Indianapolis 500 qualification format, explained

How the field will be defined for the 109th Indianapolis 500

Prepare for perhaps the most exciting qualification weekend of all car sports.

Qualify for Indianapolis 500.

For two days at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 34 entries will push their cars, and themselves, at the limit, trying to guarantee a place in the field of 33. With 34 cars in the running for only 33 seats, at the end of the day on Sunday, a car will be left outside.

Here’s how the 109th Indianapolis 500 works.

Complete field qualification

Saturday, May 17
11 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. oriental

The qualifications start on Saturday with the whole field to go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in the hope of booking one of the 30 places available. Only the first 30 places are solidified on Saturday for the field of 33. Cars that qualify outside the Top 30 are considered as without qualification speed and will wait Sunday for having won a place on the field of 33.

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

Each car is authorized at two warm -up laps before its timed qualification laps, although a third warm -up round is authorized at the discretion of the race director.

An attempt at qualification consists of four timed laps, with the overall time recorded as the official qualification time for the car, but it is their average speed on the four timed rounds that determine their position.

Once each order car has had the opportunity to qualify, two lanes are formed on the lane of the stands. The teams can choose from one of the two ways for their next and any attempt to qualify subsequent. Way 1 is considered to be the “priority way” and the cars on this route have priority access to the track before track 2.

However, cars on track 1 must withdraw any previous qualification speed to obtain priority access.

The cars on track 2 have already qualified but simply want to improve their position.

This is where we should note that cars are eligible for Indianapolis 500, not to drivers. This means that if a special driver is injured before the race herself, someone else can slip into his car, even if he did not qualify in another car.

When this first session is coming to an end, the first 30 are defined. The cars that finish between 13 and 30 in this session are locked in Indianapolis 500 with a secure starting point. The first 12 cars are still in the running for pole position, while the last four are not yet safe. With 34 entries for the 109th Indianapolis 500, the four slowest will try to secure one of the last three places of the last chance by qualifying on Sunday.

Qualification top 12

Sunday May 18
4:05 p.m. to 5:05 p.m. Eastern

Sunday is when the whole field is fixed and that a team gets bad news.

It begins with the first of the three sessions, the first 12 qualifications, shortly after 4:00 p.m., the east. The 12 best qualifying cars on Saturday on Saturday’s field on the track, with one of the six places of the Firestone Fast Six on the line.

The cars will take the track in the command according to Saturday results, starting with the car and the slowest construction at the fastest. The six fastest cars advance towards the Firestone Fast Six to determine the first six places in the grid, while the six most slow cars fill the 7-12 stains.

Last chance to qualify

Sunday May 18
5:15 p.m. at 6.15 p.m. Eastern

The four lower cars of the full field qualification session on Saturday take place on the track for the last qualification position, with the last three places on the available grid. Each car is guaranteed an attempt, and several attempts are authorized until the clock expired.

Up to ten minutes remain in the session, an additional cooling lap is authorized after each qualification race, to help the engine cooling.

The last qualification speed of each car is eligible for the starting program until the time is removed or the clock expires.

With 34 cars in the field, this means that a car will be eliminated at the end of the last chance.

Firestone Fast Six

Sunday May 18
6:25 p.m. at 6:55 p.m. Eastern

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

The six fastest pilots in the qualification session among the former are each guaranteed an attempt to qualify. The command is determined according to the time of the top 12 of qualification, operating from slowness to the fastest.