102nd Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Preview

After four practice days and five practice sessions we have reached the qualifying weekend for the 102nd Indianapolis 500. Two drivers will not making it beyond this weekend but one driver will get the honor of starting on pole position. This year will see the pole-sitter earn nine championship points with each position from second to ninth in the Fast Nine session earning one fewer point.

Who is in Play For the Fast Nine?
Will Power had the fastest no-tow lap during Friday practice at 229.780 MPH. He was the only driver to break into the 229 MPH bracket while teammate Josef Newgarden was second-quickest on the no-tow board at 228.993 MPH. Simon Pagenaud made it a Penske 1-2-3 as the Frenchman was 0.136 MPH slower than Newgarden.

Ed Carpenter made it a sweep of the top four for Chevrolet at 228.740 MPH with Sébastien Bourdais the top Honda in fifth at 228.657 MPH. Spencer Pigot and Danica Patrick made it three Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolets in the top seven with Pigot at 228.424 MPH and Patrick at 228.284 MPH. Alexander Rossi and Tony Kanaan rounded out the top nine at 228.193 MPH and 227.996 MPH respectively.

Rookie Robert Wickens was tenth quickest on the no-tow board at 227.996 MPH with Hélio Castroneves at 227.895 MPH in 11th and Marco Andretti 12th at 227.817 MPH.

Andretti was the fastest overall on Friday with the American running a lap at 231.802 MPH and he was fastest overall on Wednesday as well. Andretti has been in the top five of every practice session this week.

Scott Dixon was 13th fastest on the no-tow report on Friday at 227.741 MPH and he was in the top ten of the first four practice sessions this week before being 21st on Friday. Dixon missed part of Friday's session due to a migraine. Matheus Leist was a confidence-boosting 14th on the no-tow report at 227.687 MPH with Ryan Hunter-Reay rounding out the top fifteen at 227.563 MPH.

One other driver to watch is Sage Karam. The Dreyer & Reinbold Racing driver had been in the top ten in three of four practice sessions prior to Friday but the Pennsylvanian was 26th fastest overall and 30th on the no-tow report.

Who is in Danger? 
Graham Rahal and James Davison were 34th and 35th fastest on the no-tow report Friday and each driver was 33rd and 34th overall respectively. Rahal's best no-tow lap was at 225.375 MPH while Davison was the only driver not to crack 225 MPH without a tow as the Australian topped out at 224.678 MPH.

Davison had an accident exiting turn two during the Friday session while searching for speed. Davison's car is undergoing repairs and if he is not able to make his guaranteed attempt during Saturday's qualifying session he will get a shot to make the field in a "Last Chance Qualifying" session on Sunday prior to the start of the Sunday qualifying session to determine the order of rows four through eleven.

Provisionally on the bubble was Kyle Kaiser. The Juncos Racing driver was 33rd fastest at 226.038 MPH. Pippa Mann was only 0.044 MPH faster than Kaiser. Jay Howard was 31st quickest, 0.100 MPH faster than Kaiser with the previously mentioned Karam in 30th at 226.302 MPH.

Jack Harvey was the slowest driver overall on Friday but the Meyer Shank Racing driver was 27th on the no-tow report at 226.610 MPH.

Rahal has had a perplexing week. While he spent two days outside the top thirty overall, he was fastest overall on Thursday. His teammate Oriol Serivà was fourth overall on Friday but 20th on the no-tow board at 227.168 MPH. Takuma Sato was 24th overall on Friday and 25th on the no-tow report at 226.827 MPH.

Who Should be Happy With Where They Are At?
Both Carlin drivers. Charlie Kimball has had a good week of practice and he was in the top ten on two practice days with Kimball fifth fastest on Wednesday. He was in the middle of the timesheet overall on Friday in 18th but he was 16th on the no-tow board at 227.406 MPH. His teammate Max Chilton has not been as good as Kimball with his best overall practice day result being 17th but he was 24th on the no-tow board on Friday at 226.845 MPH despite last year's fourth place finisher in the Indianapolis 500 being 32nd overall.

Dale Coyne Racing drivers Zachary Claman De Melo and Conor Daly should be feeling much better heading into Saturday. Claman De Melo was a late addition to the entry list in place of the injured Pietro Fittipaldi. After a few days to get his feet under him, Claman De Melo has warmed to the task and he was 19th on the no-tow board on Friday at 227.186 MPH. Daly was also toward the bottom of the timesheet in the early part of the week but he found some pace and was 26th on the no-tow chart at 226.752 MPH.

Who Has Not Yet Been Mentioned?
Stefan Wilson, Gabby Chaves, Ed Jones, Carlos Muñoz, Zach Veach, James Hinchcliffe and J.R. Hildebrand.

Their respective positions overall on Friday were ninth, 11th, 17th, 22nd, 28th, 29th and 30th.

Their respective no-tow positions on Friday were 29th, 28th, 21st, 17th, 23rd and 18th.

What is the Qualifying Order?
Claman De Melo is the first primary car in the qualifying order with Hunter-Reay, and Harvey next in the order. Castroneves is slated to be the first Chevrolet to take the track before Pigot and the ironic pairing of Dixon and Howard. Jones will follow before Rahal being the ninth qualifier ahead of his teammate Servià being the tenth qualifier.

Pagenaud and Hinchcliffe follow with Davison slated to go out 13th should his car be repaired in time. Bourdais will follow the driver who replaced him in last year's race with Patrick being the 15th qualifier. Kaiser, Chilton, Wilson, Leist, and Daly round out the first twenty qualifiers.

Rossi and Hildebrand will be the 21st and 22nd qualifiers ahead of Andretti and Veach. Wickens will go out 25th ahead of Chaves, Karam and Muñoz with reigning champion Newgarden following as the 29th qualifier and Power will be after his teammate.

The final five qualifiers will be Kanaan, Mann, Sato, Kimball and Carpenter.

What is the Weather Forecast?
Saturday calls for thunderstorms with an 80% chance of precipitation. Scattered thunderstorms are forecasted throughout the entire day with the storms likely not clearing the area until 6:00 p.m. ET. The high will be 80º F.

Sunday's forecast also has an 80% chance of precipitation with storms not starting until around 2:00 p.m. ET. and continuing into the evening. The high will be 87º F.

In case you are wondering, thunderstorms are forecasted for Monday but there is only a 60% chance of precipitation with a high of 81º F.

What is the Qualifying Weekend Schedule?
Saturday will begin with practice. The field will be split into two groups with one group practicing from 8:00-8:30 a.m. ET with the other on track from 8:30-9:00 a.m. ET before both groups will be allowed on track from 9:00-9:30 a.m. ET.

Day one qualifying will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET and will conclude at 5:50 p.m. ET.

Sunday qualifying could begin with a Last Chance Qualifying session for any driver that does not complete their guaranteed attempt on Saturday. Tentatively, Sunday qualifying will begin at 2:45 p.m. ET with Group One qualifying determining rows four through eleven. The Fast Nine session will begin at 5:00 p.m. ET.