Track Walk: 109th Indianapolis 500

The sixth round of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season is the 109th Indianapolis 500. It has already been a hectic month of May. Two other races have been held. A full qualifying weekend took place that ended with a rookie on pole position for the first time since 1983. There has been also been controversy and two favorites have been booted to the back of the grid while a number of successful crew members have been fired prior to the biggest race of the season. Eight past winners are entered. Two have a chance to make history of their own. The other six looks to add to their legacies while 25 other drivers look to take the 76th spot in an exclusive club. 

Coverage

Time: Fox's pre-race coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. ET on Sunday May 25.
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, Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick 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).

* - FS1 will have coverage of all Carb Day festivities

Shwartzman's Sensational Speedway Start

Qualifying weekend could not have begun with a bigger shocker than rookie Robert Shwartzman and Prema winning pole position for the 109th Indianapolis 500. Shwartzman ran a four-lap average of 232.790 mph in the Fast Six session on Sunday evening, the fastest run of the session, and it claimed the first Indianapolis 500 pole position for a rookie since 1983. Prema became the first team to win the pole position on debut since 1984 when Mayer Motor Racing won it with Tom Sneva.

It was a stunner considering for Prema's first Indianapolis 500 attempt, it was late to the opening practice day last Tuesday. Shwartzman only completed six laps on the first practice day. He wasn't the slowest, but he was 33rd out of 34 cars, only ahead of his teammate Callum Ilott. With plenty of concerns over Prema's competitiveness entering this month, practice was not off the best start, but each day got a little better.

On Wednesday, Shwartzman was 28th fastest. On Thursday, he was 32nd overall, but on the no-tow report he was 14th, and he was sixth on the no-tow report on Wednesday. For Fast Friday, Shwartzman ran 13th on both charts, and seemed to squelch any worries over whether he and Prema could qualify for the race. Few could have seen what came next. 

Boosted with a fabulous qualifying draw of fourth on track, Shwartzman's first run put him comfortably into the Fast 12 session for Sunday, and his car never returned to the track after that first run. He ended third-fastest in the Fast 12 session to secure his spot in the run for pole on Sunday. The rest is history. 

Prior to this weekend, Shwartzman had not started better than 18th in a race. Prema had never started better than 16th. The team has yet to have a finish better than 18th in its first five races. Shwartzman entered this weekend ranked 24th in the championship out of 27 cars. His teammate Ilott was ranked 26th. 

A team that has been at the back of the grid is now going to be leading the field to the green flag for the Indianapolis 500, and with a driver who has never run an oval race before. 

When it comes to the previous four rookie pole-sitters in Indianapolis 500 history, two never made a qualifying run. Lewis Strang was pole-sitter for the inaugural race in 1911. The grid was set via the order the entires were received in the mail. In 1914, the grid was set via a draw. Frenchman Jean Chassagne drew the first spot for his first Indianapolis start. Neither led a lap. Strang completed only 109 laps and was classified in 29th out of 40 starters. Chassagne suffered a tire failure 21 laps into the 1914 race and ended up 29th as well out of 30 cars. 

The first rookie to win pole position via a qualifying run was Walt Faulkner driving for J.C. Agajanian in 1950. Faulkner ran a four-lap average at 134.343 mph. Like Strang and Chassagne, Faulkner never led a lap, but he continued and was still running when the race was called for rain. He was seventh, but three laps off the winner Johnnie Parsons. 

Prior to Shwartzman, the most recent rookie to start on pole position was Teo Fabi in 1983. Driving for Forsythe Racing, Fabi won pole position with a qualifying run of 207.395 mph. Not only did Fabi lead the first lap, he led the first 23 laps, but a bad pit stop and a fuel gasket issue took him out of the running after only 47 laps, and Fabi was placed in 26th. Despite not even completing a quarter of the race, Fabi was awarded Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. 

There have been ten rookie winners of the Indianapolis 500, but six of those came in the first 16 years of the race. There have only been three rookie winners in the last 58 years. Juan Pablo Montoya won it in 2000, but Montoya was the 1999 CART champion, and he had already raced on the two-mile ovals of Michigan International Speedway and California Speedway. He was more than prepared for his first Indianapolis 500 start in 2000. The Colombian started on second, but led 167 of 200 laps. He lapped up to seventh-place and won by over seven seconds to Buddy Lazier. 

Another rookie winner came the following year, but Hélio Castroneves had already competed in three CART seasons. He had made six starts in 500-mile races. Castroneves may have started 11th in that Indianapolis 500, but he worked his way forward and benefitted through some pit cycles to take the lead. Castroneves ended up leading a Team Penske 1-2 finish. 

Our most recent rookie winner was in 2016 with Alexander Rossi. Rossi was new to oval racing as it was his first year in IndyCar. His only oval start prior to Indianapolis was at Phoenix that April. Rossi had one top ten finish in his first five starts leading into his first "500" start. Andretti Autosport had five strong cars that year. Three made the top nine grid spots. The other two started 11th and 14th. Rossi had been running well until pit issues forced him back in the order. It left the team with no other choice but to gamble on fuel, and using the lapped teammates of Ryan Hunter-Reay and Townsend Bell to tow Rossi around, he ended up stretching his fuel enough to where he could coast to the checkered flag. 

The odds are stacked against Shwartzman entering this race. He is facing the unknown as is his team, but together they have already made one bit of history. Together, they have a chance to complete an improbable debut.

Team Penske's New Controversy

While there was much joy for the very front of the grid, IndyCar enters another Indianapolis 500 embroiled with controversy stemming from the series' most successful team. 

Team Penske was found to have had made illegal modifications to the attenuator at the back of the cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power ahead of the Fast 12 session last Sunday. When the alteration was found on the cars, Newgarden and Power were pulled from the qualifying line and disallowed from making a run for pole position. Newgarden and Power were placed 11th and 12th on the grid. 

After a night of deliberation, it was determined that Newgarden and Power would be moved to the back of the grid for the race. In addition to the lost grid spots, Newgarden and Power lost the points earned for making the Fast 12 session. Strategists Tim Cindric and Ron Ruzewski were suspended for the Indianapolis 500 and each entry was fined $100,000. Cindric and Ruzewski were both suspended from last year's Indianapolis 500 as well after it was found Team Penske had violated push-to-pass regulations at the opening round at St. Petersburg. 

On Wednesday, Team Penske fired Cindric, Ruzewski and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer. Moyer also served as race strategist for Scott McLaughlin.

Scott McLaughlin's car was also checked after his practice accident on Sunday, and his attenautor was not modified in any capacity. Since McLaughlin's car was within the regulations, he will retain his tenth-place starting spot.

Instead of starting 11th and 12th, Newgarden and Power will start 32nd and 33rd respectively. For each driver, it is their worst starting positions in the Indianapolis 500. It is also uncharted territory when it comes for Indianapolis 500 winners. No winner has ever started worse than 28th. No winner in the history of IndyCar has ever started worse than 28th and won a race. 

This has not been the worst season for Team Penske, but it hasn't been the best either. Entering the Indianapolis 500, Team Penske has gone winless through the first five races of 2025. Each of the team's three drivers has a podium finish, but none of the drivers have finished better than third this season. Newgarden has finished tenth or worse in the last four races, and he enters Indianapolis ranked 11th in the championship, behind Dale Coyne Racing's Rinus VeeKay in tenth.

Newgarden already has history against him as he is attempting to become the first driver to win three consecutive Indianapolis 500s. He is the sixth driver with a shot at three consecutive "500" victories. The first three drivers to go for it did not finish the race. Wilbur Shaw had an accident in 1941. Mauri Rose had a mechanical failure in 1949. Bill Vukovich lost his life in a fatal accident while leading in 1955. The last two drivers to have a shot at three straight finished second in that third race. Al Unser was second to Mark Donohue in 1972. Hélio Castroneves was second to Gil de Ferran in 2003.

McLaughlin has rounded into form after a last-place finish at Thermal Club with three consecutive top ten results. Power has finished sixth or better in the last four races after failing to complete a lap at the St. Petersburg season opener. In last year's "500," McLaughlin led 66 laps from pole position before dropping to sixth. Last season, McLaughlin picked up his first two oval victories, winning at Iowa and Milwaukee. The New Zealander has ten consecutive top ten finishes in IndyCar oval races dating back to the 2023 season.

Team Penske has its sights set on a 21st Indianapolis 500 victory. It would be the team's third consecutive as well. Six of Penske's Indianapolis 500 victories have been from outside the top ten on the grid. The worst starting position for a Penske winner was 20th with Al Unser in 1987. 

Palou's Run at History

Álex Palou has dominated the 2025 season. Four victories in five races and his worst finish is second. That gives Palou an average finish of 1.2, the best for a driver through five races since A.J. Foyt opened the 1964 season with seven consecutive victories. One of those victories for Foyt was the Indianapolis 500. 

A third consecutive championship and fourth in five seasons appears inevitable for Palou at this point. After Indianapolis 500 qualifying, where each of the Fast 12 participants received points based on their qualifying position, Palou maintained his 97-point lead over second. The Catalan earned seven points while his nearest championship rival Patricio O'Ward picked up ten points for qualifying third and he jumped up to second in the championship. 

Palou has 255 points with O'Ward on 158 points. Christian Lundgaard remains third in the championship on 155 points while Kyle Kirkwood dropped to fourth after he was unable to make the Fast 12. Kirkwood sits on 151 points. Scott Dixon rounds out the top five on 143 points. Palou is guaranteed to leave Indianapolis, and he will be guaranteed to be the points leader through Detroit if he finishes 20th or better on Sunday. 

For all the history in front of Palou, the biggest mountain to conquer remains the Indianapolis 500. He is one of seven drivers with multiple IndyCar championships that has zero Indianapolis 500 victories. He already has 15 career victories, tied for 30th all-time with Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya and Simon Pagenaud. Palou and Zanardi are tied for the sixth-most victories in IndyCar history without an Indianapolis 500 victory. 

Five drivers have won at east 15 races in their career before they won their first Indianapolis 500. Will Power had 33 victories in his career before he won his first "500" in 2018. Mario Andretti had won 22 times before his "500" victory in 1969. Jimmy Bryan was a 18-time winner in his IndyCar career before he won at Indianapolis in 1958. Al Unser, Jr. had 17 victories at the time of his 1992 victory. Tony Kanaan was also on 15 career victories when he won his Indianapolis 500 in 2013.

