race with the most points on the table. A driver could leave with a maximum of 65 points and could make up 60 points up on other competitors. 

There is no guarantee Álex Palou will exit Indianapolis as the championship leader. Palou is only 27 points ahead of Kyle Kirkwood entering practice week, and David Malukas and Christian Lundgaard are the only other drivers within 60 points of Palou, 52 points and 55 points back respectively. 

In all likelihood, either Palou or Kirkwood will leave as the championship leader. It will likely require a victory for either Malukas or Lundgaard to take the top spot. For the rest of the field, this is a chance to breathe some life into a title run. 

Josef Newgarden is 75 points behind Palou. Scott Dixon and Patricio O’Ward are 89 points back. Scott McLaughlin and Graham Rahal are 96 points back. The next closest driver is Marcus Armstrong, 114 points from the top. 

It feels like the top nine are the only drivers with a realistic title shot after the first six races, and if anyone wants to make a step toward a championship, they must have a positive Indianapolis 500. 

This is the seventh race of the season. The only times the “500” has been this late in the season was 2020 when the race was delayed due to the pandemic, and prior to that 1915, 1921 and 1922. There are still 11 races remaining after this race, which is not much different from most other seasons following Indianapolis, but there will be no greater chance this season to make up ground. Nobody can allow Palou to run away. 

Unlike last season where a Palou victory would be the knockout blow for the title in May, the championship is not as firmly in his control, but another triumphant May and the rest of the field will be staring at a long summer ahead.