The pole position for the 2023 Indianapolis 500 will be determined on Sunday, May 21. The top qualifier will lead the field at the start of the May 28 race. Rows 1-4 and 11 will be decided today. 5-10 rows are set.
Felix Rosenqvist had the third-fastest qualifying run in Indy 500 history on Saturday, leading a strong Arrow McLaren team into the Fast 12. At the other end of the grid, three of the four Rahal Letterman Lanigan cars will try to avoid one. The car hit from the field.
Scott Dixon’s 2022 winning 4-lap average of 234.046 mph was the 2nd fastest qualifying lap in speedway history. Ari Luyendyk set the qualifying record of 236.986 in 1996.
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Saturday’s Play:Indianapolis 500 qualified at IMS
internal:Christian Lundgaard’s situation is one of many nail-biters at IMS
5 p.m.: Line 11 is set for the 2023 Indy 500
11th row: Christian Lundgaard, Sting Ray Robb, Jack Harvey. Graham Rahal is out.
Graham Rahal: “Everybody put a lot into this. We just got here. … This place, it doesn’t come easy, it just doesn’t happen.”
“I knew we were in trouble from the beginning (of the week).”
Jack Harvey: “You don’t want to knock out a teammate. The goal was to get all three cars in.”
4 p.m.: Last chance to qualify for the 2023 Indy 500
Driver, at 4-lap qualifying average mph
Jack Harvey, 229.166, just ahead of Graham Rahal’s 229.156. Rahal left.
Jack Harvey, 228.929. He improves almost a half-mile, but is not fast enough to enter the field.
Team owner Bobby Rahal on what he expects from Jack Harvey’s strategy: “You wait as long as you can so someone else doesn’t go out.” If Harvey gets back in, Graham Rahal – Bobby’s son – is out. Harvey, Rahal and Christian Lundgaard are Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s teammates.
After one round of LCQ, Jack Harvey dropped out of the field. Drivers have until 5pm ET to make qualifying attempts.
Graham Rahal, 229.159
Jack Harvey, 228.477
Sting Ray Rob, 229.549
Christian Lundgaard, 229,649
conditions: 78 degrees (124 degree track temperature), sunny, light north wind.
2:55 pm: Fast six set
Moving on to Fast Six: Felix Rosenqvist, Santinio Ferrucci, Rinus Weike, Alex Palo, Scott Dixon and Pado O’Ward. Ferrucci, driving for AJ Foyt Racing, made a huge move after finishing 9th on Saturday.
Row 3: Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato, Tony Cannon; Rossi finished 2nd on Saturday.
Row 4: Marcus Erickson, Benjamin Pedersen, Will Power; All these maintain their positions from Saturday.
2 p.m.: Indy 500 Fast 12 qualifying
Driver, at 4-lap qualifying average mph
Felix Rosenqvist, 234.081 mph, was faster than Dixon’s 2022 pole speed.
Alexander Rossi, 233.110
Alex Palo, 233,779
Rinus Weike, 233.801; His practice earlier today ended early with a mechanical problem, but the team has recovered and he is in the Fast Six.
Scott Dixon, 233.430; He makes it to Fast Six. He became the first driver in the history of the race to win pole position in three consecutive years.
Tony Cannon, 233.076
Takuma Sato, 233.098
Pado O’Ward, 233.229; “I think we’ll be right on the bubble (for the Fast Six).”
Santino Ferrucci, 233.911, 1+ mph faster than the previous 3 qualifiers. “I want to break history, I want a bad pole.”
Marcus Erickson, 232.889; “We did OK, but I skied too much (in the turns).”
Benjamin Pedersen, 232.671 (fastest freshman qualifier since Tony Stewart in 1996)
Will Power, 232.635
conditions: 74 degrees (121 degrees on track surface), sunny, light breeze
12:30pm: Indy 500 qualifying practice for row 11
∎ Fastest simulated qualifying runs in this practice: Christian Lundgaard finished 1st, followed by Sting Ray Rapp, Graham Rahal and Jack Harvey.