Palou enters Indianapolis with four consecutive top ten finishes in the event, and he has finished in the top five in three of the last four years. He already ranks tied for 56th all-time in laps led in the history of the event with 119, level with 1924 co-winner Joe Boyer. Palou has led more laps in the Indianapolis 500 than 29 past winners of the race. Only ten drivers ahead of Palou in laps led have never won the race. If he leads 31 laps on Sunday, Palou will become the 41st driver to lead at least 150 laps in an Indianapolis 500 career. 

A third consecutive championship would make Palou only the fourth driver to complete such an accomplishment. Of the three before him, only once did a driver win an Indianapolis 500 during that timeframe. That would be Dario Franchitti, who won the 2010 Indianapolis 500 in what was his second title season in a three-year run of championships with Chip Ganassi Racing from 2009 to 2011. That 2010 season is also the last time a driver has won the Indianapolis 500 and championship in the same season.

This will be Palou's sixth Indianapolis 500 start. The last driver to win at Indianapolis in his sixth start was Scott Dixon in 2008.

A Golden Opportunity

With no Team Penske car starting better than tenth, this presents a golden opportunity for a number of drivers to grab control of this race and perhaps be on for a special result. Four different teams were represented in the Fast Six and eight different teams made the Fast 12.

Arrow McLaren was one of three teams to have multiple cars make the Fast 12. Patricio O'Ward ended up making the Fast Six and took third on the grid, his best starting spot in the Indianapolis 500. Christian Lundgaard qualified eighth, 20 positions better than his previous best starting position in this race.

For O'Ward, the front row poses a key time to take control of the race, especially since he will be starting to the outside of a rookie making his first oval start and a one-off driver. He has already led 93 laps in his Indianapolis 500 career, and he has led in four consecutive "500s." The most laps he has led in this race is 39, which occurred two years ago. O'Ward was first or second in four of the seven oval races last season. 

Lundgaard not only has his best starting spot ever at the Indianapolis 500, but it is the first time he has ever started in the top fifteen for an oval race. While qualifying form was not his strongest on ovals, Lundgaard has a few top ten finishes on ovals. He was tenth in the first Iowa race in 2022 and ninth in the first Milwaukee race in 2024.

Felix Rosenqvist is starting inside the first three rows for the fourth consecutive year at Indianapolis. Fifth on the grid is the best starting position for Meyer Shank Racing at the Indianapolis 500, which aims to win its second Indianapolis 500 in five years. An engine failure took Rosenqvist out early of last year's race. A year before that, the Swede led 33 laps before brushing the wall exiting turn one and spinning into Kyle Kirkwood. In 32 oval starts, Rosenqvist has two top five finishes, fourth at Indianapolis in 2022 and fourth at Iowa in 2023.

Last year, David Malukas missed the Indianapolis 500 due to a wrist injury. This year, Malukas is starting seventh for A.J. Foyt Racing, his best qualifying effort at the Speedway. The Foyt team has had a top ten finisher in each of the last two years at Indianapolis. While Malukas was the top rookie finisher in 2022 in 16th, he retired from the 2023 race after brushing the barrier. In five races this season, Malukas' best result is 13th.

Marcus Ericsson was last-place in last year's Indianapolis 500. This year, Ericsson will roll off from the ninth position, the best Andretti Global starter. It is the fourth time in the last five years Ericsson is starting inside the top ten at Indianapolis. Ericsson has made 38 starts since his most recent victory at St. Petersburg in 2023. He has not been on the podium since he was second at Detroit nearly a year ago. This season, he opened with a sixth-place finish at St. Petersburg, but he has finished 20th or worse in three of the last four events.

Not all Indianapolis 500 winners start inside the top ten, and the driver in 11th has been a sneaky contender the last few years. Conor Daly has led laps in three of the last four Indianapolis 500s. In 2021, he led the most laps. Last year, he led 22 laps, the fourth-most in the race. Daly has finished in the top ten in his last three Indianapolis 500 starts. This 11th starting position matches his career best in this race, which came in 2019 with Andretti Autosport. Daly's best finish this season was 15th two weeks ago in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Last year, he started six oval races and he finished in the top ten of half of them, including a third at Milwaukee.

To Daly's outside on row four will be Alexander Rossi. The 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner has finished in the top five in the last three years of this race. He has led 93 laps in his Indianapolis 500 career, but he has never led more than 23 laps in one race. This is actually one starting spot worse than where Rossi won from in 2016. The Californian has gotten off to a good start with Ed Carpenter Racing. He has three top ten finishes from the first five events, but his best finish is eighth. Rossi has not won an oval race since Pocono 2018, 33 oval starts ago. 

Age Before Beauty

This year's Indianapolis 500 is one of the most experienced ones we have ever seen. With 31 Indianapolis 500 veterans on the grid, these drivers combine for 253 previous starts in this race. The record for most combined Indianapolis 500 starts in one race is 260 starts, which occurred in the 1987 race and the 1992 race. Six drivers are over the age of 40, and there are three drivers entered with at least 20 Indianapolis 500 starts. A fourth driver will join that 20-start club this weekend. 

There are plenty of noteworthy veterans in this race, including a pair starting on the first two rows, both past winners, and both looking for more.

This is the third consecutive season Takuma Sato is not competing in IndyCar in a full-time capacity. Despite Sato's limited schedule, he continues to show up each May and make his presence felt. This year, he qualified second despite the belief Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was languishing on pace. This is Sato's best starting position in his Indianapolis 500 career. It is also the fourth consecutive year and the fifth time in the last six Sato has qualified in the top ten. 

Sato won this race five years ago with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. In each of his first two Indianapolis 500 victories, he has started fourth and third. Now, he has a chance for a third, and it would be a historic victory. Not only would it be Sato's third time winning the Indianapolis 500 after turning the age of 40, something no driver has ever accomplished, Sato would become the oldest winner in Indianapolis 500 history, breaking Al Unser's record, which has stood since 1987. Sato will be 48 years, three months and 27 days old on race day, about four months older than Unser's record. 

Scott Dixon will start two spots behind Sato in fourth. For Dixon, this will be his 23rd Indianapolis 500 start, moving him into seventh all-time, and one away from entering into a tie for fifth all-time with Johnny Rutherford and Gordon Johncock. Dixon has already completed the fourth-most laps in Indianapolis 500 victory, and he is one of four drivers to have completed more than 4,000 laps, 10,000 miles in an Indianapolis 500 career. 

For all the records Dixon has broken and milestones reached, a second Indianapolis 500 victory is the one that has escaped him the most. He has finished in the top six in three of the last five years. He led the most laps in 2020 only to finish second. He led the most laps in 2022 only for a pit lane speeding penalty on his final stop left him relegated back in 21st. This will be his 17th start since he won this race in 2008. No driver has had more starts between Indianapolis 500 victories. 

This will be a record breaking weekend from the drop of the green flag for Dixon. He is set to make his 408th IndyCar start, which would move him ahead of Mario Andretti for the all-time lead. A victory this weekend would be the 23rd season in which Dixon has won a race, and it would be his 21st consecutive season with a victory, both record-extending.

Fighting From Behind

The Indianapolis 500 grid is deep. There are past winners and contenders spread throughout the field, and it is more than the two Penske cars on the last row. Some will have their work cut out for them for Sunday, but they will be up for the task.

Kyle Larson's sophomore Indianapolis 500 will come from 19th on the grid. It has been a more adverse attempt the second time around. Larson had an accident on the second day of the April test, and he spun and hit the barriers on Thursday practice before qualifying. Last year, Larson lost spots early after a bogged down restart, and he was shuffled back even further after a pit lane speeding penalty. In last year's race Larson spent 107 laps in the top ten, 12 of those were in the top five, Larson led laps 180 through 183 during the final pit cycle. 

Prema is getting all the attention for its car starting on the pole position, but the team has a second car in the race, and Callum Ilott starts 21st. In each of the last two Indianapolis 500s, Ilott has finished 12th and 11th. In 2023, he went from 27th to 12th. Last year, he started 15th. Ilott has been through his own struggles this season. While he was 19th at the season opener at St. Petersburg, he has finished outside the top twenty in the last four events. In 11 career oval starts, Ilott's only top ten finish was ninth at Texas in 2023.

This will be Hélio Castroneves' fourth attempt at his fifth Indianapolis 500 victory. This shot at five will be from 22nd starting position. In each of his attempts for a fifth "500" victory, Castroneves has started 20th or worse. In only one of those has he reached the top ten. He went from 27th to seventh in 2022. This will be Castroneves' 25th Indianapolis 500 start, and he has completed all 500 miles in 18 of his first 24 starts, including in the last five years.

Kyle Kirkwood entered qualifying weekend with great hope he would be one of the drivers to beat. Instead, Kirkwood ended up not making it to Sunday's qualifying Fast 12 session, and he will start to Castroneves' outside in 23rd. Kirkwood enters this Indianapolis 500 like he entered last year's Indianapolis 500. For the second consecutive year, Kirkwood enters this race having not finished worse than 11th this season. He ended up moving from 11th to seventh in the "500" itself. He led his first laps in the Indianapolis 500 last year when he led two. 

Ryan Hunter-Reay is back for his 17th Indianapolis 500 start, and he will start 25th, his worst starting spot since 2011 when he took over the #41 A.J. Foyt Racing entry from Bruno Junqueira after Hunter-Reay failed to qualify. The 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner has failed to finish in the top ten of his last three Indianapolis starts. He only has one top five finish in his nine starts since his Indianapolis 500 victory. This will be the 295th start of Hunter-Reay's IndyCar career. 

A qualifying accident on Saturday put Colton Herta in a precarious situation, as it was not clear if #26 Honda team would be able to build the back-up car in time for a qualifying run. The team was able to get the job done, but instead of shooting for the Fast 12, Herta was hoping just to make the top 30. He did, and after the pair of Penske penalties, Herta was elevated to 27th and the outside of row nine. This is Herta's worst Indianapolis start. In 2023, he was able to climb from 21st to ninth. Herta earned his first career oval victory in last year's season finale at Nashville.

The Weather Report

The forecast looks rather pleasant over the next few days in Indianapolis. 

Carb Day is looking to be a mostly sunny day, but it will be chilly early. At the time of practice, the high should just be breaking 60ºF but with winds blowing at about 10 mph from the West Northwest. Temperatures should climb to 67º F over the afternoon's festivities with the remaining consistent. Some clouds could come in later in the afternoon, but chance of precipitation on Friday stands at 13%.

Conditions should remains the same for Saturday with the high creeping up to 72º F but the chance of precipitation will drop to 4%. 

