Indianapolis 500 qualifying format, explained

Get ready for perhaps the most thrilling qualifying weekend in all of motorsports.

Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.

Over two days at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 34 entries will push their cars, and themselves, to the limit, trying to secure a spot in the field of 33. With 34 cars vying for just 33 spots, by the end of the day Sunday, one car will be left on the outside looking in.

Here is how qualifying for the 109th Indianapolis 500 works.

Full-field Qualifying
Saturday, May 17
11:00 a.m. until 5:50 p.m. Eastern

Qualifying begins on Saturday with the entire field taking to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hoping to book one of the 30 spots available. Only the Top 30 spots are solidified on Saturday for the field of 33. Cars that qualify outside the Top 30 are considered to be without a qualification speed and will wait until Sunday for a chance to clinch a spot in the field of 33.

Ahead of Day 1 qualifications, a blind draw takes place to determine the order for the first runs. Here are the results of this year’s draw:

Each car is allowed two warmup laps before their timed qualification laps, although a third warmup lap is allowed at the race director’s discretion.

A qualifying attempt consists of four timed laps, with the aggregate time recorded as the official qualifying time for the car, but it is their average speed over the four timed laps that determines their position.

Once each car in the order has been given a chance to qualify, two lanes are formed on pit lane. Teams may choose from one of the two lanes for their next, and any subsequent, qualifying attempt. Lane 1 is deemed the “priority lane,” and cars in this lane get priority access to the track ahead of Lane 2.

However, cars in Lane 1 must withdraw any previous qualifying speed to gain priority access.

Cars in Lane 2 have already qualified but simply wish to improve their position.

It is here that we should note that cars qualify for the Indianapolis 500, not drivers. That means that if a particular driver is injured ahead of the race itself, someone else can slide into their car, even if they did not qualify themselves in another car.

When this first session comes to a close, the Top 30 are set. The cars that finish between 13-30 in this session are locked into the Indianapolis 500 with a starting place secured. The Top 12 cars are still in the running for pole position, while the bottom four are not yet safe. With 34 entries for the 109th Indianapolis 500, the four slowest will try to secure one of the final three spots in Last Chance Qualifying on Sunday.

Top 12 Qualifying
Sunday, May 18
4:05 p.m. until 5:05 p.m. Eastern

Sunday is when the entire field is set, and one team gets some bad news.

It begins with the first of three sessions, the Top 12 Qualifying, shortly after 4:00 p.m. Eastern. The Top 12 cars from Saturday’s Full-Field Qualifying take to the track, with one of the six spots in the Firestone Fast Six on the line.

The cars will take to the track in the order based on Saturday’s results, starting with the slowest car and building to the fastest. The fastest six cars advance to the Firestone Fast Six to determine the top six spots on the grid, while the slowest six cars fill out spots 7-12.

Last Chance Qualifying
Sunday, May 18
5:15 p.m. until 6:15 p.m. Eastern

The bottom four cars from Saturday’s Full-Field Qualifying session take to the track for Last Chance Qualifying, with the last three spots on the grid available. Each car is guaranteed one attempt, and multiple attempts are allowed until the clock expires.

Until ten minutes are remaining in the session, an extra cool-down lap is allowed following each qualifying run, to help engine cooling.

Each car’s latest qualification speed is eligible for the starting lineup until that time is withdrawn or the clock expires.

With 34 cars in the field, this means one car is going to be eliminated by the end of Last Chance Qualifying.

Firestone Fast Six
Sunday, May 18
6:25 p.m. until 6:55 p.m. Eastern

The weekend builds to this session, when pole position for the 109th Indianapolis 500 is determined.

The fastest six drivers from the Top 12 Qualifying session are each guaranteed one attempt at a qualifying run. The order is determined based on the times from Top 12 Qualifying, working from slowest to fastest.