Pole position for the 2024 Indianapolis 500 will be determined Sunday, May 19. The best qualifier gets to lead the field at the start of the May 26 race. Rows 1-4 and 11 will be determined today. Rows 5-10 are set.
Team Penske’s drivers – Will Power, Scott McLaughlin and defending race winner Josef Newgarden – had the best qualifying runs Saturday. Kyle Larson, who is trying to complete the Indy 500-NASCAR Cup double, also has a shot at pole position.
Alex Palou‘s pole-winning 4-lap average of 234.217 mph from 2023 is the pole position run in Speedway history. Arie Luyendyk set the qualifying record of 236.986 in 1996, but qualifying rules at the time dictated he start further back.
Please follow Nathan Brown all season for IndyCar news and analysis. We’ll have every qualifying run here.
First day recap: Team Penske, Kyle Larson headline Indy 500 qualifying, will go for pole position
What is a plenum event?Inside the glitch that hampered Chevy drivers in Day 1 of Indy 500 qualifying
5:50 p.m.: Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske dominate Indy 500 qualifying
Scott McLaughlin has the fastest pole-winning run in race history at 234.220 mph as Team Penske sweeps the front row for the first time since 1988.
Will Power and Josef Newgarden will join McLaughlin on the front row next Sunday.
The second row includes Alexander Rossi, NASCAR star Kyle Larson and Santino Ferrucci.
Penske drivers Rick Mears, Al Unser and Danny Sullivan swept the front row for Penske in 1988, and Mears won.
This is Penske’s 19th pole position here, and the first since Simon Pagenaud in 2019. Pagenaud is the last pole-sitter to also win the race.
INDY 500 LINEUP:A complete guide to the 33-car starting field
5:20 p.m.: Indy 500 Fast 6 qualifying
With car number, driver, engine, team, 4-lap speed average in mph
(3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Penske, 234.220
(12) Will Power, Chevrolet, Penske, 233.917
(2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Penske, 233.808
(7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 233.090 (“I’m annoyed, but I’m motivated,” he says of Team Penske)
(17) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 232.846; he thanks his team and is off to North Wilkesboro, N.C., for Sunday night’s NASCAR All-Star Race.
(14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, Foyt, 232.692
Track conditions: 90 degrees, sunny; track temperature 126.7
4:05 p.m.: Indy 500 last chance qualifying
Nolan Siegel, after being released from the infield medical center: “I’m going home because I did everything I possibly could. … It led me into the wall.”
Row 11 qualifiers: Katherine Legge, Marcus Ericsson, Graham Rahal.
With car number, driver, engine, team, 4-lap speed average in mph; drivers can make multiple attempts
Nolan Siegel crashes between Turns 1 and 2 on the 2nd lap of his final qualifying attempt and will miss the Indy 500. He gets out of the car under his own power. Along pit road, Graham Rahal, who qualifies 33rd, empathizes with Siegel. Rahal failed to qualify in 2023, but got into the race field after a post-qualifying crash involving Stefan Wilson.
(28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, Andretti, 230.027; bumps Nolan Siegel
(15) Graham Rahal, Honda, RLL, 229.974; Marcus Ericsson is out the outside of the field at the moment.
(51) Katherine Legge, Honda, Coyne, 230.092 (She has a wiggle on the warm-up lap, and almost loses control on Lap 4; post-race comment: “Terrifying,” adding she’s a big bad car racer who also wants to cry.)
(28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, Andretti, 220.702 (last lap is at 195.411; he decelerates heading into Turn 1 on Lap 4, believing his run is complete, and loses momentum); race officials disallow the run.
(18) Nolan Siegel, Honda, Coyne, 229.566
Track conditions: 88 degrees, partly cloudy; track temperatures 124
3:05 p.m.: Fast 12 Indy 500 qualifying
With car number, driver, engine, team, 4-lap speed average in mph; *-advances to Fast 6
Fast 6: Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, Will Power and Josef Newgarden, as well as Alexander Rossi, Kyle Larson and Santino Ferrucci. All are Chevrolets.
Row 3: Rinus VeeKay, Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist; Row 4: Takuma Sato, Kyle Kirkwood, Ryan Hunter-Reay.
(12) Will Power, Chevrolet, Penske, 233.483*
(3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Penske, 233.492*
(2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Penske, 233.286*
(7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 233.071*
(27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, Andretti, 230.993 (“I know we’ve got a good race car and good starting position.”)
(17) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 232.788* (“Happy with how the day’s going.” He plans to compete in the NASCAR Cup All-Star race at North Wilkesboro, N.C., later Sunday, but first he will be in the Fast 6.)
(60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, Meyer Shank, 232.305
(14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, Foyt, 232.723*
(75) Takuma Sato, Honda, RLL, 232.171
(5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 232.584 (“The happiest balance in qualifying” set up.)
(21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, Carpenter, 232.610 (“This feels like a bonus lap,” in the wake of Saturday’s early crash and recovery to reach the top 12.)
(23) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, D&R-Cusick, 230.567 (Post-run comment: “That was pretty terrible.”)