On unday, the day should be partly cloudy before becoming overcast in the afternoon. The high will remain around 69º F with winds blowing at 5-10 mph from the Northeast. The chance of precipitation does creep up to 15%.

Carb Night Classic

On Friday evening from Indianapolis Raceway Park, two of the three Road to Indy Series will be competing in their annual Memorial Day weekend event. 

In USF Pro 2000, Max Garcia enters as the championship leader after finishing fourth or better in each of the first eight races. Garcia has 202 points and he is 67 points more than Alessandro de Tullio, who had a tough weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with three finishes of ninth or worse. De Tullio had won three of the first five races while Garcia won the other two.

Ariel Elkin won two of the three races on the IMS road course and he is third in the championship on 143 points, three ahead of Mac Clark, who has six top five finishes from the first eight events. Clark won at IRP in 2023 in U.S. F2000. Jacob Douglas won the other race from the IMS road course, and he is on 123 points, two ahead of Max Taylor in the championship. 

Michael Costello has 108 points and is seventh in the championship, five points ahead of Jace Denmark. 

USF Pro 2000's Freedom 90 will be run at 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday May 23. Notable past winners of this race include Conor Daly (2010), Patricio O'Ward (2016), Christian Rasmussen (2021) and Louis Foster (2022).

Jack Jeffers took the U.S. F2000 championship lead with a victory and a third-place finish on the IMS road course two weeks ago, but Jeffers also benefitted from Liam McNeilly having visa issue prevent the Brit from re-entering the United States. McNeilly had won the first five races this season, visa issues will cause McNelly to miss this weekend's race from IRP as well.

Jeffers sits on 165 points with McNeilly two points back. 

Thomas Schrage won the second IMS road course race, and with five consecutive podium finishes, Schrage is up to third in the championship on 152 points. There is a 40-point gap between Schrage and Teddy Musella, who finished second to Schrage at the IMS road course. G3 Argyros rounds out the top five in the championship with 109 points. 

Evan Cooley has 97 points, ten more than Caleb Gafrarar. Sebastián Garzón has 82 points in eighth. 

U.S. F2000's Freedom 75 takes place at 8:30 p.m. on Friday night. Notable pat winners of this race include Spencer Pigot (2012), Kyle Kirkwood (2018) and Christian Rasmussen (2020).

Fast Facts

This will be the sixth IndyCar race to take place on May 25 and the first since Ryan Hunter-Reay won the 98th Indianapolis 500 in 2014.

Every IndyCar race to take place on May 25 has been an Indianapolis 500.

This year's race is on the 50th anniversary of Bobby Unser's second Indianapolis 500 victory, which was a rain-shortened race. 

This year's race is also the 45th anniversary of Johnny Rutherford's third and final Indianapolis 500 victory, the 22nd anniversary of Gil de Ferran's only Indianapolis 500 victory, and the 17th anniversary of Scott Dixon's first Indianapolis 500 victory.

The 1997 Indianapolis 500 was scheduled to begin on May 25 before being postponed to May 26 and then being further delayed to May 27. 

This will be the 178th 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 and Japan have each produced one winner. 

Ten of the last 14 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...

15 Americans..

Three New Zealanders...

Three Britons...

Two Swedes...

Two Danes...

An Israeli...

A Japanese...

A Mexican...

A Spaniard...

A Caymanian...

A Canadian...

A Brazilian...

A Dutchman and...

An Australian.

Israel becomes the 32nd country with a representative in the Indianapolis 500. 

This will be the 17th consecutive Indianapolis 500 to feature at least ten different nationalities.

Nine 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 and Alexander Rossi.

The drivers who could become the tenth driver to win on both the oval and road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend are Marco Andretti, Patricio O'Ward, Rinus VeeKay, Christian Rasmussen, Kyle Kirkwood and Álex Palou.

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

The last four Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year have not finished better than 18th. Eight consecutive Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year did not finish in the top ten, the longest streak where the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year did not finish in the top ten.

The average starting position for an Indianapolis 500 winner is 7.4629 with a median of 4.5.

Last year, Josef Newgarden became the first winner to start third since Will Power in 2018.

The average number of lead changes in the Indianapolis 500 is 14.0471 with a median of ten. 

In the DW12-era, the average number of lead changes in the Indianapolis 500 is 37.727 with a median of 35. 

The driver who led the most laps has won only two of the last 13 Indianapolis 500s, Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014 and Simon Pagenaud in 2019. 

The driver who led the most laps has not won the last five 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 7.6725 with a median of seven. The average number of caution laps is 43.6458 with a median of 42.5.

In the last 14 Indianapolis 500s, ten races have had more than five cautions.

This will be the 76th Indianapolis 500 victory for Firestone. 

This will be the 25th 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 16th Indianapolis 500 victory. Honda is currently second all-time in victories for engine manufacturers, 12 victories behind Offenhauser's 27. 

Last year, Chevrolet moved into third all-time with 13 Indianapolis 500 victories. It entered last year's race tied with Miller on 12 victories.

Predictions

We will see history made, and after so many recent close calls, Scott Dixon gets his second Indianapolis 500 victory on an already historic day for him. There will be four different teams in the top five, and seven different teams in the top ten. Robert Shwartzman will not finish in the top fifteen, but still win Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Will Power gets into the top ten. Josef Newgarden completes all 500 miles but does not finish in the top ten. Kyle Larson has a good day and finishes at least seven spots better than his grid position. Patricio O'Ward will lead the most laps. Álex Palou still finishes in the top five. Sleeper: Felix Rosenqvist.

The Last Straw: IndyCar Must Make Changes After Latest Team Penske Infraction

You would not expect for the second consecutive season Team Penske would find itself embroiled in another scandal with multiple cars found to have failed inspection for the same, somewhat calculated-looking, violation. Not only has it happened a second time with illegal modifications to the attenuator, but it happened in Sunday qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, intensifying the scrutiny about 100-fold from last year's push-to-pass violation. 

Josef Newgarden and Will Power's car were found with the illegal part ahead of the Fast 12 session, Initially, both cars were barred from participating in Sunday qualifying, placing the two cars 11th and 12th on the grid. After a night of deliberation, it was decided Newgarden and Power would be moved to the rear of the grid and take the 32nd and 33rd positions. Scott McLaughlin's car did not have a modified attenuator and was found to be legal. McLaughlin was able to keep his tenth-place starting spot.

Along with the lost grid spots, each entry was issued a $100,000-fine, and strategists Tim Cindric and Ron Ruzewski were suspended for the Indianapolis 500.

Though penalties have been issued, the wild fire has not stopped spreading. Questions over how long Team Penske had the illegal attenuator on the car immediately cropped up. 

Patricio O'Ward was defiant that if the cars were like that on Sunday ahead of the Fast 12 session, those cars ran with the illegal part on Saturday to make the Fast 12 session. Photos taken of Josef Newgarden's 2024 Indianapolis 500 winner, which sits in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum show the same modified attenuator on the car. Whether that car is unchanged from last year's race or it was built with other parts not used in the race is unknown. 

Whether the parts were on the car on Saturday is a moot point as IndyCar officials cleared the cars for qualifying in pre-qualifying inspection and in post-qualifying inspection after Newgarden and Power made their qualifying runs. In the eyes of rulebook, the Saturday qualifying runs were legal even if we are not sure Team Penske got away with one. 

The general belief in motorsports is everyone is pushing the limit of legality to maximize efficiency and performance. It isn't about obviously breaking a rule but getting the most of what is allowed. With all the focus that is put on a car for the Indianapolis 500 and the countless hours spent to massage these cars to eliminate as much drag as possible, stepping over the line can mean going over by a toe. It is still going beyond the limit, but it isn't leaping over with no regard for the line. 

After all, Team Penske wasn't the only team to have failed inspection over the weekend. On Saturday, there were two inspection failures that were caught. Hélio Castroneves did not pass pre-qualifying inspection and lost his spot in the qualifying line for the first run. Conor Daly was found to have his front wing be too low in post-qualifying inspection after his first attempt and lost his time, forcing Daly to run again. 

Team Penske is praised for its "Penske Perfect" mindset as it tries to get everything perfect with its machinery. If it sees a potential inefficiency on the car, it will try to eliminate it. The belief is the team will try and do it within the limits of the rulebook. A rule can be violated and not done deliberately, but intention is doesn't matter, especially when Penske has lost the benefit of the doubt. It is black-and-white in this instance. Was the attenuator modified or not? Did it go over the line? It was clear it was. 

IndyCar is not in an easy position when it comes to this penalty. 

As much as people believe Team Penske ran these parts on Saturday, the cars passed inspection multiple times. They were declared good to run and were declared fit after qualifying. No penalty can be issued for Saturday. The cars could not be kicked out of the race as they made the top 30 with what the official declared legal cars. The violation was found ahead of qualifying on Sunday. IndyCar can only punish from that point forward. They lost the privilege to run on Sunday, but IndyCar has muddy the waters moving the cars to the rear of the field. 

Much of what has been done has been based on emotion. It feels like everyone believes Team Penske got away with one on Saturday, but isn't that what everyone tries in inspection? Every team is looking to get that little advantage pass the officials. Every team would take that if it worked in their favor. Once Team Penske was caught with the infraction, people wanted to see a significant penalty. Keeping 11th and 12th on the grid felt like almost no punishment at all. The team lost the chance for pole position, improving its track position and the additional points from qualifying, but that was not enough bite. To make a point, IndyCar relegated the cars to the last row. 

None of those penalties matters, and none of it is enough to the other teams. No fine nor suspension can make up for the questions in IndyCar's integrity when it comes to enforcing the rulebook, especially when it comes to Team Penske running in the Roger Penske-owned series. 

The conflict of interest is too great to ignore. It has been since day one when Roger Penske purchased the series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the Hulman-George family in November 2019. As much as they have tried to balance church and state and remain fair, all sides have been failing.

While the modified attenuator might have been something that slipped pass the officials and it could have gone in the favor of any team on the grid, it also looks like something small that the officials let Team Penske get away with. Nothing looks innocent with this current dynamic even if it is not done with maliciousness. 

There is a good chance this infraction was down to a minor adjustment to help the performance of the car by scraping out every last bit of aero efficiency. It wasn't done knowingly breaking a rule, nor breaking a rule that would lead to a massive jump in performance. The crew was likely doing it fully intending to remain within the limits of the rulebook. One of the Penske cars was legal after all. If this was a team-wide effort to break the rules, wouldn't all three have had the same part? It suggests in two instances, the team went a little too far doing what every team is doing to find that little extra speed.

