We’re less than two weeks away from IndyCar’s biggest event of the season: the Indianapolis 500. While there are other races during the month of May, the shining star of the year has always been the 500. There are some differences in the Indianapolis 500, one of those being qualifying.
Today, Last Word on Motorsport breaks down the Indy 500’s qualifying procedure.
IndyCar 101: How To Qualify for the Indianapolis 500
Normally, IndyCar qualifies like most motorsports series around the world. If racing on an oval, single-car runs are made, and the fastest earns the pole. On street and road courses, two groups determine the even and the odd positions, with the fastest six racing for the pole award.
All that changes when the IndyCar grid heads to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Qualifying takes multiple days, and everyone faces the possibility of missing the big show. This is Indianapolis 500 Qualifying.,
Day One: Thirteenth Thru Thirty
Qualifying order will be decided by a blind draw on the day before qualifying starts. On day one, all teams and drivers will make a qualifying attempt.
A successful qualifying attempt is completed once a driver has an average time made up of four laps around the track.
Positions 13-30 are locked in by the end of the day; anyone who qualifies in one of these positions isn’t permitted to participate in qualifying during day two.
At the Indy 500, the starting grid is allowed to be made up of up to 33 cars. Any car that qualifies outside of the top 30 will have a second chance at qualifying during day two.
Day 2: Last Chance Qualifiers and The Fastest
Top 12 Shootout:
The qualifying order for the top 12 is based on Saturday’s qualifying results.
Each car is guaranteed to have one qualifying attempt. The top six drivers move on to the Firestone Fast Six while the remaining drivers make up the grid for positions 7-12.
Firestone Fast Six:
Positions 1-6 are decided during the Firestone Fast Six. The qualifying order is based on the lap times from the Top 12 Shootout, with the order being slowest to fastest.
Just like the top 12, each driver is given one qualifying attempt. The fastest driver at the end of the session will start on pole for the Indy 500, with the other cars filling spots 2-6 respectively.
Last Chance Qualifying:
Any entries that were unable to qualify within the top 30 move on to Last Chance Qualifying. The session consists of two or more drivers looking to secure their spot on the starting grid. Last Chance Qualifying can consist of anywhere from two or more cars.
Each car is guaranteed one qualifying attempt, but teams are allowed to send their drivers out to try and set a faster lap time until the session expires.
Cars are also allowed an additional cool-down lap in between qualifying attempts up until 10 minutes are left in the qualifying session. Each car’s most recent qualifying time is what will be recorded and used until qualifying ends or the time is deleted. Once positions 31-33 are filled, the remaining entries are bumped and are considered to be ineligible to compete in the Indy 500.
How to Watch Indy 500 Qualifying:
(All times are according to Eastern Standard Time)
Qualifying Day One will be this Saturday, May 17, 2025. Session one starts at 11:00 a.m. and will be shown on FS1. Session two is at 1:30 p.m. and will be available to watch on FS2. The final qualifying session for the day is at 4:00 p.m. and will be airing on Fox.
Qualifying Day Two begins on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Qualifying starts at 4:00 p.m. and will be aired live on Fox.
Stay tuned to Last Word on Motorsports for all the news from the 109th running of the Indy 500.
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Main Photo: Chris Jones, Penske Entertainment
Recording Date: 5/13/2025