Track conditions: 87 degrees, partly cloudy; track temperature 124.5
1:45 p.m.: Last row qualifiers practice
Qualifying simulations: Katherine Legge (231.011); Marcus Ericsson (230.532); Graham Rahal (229.073); Nolan Siegel (228.955).
1 p.m.: Indy 500 Top 12 practice is complete
Here are the best 4-lap qualifying simulation runs, in average mph
- (3) Josef Newgarden, 233.707
- (60) Felix Rosenqvist, 232.848
- (3) Scott McLaughlin, 232.655
- (5) Pato O’Ward, 232.637
- (7) Alexander Rossi, 232.495
- (27) Kyle Kirkwood, 232.335
- (17) Kyle Larson, 232.091
- (12) Will Power, 231.688
- (75) Takuma Sato, 228.852
- (23) Ryan Hunter-Reay, 225.365
Kyle Larson acknowledges the constant tweaking in search of qualifying speed is frustrating, considering the qualifying process in NASCAR is much simpler.
12:30 p.m.: Josef Newgarden has top qualifying practice run
Qualifying simulations: Josef Newgarden (233.707) and Felix Rosenqvist (232.848) have topped O’Ward’s previous run.
NASCAR star Kyle Larson started a simulated qualifying run, but backed out after briefly sliding.
12:15 p.m.: Indy 500 Top 12 practice
Qualifying simulations: Pato O’Ward (232.637); Alexander Rossi (232.495); Kyle Kirkwood (232.335); Will Power (231.688)
Track conditions: 84 degrees, sunny; track temperature 114.4
Fast 12 Indianapolis 500 qualifiers
With car number, driver, engine, team and 4-lap speed average; all cars use Dallara chassis and Firestone tires (W-race winner; R-race rookie)
One round of qualifying will cut this group to the Fast Six, and a second round will determine the top six starters
- (12) Will Power (W), Chevrolet, Penske, 233.758 mph
- (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Penske, 233.332
- (2) Josef Newgarden (W), Chevrolet, Penske, 233.293
- (7) Alexander Rossi (W), Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 233.069
- (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, Andretti Global, 232.764
- (17) Kyle Larson (R), Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren 232.563
- (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, Meyer Shank, 232.547
- (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, AJ Foyt, 232.496
- (75) Takuma Sato (W), Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, 232.473
- (6) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 232.434
- (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter, 232.419
- (23) Ryan Hunter-Reay (W), Chevrolet, Dreyer & Reinbold-Cusick, 232.385
2024 Indy 500 last chance qualifying
Three of these drivers will comprise Row 11, and one will not make the race
‘It’s gonna be high pressure’:Ericsson, Rahal, Coyne compete for final spots in Indy 500
(28) Marcus Ericsson (W), Honda, Andretti Global, 230.603
(51) Katherine Legge, Honda, Dale Coyne, 230.830
(15) Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, 230.685
(18) Nolan Siegel (R), Honda, Dale Coyne, 228.276
2024 Indy 500 Row 5
13. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, Andretti Global, 232.316
14. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, 232.306
15. (6) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 232.230
2024 Indy 500 Row 6
16. (11) Marcus Armstrong (R), Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, 232.183
17. (20) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing, 232.017
18. (4) Kyffin Simpson (R), Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, 231.948
2024 Indy 500 Row 7
19. (98) Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Global, 231.890
20. (06) Helio Castroneves (W), Honda, Meyer Shank, 231.871
21. (9) Scott Dixon (W), Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, 231.851
2024 Indy 500 Row 8
22. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 231.847
23. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, AJ Foyt Racing, 231.826
24. (33) Christian Rasmussen (R), Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing, 231.851
2024 Indy 500 Row 9
25. (66) Tom Blomqvist (R), Honda, Meyer Shank, 231.578
26. (77) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 231.514
27. (8) Linus Lundqvist (R), Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, 231.506
2024 Indy 500 Row 10
28. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, 231.465
29. (24) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, Dreyer & Reinbold-Cusick, 231.243
30. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, 231.100
Indy 500 qualifying schedule, procedure
Listen to the action on IndyCar Radio or SiriusXM Channel 218
Sunday, May 19
(Practices will be on Peacock)
Noon-1 p.m.: Top 12 practice
1-2 p.m.: Last chance qualifiers practice
(Qualifying on NBC)
3:05-4:05 p.m.: The fastest 12 cars from Saturday will get one attempt each to post an additional time. The slowest of those 12 goes first, then the 11th, etc. Positions 7-12 during this sessions establish their starting positions for the race. The six fastest will have one more chance to earn the pole position.
4:15-5:15 p.m.: Last chance qualifying will determine the 11th row (positions 31-33). Each of the four slowest qualifiers from Saturday will be guaranteed at least one four-lap run. Any can make multiple attempts as needed before the clock expires. The slowest car in this session does not make the Indy 500.
5:25-5:55 p.m.: The Fast Six determines the first two rows. Each car gets one four-lap attempt, starting with the 6th-fastest from the 3:05 p.m. session, then the 5th, etc. Fastest in this session starts the race from the pole position, and the rest fill Rows 1 and 2 based their attempts in this session.