It is difficult to weigh a Team Penske infraction in 2025 IndyCar versus that of another team. Everyone wants blood but I am not sure the response would be the same if the same infraction was found on a two-car team that had neither car make the Fast 12. Extra is wanted when it is Team Penske. Last year's infraction also contributes to that sentiment. 

Last year's infractions should have been an infliction point for the series. This must be the last straw.

Changes must come, especially to the officiating process for the sake of competitive fairness in the series. Even if IndyCar officiating did not turn a blind eye to Team Penske breaking the rules, a team still appears to have gotten something easily noticeable through inspection and run with an illegally modified part. This infraction was spotted on pit lane by a rival team owner. This wasn't something hidden. The naked eye noticed it on pit lane. If that is not a sign that IndyCar officiating must shape up, I don't know what is. 

But this should drive further a greater need for independence in the officials who are judging cars owned by the same man who owns the series. At this point, IndyCar cannot afford another scandal where it looks like Team Penske is getting away with breaking the rule. Even if Team Penske is being punished, and it has for both infractions, it still looks like the organization is getting away with more than most. 

It is tough to do overnight, but an independent group of officials should already be in place to watch over the cars ahead of the Indianapolis 500 and for the rest of the season. At some point, there will be an infraction that shatters the integrity of the series, and no one in IndyCar can afford that.

There is no coming back from a third Team Penske violation of this magnitude, but it really shouldn't have gotten to a second to begin with.

Musings From the Weekend: I Feel Like Charlie Brown

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

Robert Shwartzman stunned us all winning pole position for the Indianapolis 500. Team Penske is in hot water, again. Dale Coyne Racing has a car missing the race, again. People got really sentimentally over what is likely Formula One's last trip to Imola for the foreseeable future. Red Bull hit a milestone. McLaren might have gotten in its own way. Ferrari bounced back from a poor Saturday. It rained in Tokyo. NASCAR held an exhibition race. Rally Portugal was demanding. We all know what this week is, but let's not pretend it is all roses. 

I Feel Like Charlie Brown

"I won't let all this commercialism ruin my Christmas," said Charlie Brown as he carried his Christmas tree back home after the others scorn its appearance at the theatre. It might not have been the shiny, aluminum tree others had become accustomed to propping up in their homes, but with a little decorating Charlie Brown's tree had the potential to be beautiful and bring joy to the Christmas season. 

I was not happy. It has not a happy period following IndyCar recently, but the negativity did not feel all that necessary. 

The age old problems have been there. The gaps in the schedule and lack of races early in the season. Calendar shuffles. Oval race instability. Rating woes. None of it is new. That doesn't mean they are fine, but they are not a surprise. We would love for those to be the opposite of how they are. It felt like we went through a period where everything was turned into a negative. 

Nothing was good enough. The races weren't good enough. Firestone wasn't getting the tire compounds right. The hybrid was to blame. That was the source for all the problems. Everything was going down the drain, but if you have been around long enough, it doesn't look worse. 

We have seen plenty of races where a pole-sitter gets jump on the field and leads 90% of a race before winning by over ten seconds. That is nothing new. We have seen dozens of those over the years. All the greats have won those kind of races. A.J. Foyt did it. Mario Andretti did it. We could list names all day. Why did it become unacceptable in 2025? 

Expectations are not realistic. 

We saw Álex Palou overcome a ten-second deficit in seven laps and pass Patricio O'Ward to take the lead and eventual victory at the Thermal Club. That is a kind of drive we rarely see. A race that was a near-certain result was flipped after the final round of pit stops in the closing laps, and Palou completed a magnificent drive that not many others could repeat. 

Instead of celebrating Palou, the crowd scorched earth over a race at Thermal Club. 

While the Thermal Club event has its flaws and does not match with the socioeconomics of the audience IndyCar draws, it shouldn't completely blind you of the race that took place. 

You can believe Thermal is a flawed event and its place on the IndyCar schedule should require the track opening up more to general spectators that are not members of the club for a reasonable price AND recognize that Palou completed a thrilling run while there were other good battles throughout the field.

Long Beach had one of its biggest crowds in the event's history. Kyle Kirkwood won from pole position but he had Palou keeping him honest over the entire race. Not the best race ever, but not the worst. Yet, there was more anger after that race. 

Palou stomped the field at Barber Motorsports Park. He checked out from lap one. However, there was great racing elsewhere. Christian Lundgaard drove up to second. Scott McLaughlin and the Dale Coyne Racing entry of Rinus VeeKay battled for third. Alexander Rossi and Nolan Siegel had a good battle throughout the final stint. You would like to see the battle for the victory to go until the final lap, but sometimes that isn't the case and the battles throughout the field make up for it to an extent. Barber wasn't any different from other Barber races. Watch the 2019 Barber race as an example. That was lost on a good number of people.

Introspection is not done enough. It is constant knee-jerk reactions, and it is mostly "bad, bad, bad." There is no room for the middle anymore, but the world remains rather gray even if black-and-white is easier. 

There are many things IndyCar must work on. It is frustrating that some issues have lingered longer than necessary, and confidence has been lost that series management can make a turn in an upward direction, but that shouldn't turn every race into a sulking session. 

Is it really that bad or are we looking for reasons to be angry? Therapy is not a bad thing, folks. Projection is not healthy. It also isn't fair. 

I am not going to let all this negativity ruin my Indianapolis 500. 

We do not know what the race will be like. I doubt it will be the worst I have ever seen. I don't think it will be the best I have ever seen either. It will be in the middle, and that is ok. There will be fun moments. It might be close to the finish. There might be a late pass. It could be the case where second-place just cannot make a run on the leader. We will live either way. 

Not every race can be an ultimatum on the series, life or death over how the series is trending. That is an exhausting way to live. Compartmentalize what happens on the track and what happens away from it, and remember to keep perspective. Is it really rock-bottom? 

It is ok if things are just ok. Not every race is going to be better than the one before it. That is not realistic. You must find a way to accept that and live in the gray. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Robert Shwartzman, but did you know...

Max Verstappen won the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, his second victory of the season.

Jak Crawford (sprint) and Alex Dunne (feature) split the Formula Two races from Imola. Tim Tramnitz (sprint) and Santiago Ramos (feature) split the Formula Three races. 

Stoffel Vandoorne and Oliver Rowland split the Tokyo ePrix.

Christopher Bell won the NASCAR All-Star Race from North Wilkesboro. Chandler Smith won the Truck Series race, his second victory of the season.

Sho Tsuboi won the Super Formula race from Autopolis.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (race one and SuperPole race) and Nicolò Bulega (race two) split the World Superbike races from Most. Jaume Masià and Can Öncü split the World Supersport races.

The #99 Random Vandals Racing BMW of Connor de Phillippi and Kenton Koch swept the GT World Challenge America races from Sebring. Memo Gidley and Kyle Washington split the GT America races. The #97 Random Vandals Racing BMW of Kenton Koch and Kevin Boehm swept the GT4 America races.

Sébastien Ogier won Rally Portugal, his second victory of the season.

Coming Up This Weekend

109th Indianapolis 500.

82nd Monaco Grand Prix

66th Coca-Cola 600

MotoGP has a holiday weekend at Silverstone.

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters will be at the Lausitzring.

First Impressions: 109th Indianapolis 500 Sunday Qualifying

1. Just when you think you have everything figured out, like manna from heaven, the unexpected falls into your lap. At the start of practice week, Prema was the last team on track, and not just the last team because of pit lane positioning or rules but the last team because its two cars were not ready for the first practice session on Tuesday. Not only were the cars not ready, the cars were not ready for a delayed start to practice! Rain had pushed back the track opening for two hours and 35 minutes, and Prema was still not ready to run. 

It was not a good look for a team many had penciled into the last row battle and possibly faced one of its cars being bumped from the race. 

Five days later, the last car on track ends up on pole position with rookie Robert Shwartzman, a driver who has never run an oval race. Shwartzman showed comfortable pace late in the practice week, and it kind of calmed any nerves he or his teammate Callum Ilott would be in the last row shootout. Both cars looked set to make the top 30. 

Then Shwartzman ran the sixth-fastest time on Saturday after being the fourth car on track. Alright, not bad. We have seen Fast 12 surprises before. Then Shwartzman made the Fast Six, aided a little with an absence of Team Penske due to two inspection violations and an afternoon practice accident. Either way, it was nine cars going for six spots. Shwartzman was not gifted a spot. 

Despite going against two past Indianapolis 500 winner, a three-time IndyCar champion, last year's Indianapolis 500 runner-up and a driver who had qualified in the top nine the past three years in the "500," the driver to come out on top was the Israeli rookie Shwartzman with a four-lap average at 232.790 mph, the first rookie to win Indianapolis 500 pole position since Teo Fabi in 1983. 

This is a stunning outcome. Prema faced a considerably amount of criticism during the preseason when the team separated from engineer Mike Cannon after a week together. The team was painted as to blame for Cannon's departure and it was labeled as clueless to let such a figure go as it was entering IndyCar. Many believed this team would struggle and Cannon would have lifted the team up the order with his expertise. 

It has been a tough season for Prema, as it has struggled to find speed and work through the teething issues of being in a new series. It hasn't been the slowest two cars and miles off the pace. It is struggling to be competitive like a handful of other teams in the series. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is where everyone expected Prema to face its greatest battle. 

The week didn't start out great, but Prema was holding its own. It wasn't slow. It wasn't in danger. Somehow, this team found more than everyone else, and it did it with the rookie who has never raced on an oval before.

Shwartzman entered IndyCar as an unknown. He was runner-up to Oscar Piastri in Formula Two in 2021. He won the 2019 Formula Three championship ahead of the likes of Marcus Armstrong, Christian Lundgaard, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. All of this success came with Prema. In the Ferrari junior program, Shwartzman had Formula One dreams, but the door never opened. He spent 2022 on the sideline as Ferrari's test driver. 

In 2023, Shwartzman actually tested for Chip Ganassi Racing that January in Sebring, and he was fastest in a four-car test with Kyffin Simpson, Sting Ray Robb and Dane Cameron in a Team Penske car. Despite that test, Shwartzman started dabbling in sports cars that year, running in GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. His big break was last year in the FIA World Endurance Championship running a privateer Ferrari 499P with AF Corse.

Results were good last year with co-drivers Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye. They were fourth at Qatar and won at Circuit of the Americas in Austin. When Prema entered IndyCar, it called one of its most recent young talents to join them in an unknown venture. It was a risk for Shwartzman, but this one day has made up for all the rough days over the first five races.

