Saturday Indy 500 Qualifying Sets Positions 13-33
The majority of the starting positions for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 are now set.
On the first day of qualifying for the 106th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, positions 13-33 were solidified before rain moved into the area. Drivers made their runs on the famed 2.5-mile oval, with some making multiple attempts after issues earlier in the day.
When Mother Nature ended the session, 12 drivers advanced to the final day of qualifying tomorrow where they will fight for pole position. Those drivers that will make up the first four rows include: Rinus VeeKay, Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, Alex Palou, Tony Kanaan, Jimmie Johnson, Ed Carpenter, Marcus Ericsson, Romain Grosjean, Scott Dixon, Will Power, and Takuma Sato.
All five Chip Ganassi cars made it in while Power was the only member from Team Penske. Ed Carpenter Racing and Arrow McLaren SP each had two of their three cars in the top 12. Grosjean was the only one of the five Andretti cars to advance.
Three of the top 12 drivers have qualified on pole here before. Dixon has four, Carpenter has three, and Kanaan’s lone pole came in 2005. Johnson and Grosjean will try to become the first Indy 500 rookie since Teo Fabi in 1983 to qualify on pole.
“What an awesome day here in Indy,” Johnson said. “Not only for the four laps on track, which were amazing, but in the quiet moments I had before my run. I was able to look around and take in the moment. What a special moment it was. I’m so lucky to be here, and things are looking pretty good for Sunday.”
The first driver that missed out on advancing was Sato’s Dale Coyne Racing teammate David Malukas, who will start 13th next Sunday. Joining him on Row 5 will be Josef Newgarden and Santino Ferrucci. Aside from Grosjean making the top 12, today was a brutal outcome for Michael Andretti's team.
Colton Herta's engine went south during his qualifying attempt and the crew was forced to swap it out for a new one in a time crunch. The team was able to get him back out on track but he simply didn't have the speed. He will start 25th behind teammates Marco Andretti and Devlin DeFrancesco.
“I’m hoping the engine just needs to be broken in a little bit,” Herta said. “It sucks that we’re 25th but I’m happy with the effort my guys put in to get me back out. That was the biggest thing, because we were going to start 33rd if it wasn’t for them. We’re not as quick as we thought we were, so that’s a little surprising.”
Alexander Rossi's bad luck continued last night when he grabbed number 32 in the qualifying draw. By the time he hit the track today, the conditions were at their worst. He was not able to put his No. 27 Honda up front where it should have been, and will instead start from the 20th spot. Earlier this morning, he stated that he had a car capable of sitting on the pole.
Marco had a wild first run, as his No. 98 Honda completely lost power at one point. He also didn't get up to speed to begin his first lap because Sato was still on the course. “I’m on the brakes on my warmup lap. I don’t think it’s very fair, it should never happen,” Andretti said. “I’m pretty bummed. You should never have to avoid running into another car on a qualifying lap.”
IndyCar officials made the decision to disallow Sato's run, and to give Marco another opportunity. Meanwhile, Sato had a memorable second attempt when he smacked the outside of the Turn 2 wall during his run. The car was no worse for wear and he was able to sneak back into the top 12, where he stayed.
Another team that had a horrendous afternoon was RLL Racing. Graham Rahal qualified 21st and was the fastest of their three cars. His teammates Christian Lundgaard and Jack Harvey will be starting on the last row. Graham had said multiple times this week that they don't have great qualifying cars but their race cars are going to be great come Sunday.
Team Penske does have one car inside the top 12 but the other two drivers may be the bigger story here. Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin were both just barely outside of the top 12 and decided to pull their times and re-qualify. McLaughlin gave up his 15th position but was slower on his second run, and ended up 26th. Newgarden was saved by the bolt of lightning that ultimately ended the day, and was given his previous position of 14th.
Helio Castroneves will have his hands full in his bid to repeat as winner and claim his fifth Indy 500 victory. The Meyer Shank Racing driver had a couple of close calls during his run and had to back out of the throttle. “The car is way, way too loose,” Castroneves said. He will be starting from the 27th starting position.
Stefan Wilson was not able to make his qualifying attempt today, and will start 33rd on Sunday. A gearbox error caused an imminent engine failure on the No. 25 Honda. Juan Montoya's car failed tech before qualifying began, and was the final car to go out. While his two teammates were inside the top three, the two-time winner could not find the speed and will start 30th on Sunday.
VeeKay had ideal conditions as he was the second driver to qualify. His four-lap average speed of 233.655 mph is now the third-fastest in Indy 500 history behind only Arie Luyendyk (236.986) and Scott Brayton (233.718). Earlier this morning, his team owner Ed Carpenter put down a 234.410 mph lap in practice. That was the fastest lap at IMS since 1996 and the eighth-fastest lap of all-time at the speedway.
There will be a 90-minute practice session at 12:30 tomorrow for the drivers competing in the top 12. Qualifying for the top six positions will begin at 4:00 with the Firestone Fast Six setting the front two rows, including pole position for the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500.