Robert Shwartzman has six days to prepare himself for the biggest moment of his career: Leading a field of 33 cars into turn one for the opening lap of the Indianapolis 500. Five days ago, that likely wasn't even happening in his wildest dreams.

2. From the youth and green face of Robert Shwartzman on pole position, to the experience of a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner starting second. Takuma Sato has put RAHAL LETTERMAN LANIGAN RACING ON THE FRONT ROW! 

The top two teams in Indianapolis 500 qualifying were Prema and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing? 

Are we sure? 

Five days ago, we were preparing for Prema and RLLR having last chance qualifying entries and battling not to get bumped from the race. Instead, these teams are starting first and second. Sato has been the strongest RLLR driver the last two years. He has carried the team. RLLR has some speed even if its other three cars are not toward the front. 

Sato ran four laps at 232.478 mph. Now a one-off, Sato remains quick and a third Indianapolis 500 is in his sights. 

Sometimes you get all the stories in qualifying. Prema pole position with Shwartzman. Sato second with RLLR. Something must give. This is great for this weekend, but the stories we really remember are made next week. Prema will be abuzz all week and it might be too high for its own good, but Sato and RLLR should be a little more centered. After all, they just won this race five years ago.

Five agonizingly long years ago.

3. Third on the grid looks a little more usual with Patricio O'Ward taking the outside of the front row at 232.098 mph. 

This is setting up to be O'Ward's race. He has a rookie who is diving straight into the deep end and a one-off entry next to him on the front row. I expected O'Ward to go right to the lead on the opening lap just to show dominance. Last year, O'Ward came painfully short of victory. He wants this race more than anything else in the world. This is a prime position for him, and he has a great chance to take charge early.

4. Scott Dixon leads an all-Honda and all-Chip Ganassi Racing-ish row four. Dixon was fourth at 232.052 mph. It was a little stunning Ganassi did not have the speed on Sunday. Álex Palou topped Saturday. Both cars made the Fast Six, but neither showed the strength for pole position. 

Last year, Dixon went from 21st to third, and he found himself in the conversation for victory in the closing laps. As close as O'Ward has been, Dixon has had about five close calls for victory in this race in the last decade. Dixon might not be the same force he once was, but he still has the ability to out maneuver whoever is in his way.

5. Felix Rosenqvist topped the Fast 12 session but could not find that little extra in the final round and his 231.987 mph average puts Rosenqvist fifth. The Swede has shown speed at Indianapolis the last few years, but he must make it to the finish. Last year, he lost an engine while the race was young. That isn't on him. 

The car is there, but considering what it takes to win the Indianapolis 500, we haven't seen Rosenqvist rise to occasions in IndyCar. He has a habit of qualifying well and then fading as races go along. I am sure he is hoping that history does not repeat itself.

6. It is hard to be disappointed with qualifying sixth, but Álex Palou probably believed he was the man to beat this weekend, and being fastest yesterday likely boosted his confidence. Ganassi might have been the team that did not much. After all, Prema did next to nothing ahead of today's qualifying sessions and won pole position. Palou wound up sixth at 231.378 mph. 

The focus is race. Palou has been on a historic tear to start the 2025 season, but he knows it will mostly be forgotten if he doesn't win the Indianapolis 500. This is the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth biggest race on the IndyCar calendar. He could win 15 of 17 races this year and most will forget about it before we even reach Christmas. This is the race that determines his legacy more than any other. 

Palou is a smart driver. He takes a sixth-place starting position and turns it into a victory more than any other driver. He is already over not winning pole position. He is already formulating his strategy to win the race, and it is likely going to be one that is difficult to beat. 

7. Absent from the Fast Six was Team Penske, and this Sunday turned into a rather conspicuous day for the organization as none of its three cars made a qualifying run. Scott McLaughlin had an accident in the afternoon practice session for the Fast 12. The team had no chance of getting a backup car ready for the Fast 12 session. 

Will Power and Josef Newgarden each had their cars fail pre-qualifying inspection and were not allowed to participate after a body fit violation was found on the attenuator. 

Gone was pole position. 

Gone was the Fast Six. 

Hello row four!

After last year's push-to-pass programming violation, Team Penske has been under extra scrutiny for anything it does. The severity of the infraction is not very clear, but it was not up to snuff, and many are suggesting this body fit violation was on the cars yesterday. Patricio O'Ward has already said the Penske cars should have been thrown into the last chance qualifying session. 

Infractions happen. Hélio Castroneves failed inspection before qualifying began yesterday and he lost his place in the first run through the line. Conor Daly failed after his first attempt yesterday. We don't know why those two failed, but neither was raked over the coals. Last year, Callum Ilott had his first run on Saturday disallowed when driving for McLaren. It just happened that both Penske cars ready for an attempt in the Fast 12 were found to have this minor issue but it was not compliant with the rulebook.

It would only be fair to believe all three Penske cars passed inspection yesterday after thorough inspection from IndyCar officials. The concern though is this was found on Josef Newgarden's car as he was going through inspection today. Will Power's car had already passed and was on pit lane. When they went to check Power's car on the grid, the attenuator was the same as Newgarden's and the team pulled out of the qualifying line as it had to make a change to the car, which is not allowed once a car passes inspection. 

The belief in major motorsports is every team is pushing it, and some violations aren't deliberate. There is no proof Team Penske got one pass the officials yesterday. The attenuator on McLaughlin's car was legal. It doesn't look like this was a deliberate effort from Team Penske to break the rules, but the benefit of the doubt has been stretched rather thin in IndyCar, especially after last year's push-to-pass infraction. 

This situation has not helped the perception of a Roger Penske-owned team not getting beneficial treatment in the Roger Penske-owned series. Obviously, the blind eye isn't being turned because Newgarden was disallowed to run today and Power was withdrawn from qualifying as well. Penske was penalized for its infractions last year. Team Penske is being penalized when found in violation of rules, but in the two most recent cases, the infraction has been found rather late in the game. 

The first instance was in the Long Beach warm-up session after Penske scored victory in St. Petersburg. The second was ahead of the second qualifying day for the Indianapolis 500 when Penske had all three cars advance to the Fast 12 after day one. 

This story is only getting started, and there will be more displeasure expressed in no time. For now, Team Penske has row four of the 109th Indianapolis 500 all to itself.  

8. Speaking of the fourth row, with none of those drivers making an attempt today, their order is set via their speeds from Saturday. That puts Scott McLaughlin in tenth, Josef Newgarden in 11th and Will Power in 12th. 

For this race, Team Penske is going to be fine. All three cars are going to work their way forward. It will at least be something to watch as the laps click down. 

McLaughlin will have his work cutout for him with a backup car. Team Penske did have a backup car ready in case one of its three drivers had an issue. I am sure that car will be in the ballpark. It might not be quite to his liking immediately, but McLaughlin will have Monday practice and Carb Day to get it into a zone. 

Newgarden has looked great all practice week. He is going to move forward and be a factor come race day. He was motivated last year after the penalties and the black eye he took. If you don't think he will be fired up on Sunday, you are mistaken.  

Power was only tenth after Saturday qualifying. We didn't see the Penske speed across the board. I have a feeling Power would have found something today if he had a run and he would have made the Fast Six. Last year, Power started second and he went backward in the race. I cannot imagine the team is going to repeat that performance in 2025.

9. We covered row four before we covered row three and all these individuals likely gained at least one if not three spots thanks to Team Penske's Sunday. 

David Malukas will start seventh. This has been Malukas' best event with A.J. Foyt Racing. He hasn't been outstandingly quick. At the end of no practice day did we compliment Malukas for his performance. I don't know where Malukas will shake out in the race. He hasn't looked like a contender, but he is closer to the front than most will be at the start, and the last time the seventh-place starter won the Indianapolis 500 it was a first-time winner, his team owner A.J. Foyt in 1961. That coincidence is falling in Malukas' favor.

10. Christian Lundgaard gets eighth on the grid, 20 spots better than his previous best starting position for the Indianapolis 500. Lundgaard has had a similar week as Malukas. Nothing all that brilliant, but Lundgaard has looked good. I am not sure anyone thought Lundgaard would make the Fast 12, but he had his best run come at the right time to sneak into the session. Lundgaard has been used to running at the back and watching himself at Indianapolis. Every year he has gained position. He should be comfortable in traffic, but he has never been this far up the order other than during pit cycles in this race. There will be plenty still to learn on the fly come Sunday.

11. And in ninth, the outside of row three, Marcus Ericsson will be the top Andretti Global car. Ericsson likely doubted he would be the top Andretti qualifier heading into Saturday. Being the first car on track yesterday likely gave Ericsson a top 12 spot. He hasn't looked all that competitive in practice. It isn't about what you deserve. Ericsson has gotten this opportunity, and he has a chance to make the most of it.

12. This might have been the most predictable Last Chance Qualifying session we have seen since this format was adopted ahead of the 2019 race. Marco Andretti ended up 31st at 229.741 mph. Marcus Armstrong was 32nd at 229.091 mph. Rinus VeeKay took 33rd, but not after a staggeringly stupid decision to withdraw his first run at 227.740 mph. 

VeeKay made a second run with just under six minutes to go. It was slower at 226.913 mph. The only save grace for VeeKay was he was against Jacob Abel, whose best run was a four-lap average at the 227.112 mph, but Abel had a hot car and the margin of error was next to nothing. Abel was unable to replicate that run and went 226.394 mph, missing the race. 

First off, VeeKay was going to be fine at 227.740 mph. There was no world where Abel was going to find over 6/10ths of a mile per hour over four laps to make the race. Abel was the slowest all week, and considerably slower than the rest of the field. It really feels like the team talked VeeKay into an additional run in hopes that he and Abel would knock down Armstrong, but that was never going to happen either. 

In no world was VeeKay going to find over 1.3 mph over four laps and Abel would jump nearly two miles per hour and run blindingly quicker than he has run all month to have both Coyne cars make the race. It wasn't going to happen. 

It is back to the drawing board for Dale Coyne Racing. Last year was bad with Nolan Siegel missing. To have a car miss in consecutive years when there have only been 34 entries speaks volumes to where Dale Coyne Racing is in the year 2025. That is without mentioning that this was the third consecutive year both DCR cars were in the last chance qualifying session. 

Dale Coyne Racing is being left behind. It had its glorious period from 2017 through 2019. It won races. It led the championship. It probably should have had an Indianapolis 500 pole position with Sébastien Bourdais. Those days are a distant memory, and they are not coming back anytime soon. 

Nothing is going to change. We have 40 years of history with this team. Those three seasons were an anomaly in the history of the team.

13. I don't believe Dale Coyne Racing will make the decision to withdraw VeeKay and put Jacob Abel with his Miller High Life sponsorship in the race. It has happened before. Twenty years ago, ten years ago, I think we would definitely see this happen. I don't think it happens this year, but it is possible. If it happens, don't pretend you were not warned. 

14. Qualifying weekend is complete, and it turned out to be an unthinkable session. Rookie pole-sitter. Team Penske controversy. A near bone-headed withdrawal. At least it wasn't boring.

15. Practice tomorrow. Practice on Friday. A week from now, we will be through the 109th Indianapolis 500. As quickly as it has arrived, the end is near. Summer is basically over, folks. Enjoy these last few days. 

First Impressions: 109th Indianapolis 500 Saturday Qualifying

1. For a first qualifying day where the final spot came down to a late Graham Rahal vs. Marco Andretti battle for 30th and Conor Daly made a last ditch effort to make the Fast 12, this was a pretty calm day, especially when it came to the Fast 12.

The fastest six cars today all had their qualifying runs come on their first attempt. Four of those cars never came out after their first attempt. Even then, eight of the Fast 12 made it based on their first qualifying time, and 11 of the Fast 12 drivers were in the Fast 12 before the first second attempt of the day occurred. 

The only change from the first run through the line to the end of the session was Kyffin Simpson was bumped from 12th and Christian Lundgaard took the final spot. 

There was hardly any drama for 12th until Conor Daly took to the track for the final attempt of the day. Daly was sitting in 21st and needed to find nearly 6/10ths of a mile per hour over four laps to crack the top 12. It looked like Daly was ruining the story as his run prevented Marco Andretti from making one final attempt to make the top 30. It turned out to be worth it.

Daly ended 0.0564 seconds short of making the Fast 12. Daly will start 13th, justifying his run, but that was closest it really came to feel like the Fast 12 mattering. 

2. The battle was at the back. For most of the day it felt rather incomplete because of Marcus Armstrong's practice accident and Colton Herta's accident on his first qualifying run. Half of the drivers on the outside had yet to complete a run for the first five-and-a-half hours of qualifying. The driver in 29th really didn't feel like 29th. We were playing the waiting game until those final two drivers came out. 

Sitting in the drop zone for a third consecutive year was Graham Rahal. Despite his teammates being spread over spots in the Fast 12 and with a cushion in the low-20s, Rahal was again on the outside and struggling to keep his car flat through the corners. On Rahal's second run of the day, he got in the top 30, knocking out Rinus VeeKay and putting Andretti between Rahal and the bubble. 

Colton Herta was the first of the repaired cars to take to the track for a qualifying run. With no shakedown laps on the car, Herta took a car that was meant for short ovals and put it 29th, knocking out his teammate Andretti, and placing Rahal 30th.

For one hour, Rahal sat on the bubble. 

Armstrong made it to the circuit, but did not have the speed on either of his attempts. VeeKay made a run at it and didn't come all that close. Abel waived off his second of two attempts today, and his only attempt to re-enter the top 30. Marco Andretti made multiple runs at it.

Andretti went out two cars after Herta and fell short. The car cooled and Andretti's fourth attempt was his best of the day, but at 229.859 mph, Andretti was 0.0028 seconds shy of the top 30. Rahal makes the race and gets a much-deserved Sunday of rest. Andretti will lead the four-car fight for the final three spots.

3. No one wants to be in the last chance qualifying session, but Marco Andretti should not panic. His fastest two runs were 229.859 mph and 229.857 mph. Of the other three qualifiers, the closest was Rinus VeeKay at 229.519 mph. Marcus Armstrong never completed a four-lap run, but you can afford one car to beat you in the last chance qualifying session. You don't want two cars to beat you and live on the bubble, tempting fate. 

Andretti should feel good even if it is a challenging situation. That car has the speed to make the field. Just don't over think it.

4. This must have been a difficult day for Marcus Armstrong because at the start of the day it felt like he would be a contender for the Fast 12. One practice crash and you are floating out in space. Perhaps you will land on the moon or you could float hopelessly into infinity.

Armstrong expressed confidence after he was cleared to return to the car. There are plenty of unknowns though. He did two runs. The first was clearly a shakedown run. The second started well but tailed off quickly. There will be a practice session tomorrow afternoon to get the car sorted, but it is a limited chance to get settled before the most pivotal qualifying run of Armstrong's career.

5. It does feel like one of the Dale Coyne Racing cars will miss the race for a second consecutive year, and it does not feel great for Jacob Abel.

The only four-lap run Abel completed was at 226.859 mph. The next slowest run was Graham Rahal's first run at 228.686 mph. Every other attempt was over 229 mph. 

The speed could be there, but that is a mighty gap for Abel to overcome. It is almost identical to what Nolan Siegel experienced last year. 

I am a little surprised Rinus VeeKay is in this spot. I knew VeeKay was not making the Fast 12 and keeping up his incredible tear of starting no worse than seventh in the Indianapolis 500. I thought he could qualify in-between 18th and 27th. Not brilliant but good enough to make the race. 

It is a little sad to see Coyne in this spot for a third consecutive year. Two years ago, both cars survived. Last year, Siegel was knocked out. This year, there is a good chance one of its cars will miss the race again, and that is kind of the sign of the times with the DW12 and this engine formula. It feels like Dale Coyne Racing is being left behind, and I don't see it coming back without heavy investment. 

6. We must acknowledge the possibility that it doesn't matter which Dale Coyne Racing car is bumped, and Jacob Abel will be in the race no matter what happens tomorrow.

For everything I have said about DCR being left behind, the team did get Miller High Life to sponsor one of its cars as a one-off sponsorship. Yes, it is as a tribute to Danny Sullivan's 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner as Abel, a fellow Kentuckian, is attempting to make his first "500" 40 years after Sullivan's victory. 

I cannot imagine Miller High Life not being in the race. There is a chance the sponsorship could just move to VeeKay's car if VeeKay makes it and Abel doesn't, but we should prepare ourselves for a backroom deal deciding the final spot on the grid. 

7. Let's move to the front of the grid. Álex Palou was fastest at 233.043 mph. Scott McLaughlin was net at 233.013 mph. Josef Newgarden was the third car over 233 mph at 233.004 mph. No surprises in the top three. No surprises in the top five with Patricio O'Ward fourth at 232.820 mph and Scott Dixon fifth at 232.659 mph. 

Pretty predictable. One of those five will likely win pole position tomorrow. 

8. The highlight of the day was Robert Shwartzman. The fourth qualifier of the day, Shwartzman ran a 232.584-mph average and he was never in doubt of missing the Fast 12. Add to it that Callum Ilott qualified 23rd and wasn't really at risk of the last chance qualifying session, Prema could not have asked for a better first time qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

This winter, when Mike Cannon left the team over a week after joining the Prema operation, Prema was criticized as not respecting Cannon, and many believed the team was making an uneducated mistake. The team was labeled as stubborn due to its European roots and unwilling to work with Cannon. 

How is Prema doing now? It has been a tough year for the new team. The results in the first five races have been poor, but in its first trip to Indianapolis, it put a car in the Fast 12 and neither car was at risk of missing the race.

I hope you are all enjoying crow.

9. David Malukas, Felix Rosenqvist, Takuma Sato, Will Power, Marcus Ericsson and Christian Lundgaard round out the Fast 12. 

Again, there was no real drama in the Fast 12 proceedings. Lundgaard was the one guy to squeeze his way in on an additional attempt, but that move didn't really make any waves when it happened. 

Eight teams are represented in the Fast 12. All three Team Penske drivers made it. Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren each had two cars advance. Then we have Prema, A.J. Foyt Racing, Meyer Shank Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Andretti Global. 

There is plenty of representation, and pole position will go to either Team Penske or Chip Ganassi Racing. 

10. We do live in this period of inevitability. We aren't going to see a surprise. Penske or Ganassi will end up on top. McLaren isn't really an upset if either O'Ward or Lundgaard wins please pole position. 

Felix Rosenqvist was eighth and four-tenths of a second off Palou's fastest run. He isn't overcoming that. Shwartzman's story is not going to lead in pole position as a rookie. Malukas isn't doing it. Sato isn't doing it. Ericsson is probably happy just to be there. 

Save your energy. Don't get too caught up in hope.

11. It was a good run from Daly. He has shown good speed all week. Alexander Rossi fell short of making the Fast 12, and for the first time in the team's history, Ed Carpenter Racing has failed to make the Fast Nine/Fast 12 at the Indianapolis 500. Nothing lasts forever, and Rossi will start 14th. 

Kyffin Simpson rebounded nicely from yesterday's accident in practice to qualify 15th. Simpson was never in danger of falling out of the top 30. That was a good response today. That is row five. 

12. Row six will be Ed Carpenter, Santino Ferrucci and Devlin DeFrancesco. Carpenter was fine. Ferrucci had better pace, but didn't quite get to that next level. He has moved up from starting spots in the middle of the field before. Ferrucci will be fine on race day. DeFrancesco looked comfortable for a team not known for its comfort in qualifying in recent years. 

13. Row seven features Sting Ray Robb, Christian Rasmussen and Kyle Larson. Robb had good opening laps on his qualifying runs, but the speed didn't last over ten miles. Rasmussen, the best finishing rookie from last year's race, is a spot ahead of Larson, last year's Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Oh, God works in mysterious ways!

Larson will have some work to do from 21st on the grid. It isn't fifth like last year, but I think this is a good thing. Larson will not be bouncing from Indianapolis to North Wilkesboro tomorrow. He can go to North Wilkesboro and not worry about Indianapolis. He doesn't have another qualifying run to worry about. This is a blessing in disguise. 

14. Row eight has Louis Foster, Callum Ilott and Hélio Castroneves. Foster looked good on each run. His first run had him on row seven. When he went out for a second run and got back up to eighth. Not bad for Foster. Ilott didn't have that same pace as Shwartzman, but I am not sure Shwartzman knew he had that pace. I think Prema would have been happy with Ilott in 23rd and if Shwartzman ended anywhere between 18th and 27th. This was a glorious day for the Italian team.

I am a little surprised Castroneves was not more competitive. He had to wait until the end of the first run through the qualifying line due to his car failing inspection prior to qualifying. His first run was a 229.634-mph average. That set the tone for his qualifying day. That time would not have cracked the top 30. He had to run fast enough to avoid the last chance qualifying session. It limits what risks to take. He got into the top 30 but wasn't pushing for much greater than that. 

15. This was a disappointing day for Andretti Global. Ericsson made the Fast 12, but Kyle Kirkwood was first, first, second and third on the no-tow report over the four practice days, and Kirkwood was never close to the Fast 12. He was 30th in the qualifying line. That didn't help, but the team didn't even find the speed on a later run to move him up the order. Kirkwood will have the inside of row nine in 25th. 

Nolan Siegel will be in the middle, and I am sure he is thankful to make the race after missing last year. I don't think he wanted to be the slowest Arrow McLaren car in 26th. Slowest and in 16th? Ok, not the worst spot to be in. In his almost full year since joining McLaren, Siegel is routinely way out of the picture from the other McLaren cars, more so than other drivers who have been canned for better results.

16. I am going to cover the two Dreyer & Reinbold Racing cars here, because Ryan Hunter-Reay will be on the outside of row nine and Jack Harvey will be on the inside of row ten. They went out sixth and seventh in the first pass through the line. They only had 0.0101 seconds between them after their fastest four-lap runs. At least the cars are even. I think D&R expected to be a little higher up the order. I didn't think both these cars would have been that close to the day one bubble.

17. This does feel like a missed opportunity for Colton Herta. Herta was fourth on the no-tow report yesterday. Andretti Global had high expectations to get at least two cars into the Fast 12. Instead, it has one car on row nine, one car on row ten and possibly one car on row 11 or missing the race. The team will have a lot of work to do on race day, but you are forgiven if you are already writing off Andretti Global for winning this race. 

18. Third time was the charm for Graham Rahal, as he locks himself into a top 30 spot and will avoid the last chance qualifying session. I bet Rahal wishes he was somewhere between DeFrancesco and Foster in 20th and far from this trouble spot. 

It must be frustrating to see Sato make the Fast 12 for the second consecutive year and have two teammates that are not blisteringly quick but at least fast enough that they are not in danger of having to run on Sunday. 

I don't know what Rahal needs to do. We know the team made changes ahead of last year, and last year was not much better. However, Rahal is the only RLLR driver sweating making the top 30. The team made steps this year. None of its cars missed the top 30, but Rahal still has the longest way to go. I don't know what he needs, but he must talk to somebody. 

I feel like there is mental block that is preventing Rahal from getting to a position where he can at least comfortably making the race. It feels like he knows he is so far off the top but every change he makes ends up making it more difficult for him to make the top 30. He almost gets in his way and cannot live with a 16th-place car, but the only direct he can go from is backward. He almost needs to work on just being average and accept that rather than being frustrated when things are not perfect.

Rahal needs an entirely new approach to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I almost want to suggest looking for a different team. Step away from the family team for Indianapolis only. It might be the only option at this point. 

19. I have written about this before. I think we need to limit qualifying attempt. There were 76 attempts made today. My issue is the number of attempts that were nothing. We had 12 waived attempts today. We had plenty of attempts that weren't changing much. Some of those waived attempts were Scott Dixon and Patricio O'Ward going out while in the top five and just shaking down the car for two laps. They had no reason to go out. They were not at risk of being knocked out of the top 12, and there is no incentive to be fastest on day one. 

I kind of wish a team had to withdraw its time to re-qualify. It makes these qualifying runs carry some weight to them. There is no reason for anyone to get jazzed up about Alexander Rossi making his fourth attempt of the day when he has failed to crack the top 12 on his first two additional attempts. 

There should at least be a limit so these teams aren't making minuscule changes and hoping for massive leaps in speed. There must be a risk to making another run. "If we waive this one then we only have one more shot at." If the attempts are unlimited, the teams aren't putting the best thought into their adjustments.

I think a limit will help teams. Now it feels like teams are just making minor tweaks and not getting anything out of it. If there was a limit, teams would have to really think about what they must do different to try and make the top 12 or top 30. I think we would have more educated changes to cars and we would see more movement. 

When cars are just constantly taking to the track and there aren't that high of stakes, it is pretty dull to watch over nearly seven hours. 

How about compromise? You get one attempt where you time is not withdrawn. However, you get two attempts where your time must be withdrawn. Each team gets a maximum of four attempts, and if they need to use their third, there will be some consequences. 

20. I was actually thinking about this on Daly's final attempt.

Daly took to the track and there was just under four minutes left. Daly left from the non-priority lane and kept his time as Andretti was not in the priority lane yet to block him. If Daly went out and spun on lap one, hitting the wall and ending the qualifying session with time left on the clock, Daly would have kept Andretti from a qualifying run AND Daly would have kept his spot on the grid. 

In any other qualifying session, if an accident occurs and it draws a red flag, that driver is losing out. If you bring out a red flag in qualifying on a street course or road course you lose your time. But for the Indianapolis 500, if you go out from the non-priority lane and have an accident, you are fine! Your time still stands, and you are still in the race. 

That is a little absurd because we could see an accident where a car spins, gets airborne, clips the catchfence and tear a large hole in it, the driver walks away and his fine, but the catchfence requires a lengthy repair. If such an accident happens with an hour to go, the session is over. No one else is getting back on the racetrack for the day. That one driver ended the session and ended a lot of hopes of making the top 12 or top 30.

That shouldn't be the case. It is something to think about. I don't think every qualifying attempt for the Indianapolis 500 should come with no stakes to lose, especially because every qualifying run takes over four minutes from the time the car leaves to start its out-lap to the checkered flag. It isn't a case where a qualifying run takes 40 seconds. 

Nothing will change until something happens. That is how IndyCar works, but this should be adjusted. I am not saying throw everything out. There is a lot of good with this system and I feel like this was the first time in about 25 years we didn't go into qualifying day with people asking what the format was. That is a victory in and of itself.

I am saying adjust it to make it better and clear up some of these grey areas. 

21. Onto tomorrow. The Fast 12 and the bottom four will each have their own one-hour practice session in the early afternoon. The Fast 12 session will begin at 4:05 p.m. The one-hour Last Chance Qualifying will begin at 5:15 p.m. with the Fast Six following at 6:25 p.m. 

22. For all that has happened over the last few days and for all the Indianapolis 500 qualifying sessions I have watched, I don't feel tense about tomorrow. There are not going to be any surprises. We know how tomorrow will play out. Use common sense and don't overthink it.

109th Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Preview

Nerves are a plenty ahead of qualification weekend for the 109th Indianapolis 500. This week's practice proved to be more trying than in recent years as teams worked to find the balance of the cars with the added hybrid system, as well as searching for the most efficient way to deploy the system while on a four-lap run. 

Uncertainty reigned when practice concluded yesterday evening. The security of a stable car that can complete four laps at wide-open throttle was not abundant through Gasoline Alley. A vast majority were unable to complete a mock run without feathering the throttle through a corner or two. 

Thirty-four drivers will be faced with having to complete a run even if it is not the most comfortable conditions, and the questionable conditions go beyond the race car. Mother Nature will not make it easy with winds expected to pummel every car that takes the track on the first qualifying day.

What is the Qualifying Weekend Schedule?

The track will open at 8:30 a.m. ET for a one-hour practice session on Saturday morning. It will be one final chance for teams to shakedown their cars before qualifying begins. 

Saturday's qualifying will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET and run through 5:50 p.m. ET. At the end of Saturday's session, the fastest 12 will be locked into the first four rows and will compete on Sunday over two rounds for pole position. Cars ranked 13th through 30th will be locked in their starting positions for the 109th Indianapolis 500. The slowest four qualifiers from Saturday will compete in the Last Chance Qualifying session on Sunday afternoon. 

On Sunday, the first on-track action will be a one-hour practice at 1:00 p.m. for the Fast 12 participants. The Last Chance Qualifiers will get an hour practice following at 2:00 p.m. 

The Fast 12 session will begin at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday. Each team will make one run with the top six advancing to the Fast Six round to determine pole position. 

At 5:15 p.m., the Last Chance Qualifying session will begin. Each team will get one guaranteed qualifying run, but the team's will have until 6:15 p.m. ET to run as many qualifying attempts as they can to make the race. The fastest three times will the 11th row for the Indianapolis 500. The slowest qualifier will not make the race.

The Fast Six session will be held at 6:25 p.m. with the fastest from this round winning pole position.

What is the Weather Forecast?

Overnight rain has brought cooler temperatures and faster winds to Speedway, Indiana.

Temperatures will be around 61º F for the morning practice session but winds will already be blowing at around 16 mph from the West under sunny skies. Gusts could get up to 40 mph over the course of the day. Some clouds should come over the circuit as qualifying begins with the temperatures around 63º F. It will be a slow rise in temperatures, but the high of 67° F will be hit around 3:00 p.m. Clouds should remain over the rest of the session. 

For Sunday, temperatures should increase as does the sunlight, but winds should drop. It will be around 67º F for the pre-qualifying practice session, but the winds will only be around 8 mph from the Southwest. When the Fast 12 session begins, temperatures will have increased to around 73º F but with winds remaining unchanged. The temperature should remain stable through the end of the qualifying session.

What is the Qualifying Order?

1. Marcus Ericsson

2. Patricio O'Ward

3. Kyffin Simpson

4. Robert Shwartzman

5. Alexander Rossi

6. Ryan Hunter-Reay

7. Jack Harvey

8. Christian Lundgaard

9. Marcus Armstrong

10. Graham Rahal

11. Nolan Siegel

12. Conor Daly

13. Felix Rosenqvist

14. Scott Dixon

15. Colton Herta

16. David Malukas

17. Santino Ferrucci

18. Will Power

19. Kyle Larson

20. Hélio Castroneves

21. Takuma Sato

22. Ed Carpenter

23. Marco Andretti

24. Jacob Abel

25. Álex Palou

26. Louis Foster

27. Scott McLaughlin

28. Sting Ray Robb

29. Christian Rasmussen

30. Kyle Kirkwood

31. Devlin DeFrancesco

32. Callum Ilott

33. Josef Newgarden

34. Rinus VeeKay

How different will this qualifying session be from previous years?

From what we observed in Friday practice, very. 

The extra weight from the hybrid session has made the car more difficult to handle, and a substantial number of mock qualifying runs yesterday were aborted out of precaution over handling. Teams will not have that option in qualifying. Only so many runs can be waived off before a time must be put on the board. 

It appears we will see drivers regularly pedaling the cars through the corners, especially at the end of qualifying runs as the tires wear. Times will probably be fractionally slower than what we saw last year, and it feels likely we will see a greater spread between the fastest and slowest qualifier. Last year, 2.8379 seconds covered Scott McLaughlin in first and Graham Rahal in 33rd, the fifth-closest field in the event's history. Last year's field had the second-fastest average speed at 231.943 mph, behind only 2023's average of 232.184 mph.

Last year's fastest lap in the Friday practice was Colton Herta was at 234.974 mph. McLaughlin ran the fastest lap yesterday at 233.954 mph. 

What we did see during Friday practice was drivers running faster laps on third and even the fourth lap of a mock qualifying run as the hybrid energy was deployed. Teams deployed the energy in different ways and at different times during a qualifying run. Unlike previous years when we kind of have an idea where a qualifying run will shake out at the end of the third qualifying lap, we could see a number of cars get a boast at the end of a run and be a spot or two higher than thought. 

Who is in play for the Fast 12?

It does not feel as obvious as some previous years. 

Team Penske should be fine. McLaughlin set the fastest lap in Friday practice. Josef Newgarden was second, third and first over the first three days. Will Power topped Tuesday and was second on Wednesday. 

When it comes to the no-tow report, Kyle Kirkwood was first, first, second and third over the four practice days. That is an average of 1.75. The next closet was Newgarden, who averaged a 7.25 no-tow position and who topped Thursday's no-tow report. McLaughlin was fourth-best at an average of 8.75 with Conor Daly as a surprise third on the no-tow average after running fourth, 14th, seventh and eighth over the four days. 

Though he was 27th in the no-tow report on Tuesday, Colton Herta was fourth, fifth and fourth over the final three days. Power had an average no-tow position of 13th, tied for sixth-best with Kyffin Simpson. 

Chip Ganassi Racing did not have a car ranked better than eighth in the no-tow report over the first three practice days only for Scott Dixon and Álex Palou to go 1-2 on Friday. Though they were not at the top of no-tow reports, Dixon and Palou were leading overall each day. 

Dixon had the best average overall practice result. His average was third after ranking fourth, fourth, second and second over the four practice days. Palou had the next best average at 3.25. He ranked third, first, sixth and third. 

Last year, nine of the Fast 12 participants ranked in the top 12 of average no-tow report position over the three practice days. Focusing just on Friday practice and the no-tow report, the top seven drivers in no-tow times from Friday made the Fast 12 and nine of the top 12 in the no-tow report from last year's Fast Friday practice session made the Fast 12. The other three were ranked 13th (Rinus Veekay), 15th (Kyle Larson) and 18th (Ryan Hunter-Reay).

The top 12 in the no-tow report in this year's Friday practice session were Dixon, Palou, Kirkwood, Herta, McLaughlin, Power, Christian Lundgaard, Daly, Marcus Armstrong, Sting Ray Robb, Felix Rosenqvist and Takuma Sato. 

What will it take to clinch the top 30?

It required a four-lap average at 231.100 mph to make the top 30 last year. In 2023, it required a four-lap average of 231.070 mph to make the top 30.

With how Friday practice played out, I don't know if that many drivers can put up four-lap runs over 231 mph. If anything, we will see the four-lap averages to make the top 30 drop by a good margin. Drivers were struggling to complete one lap at 230 mph, let alone complete a four-lap run at that speed. 

It is kind of an open door as to what the floor will be to avoid the Last Chance Qualifying session. If a number of drivers are struggling to hold the throttle flat over an entire run, it will be a slower speed than recent years. It could be a four-lap average in the 228-mph range if multiple drivers are struggling with handling. 

We could see a number of drivers call it a day if his first attempt is solid and he was able to at least limit the number of times he lifted over a qualifying run.

Who is in the most danger of missing the 109th Indianapolis 500?

Like the top of the list, it is not as clear as previous years. 

The two names we are most concerned about are Kyffin Simpson and Kyle Larson, the two drivers who suffered accidents in Friday practice. 

Simpson spun in turn four and smacked the outside and inside walls, writing off his car and leaving him with his backup car, which was used during the April test. Larson spun in turn three and hit the wall square with the front before hitting the wall square with the rear in the middle of turn four.

There are fewer concerns with Larson because his car was lightly damaged in comparison with Simpson's car. Larson's damage was mostly to the front and rear wings and attenuator, quick repairs as the chassis remained undamaged. All were fixed and Larson was able to return to the track with 30 minutes remaining in Friday practice for a shakedown. 

While Simpson had ranked in the top ten of the no-tow report over the first two days, he ranked 22nd, 27th and 21st overall over the first three days. We saw last year Marcus Ericsson went from a comfortable qualifier to someone who had to sweat out the last chance qualifying session after he had an accident in practice. 

Going on the speeds alone, it is not as clear, nor did anyone look all that worried throughout practice week.

Based on the average no-tow report result, the bottom six drivers were Callum Ilott (23.5), Nolan Siegel (24), Ryan Hunter-Reay (24.25), Rinus VeeKay (24.25), Santino Ferrucci (24.333) and Jack Harvey (26.26). Larson was just ahead of this group at 22.25, but his 33rd from the Friday no-tow report does knock him down. His average over the first three days was 18.667. 

When it comes the average overall results, the bottom six were Jacob Abel (25.25), Simpson (26), Graham Rahal (26.25), Robert Shwartzman (26.5), Ilott (28.5) and Ferrucci (29.5).

We entered this weekend concerned about Prema in its Indianapolis debut, and the results didn't look great at the start, nor did the lack of laps run on Tuesday, but the team has sounded quietly sure of themselves. Shwartzman's Friday boasted the team's confidence as he was 13th overall and 13th in the no-tow report. The Israeli driver ranked sixth and 14th in the no-tow report over Wednesday and Thursday. 

Despite having three years of experience at Indianapolis, Ilott is in a sketchy position. Prema has some speed, but is it enough for both cars to be securely in the race? 

Santino Ferrucci was the most vocally upset about his car this week, but the team seemed to turn a curve on Thursday, reverting back to some old setups.  

The next most upset was Graham Rahal, though he appeared to also feel more comfortable by the end of Friday.

While Dale Coyne Racing has not been bad, it also hasn't been as strong as they would appear. Rinus VeeKay was 13th overall on Thursday, but he was 24th or worse overall in the other three days. Jacob Abel was not better than 20th overall during the four practice days, and Abel was 23rd and 26th in the no-tow report the final two days.

Who got a favorable qualifying draw?

Patricio O'Ward, and McLaren as a whole, has not shown threatening speed this month, so getting second on the track might be a good pull for him. The same is true for Christian Lundgaard rolling out in eighth. 

Shwartzman is going out fourth. He could make his day with one strong run early and then he can breathe for the rest of the afternoon. 

Alexander Rossi has looked good, but not great this weekend, and the no-tow speed was not shown on Thursday or Friday. Going out fifth could lift his efforts of being a Fast 12 surprise. 

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing has its two cars going out sixth and seventh with Ryan Hunter-Reay ahead of Jack Harvey. Hunter-Reay might not be able to repeat his Fast 12 performance of a year ago, but both cars are in a position to make the most of the conditions and put themselves solidly in the field.

Marcus Armstrong is a sleeper for the Fast 12, and going out ninth could put him high up the order early. Armstrong's average overall position from practice was 9.5 as he had three days ranked in the top ten. His was ninth on the no-tow report on Friday.

Graham Rahal should feel good being the tenth car out. If Rahal can put together a run that is faster than Kyffin Simpson and the two Dreyer & Reinbold cars going out before him, he should be pleased with how his qualifying effort will fall.

Who is handcuffed thanks to the qualifying draw?

Simpson drew third last year, and it helped him avoid the last row battle. This year, drawing third could be another blessing but if the team is not ready with his repaired car, it could mean Simpson will be unable to take his spot in line and he will have to wait until the other 33 cars go through the qualifying line. That is a difference of starting a qualifying run around 11:08 a.m. or around 1:15 p.m. 

A handful of quick cars are going out late. Álex Palou is going out 25th, two cars before Scott McLaughlin. Kyle Kirkwood is 30th and Josef Newgarden is 33rd. It will be early in the afternoon, but the track temperature will continue to rise as these four are due to take to the circuit. All four may forgo their spot in line and wait to make their first qualifying run until conditions improve later in the afternoon. 

When it comes to the last row battle, the draw was not kind to Louis Foster (26th), Devlin DeFrancesco (31st), Ilott (32nd) and Rinus VeeKay (34th).

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Dale Coyne Racing has had at least one participant in the Last Chance Qualifying session in each of the last two years. Each team has had a car fail to qualify in the last two years. Going out late is not what these teams would have hoped for. It doesn't help DCR that Jacob Abel is going out 24th either.  

For RLLR, there is some hope that a good run early from Rahal could guide the team as its other cars wait to qualify.

What Does the Qualifying Order Tell Us?

Last year, 20 of the top 30 at the end of Saturday qualifying made it based on their first attempt speed. Of the Fast 12, six made it based on their first qualifying run. Four of those times were among the first ten drivers in the qualifying order.

Will Power set the fastest time after being ninth in line. Scott McLaughlin was second in line and second fastest on Saturday. Josef Newgarden was tenth on track and third at the end first day Kyle Kirkwood was the first qualifier and his time stood to be fifth-quickest on the day.

The other two drivers to make the Fast 12 based on their first qualifying attempt were Felix Rosenqvist (24th in line) and Santino Ferrucci (13th). 

Alexander Rossi's first qualifying run would have been fastest to make the Fast 12, however, Rossi's first qualifying run did not come in its scheduled spot. Rossi was one of four drivers last year to pull out of line and forgo his scheduled first attempt. Coincidentally, Rossi drew 34th last year. It wasn't that significant of a delay until his actual first attempt. Rossi's first attempt put him fourth, and his second attempt remained fourth, but improved by 0.107 mph.

This was the second consecutive year that half of the Fast 12 made it based on their first qualifying run, but the big difference from 2023 to 2024 is where those drivers came in the qualifying order. 

In 2023, only one of those six drivers drew in the first ten cars. Four of those qualifiers drew 21st or later in the qualifying line. 

Four of the Fast 12 made it on their second attempt. Patricio O'Ward made it on his third, and Rinus VeeKay made it on his fourth attempt after he had an accident on his first run.

Of the ten drivers who made the top 30 last year based on an additional qualifying run, seven made it based on their second run, two made it based on their third, and VeeKay was the only one to lock up a spot based on his fourth attempt. 

Seventy-four qualifying runs were attempted last year on Saturday, 19 of which were waved off, and one of which was disallowed. Callum Ilott's first attempt, a four-lap average of 231.995 mph, was taken off the board after his car failed inspection for an illegal left-rear wheel offset. That run would have been good enough for 18th on Saturday had it been allowed to stand.