∎ Sting Ray Robb took a 4-lap simulated qualifying run at 230.033 mph.
∎ Jack Harvey took a 4-lap simulated qualifying run at 229.912 mph, slower than his Saturday qualifying effort.
∎ Christian Lundgaard took a 4-lap simulated qualifying run at 230.563 mph. “It’s like yesterday. … It’s a little frustrating.”
∎ Here’s an update from Rinus VeeKay, a top 12 qualifier:
∎ Team owner Bobby Rahal is still looking for qualifying pace in his three cars – Graham Rahal, Christian Lundgaard and Jack Harvey: “We need to find some more speed. … We’ll keep at it.” The elder Rahal knows the feeling: He won the 1986 Indy 500 as a driver, but missed out on the race in 1993.
∎ Graham Rahal took a 4-lap simulated qualifying run at 229.946 mph, faster than his Saturday qualifying efforts, but not safe to race.
∎ Sting Ray Robb took a 4-lap simulated qualifying run of 229.827, slower than his Saturday qualifying efforts. Here’s what team owner Dale Coyne had to say:
∎ Christian Lundgaard takes a 4-lap simulated qualifying run at 230.440 mph, slower than his Saturday qualifying efforts.
11:30 am ET: Indy 500 qualifying Fast 12 practice
∎ 11 out of 12 drivers register hot laps. Tony Cannon is content to gather information from the Arrow McLaren teammates and let it fly in the Fast 12 qualifiers. Pado O’Ward, one of Canaan’s team-mates, believes that given the favorable driving conditions, Dixon’s pace to win the 2022 pole will be overshadowed by many drivers.
∎ Rookie Benjamin Pedersen has a single no-do lap at 235.026 mph. When he got to know the speed he said “That’s fast. Holy cow”. “It’s a rocket ship now.”
∎ Rachel Letterman Lanigan Racing considered changing chassis after Saturday’s qualifying round, NBC reported, but IndyCar rules prohibit such a move during qualifying weekend. Juncos Hollinger Racing changed the chassis of Callum Ilott’s car on Friday, it was sanctioned, and he qualified 28th on Saturday.
∎ Rinus Weeke sputters during the run, forcing him into the garage for repairs. Team owner Ed Carpenter tells NBC that the team has identified the problem and that VeeKay will be able to make a fast 12 attempt. VeeKay is sure to make it to the top-12.
∎ Santino Ferrucci has a simulated 4-lap qualifying run of 234.649 mph a few minutes into the session, and Pado O’Ward is also over 234.
∎ Air temperature is 70 degrees and track temperature is 98 in sunny skies and almost no wind. Drivers love the conditions.
The Borg-Warner Cup and Stanley Cup are on display
12 fastest Indianapolis 500 qualifiers
with car number, driver, engine, crew and 4-lap speed average; All cars use Dallara chassis and Firestone tires
A round of qualifying will narrow the group down to the Fast Six, and a second round will determine the top six starters
(6) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 233,947 mph
(7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 233.528
(10) Alex Palo, Honda, Ganassi, 233.398
(21) Rinus Weike, Chevrolet, Carpenter, 233,395
(9) Scott Dixon, Honda, Ganassi, 233.375
(66) Tony Cannon, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 233347
(11) Takuma Sato, Honda, Kanasi, 233.322
(5) Pado O’Ward, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, 233.252
(14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, Ford, 233.147
(8) Marcus Erickson, Honda, Ganassi, 233.030
(55) Benjamin Pedersen, Chevrolet, Ford, 232,739
(12) Will Power, Chevrolet, Penske, 232.719
Breaking it down:Playing through qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 at IMS
Last Chance Eligibility
Three of these drivers have row 11 and one will not race
(45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
(30) Jack Harvey, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
(51) Sting Ray Rob, Honda, Coyne
(15) Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Row 5
Levels for rows 5-10 were established on Saturday
13. (33) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, Carpenter, 232.689
14. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Penske, 232.677
15. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, Andretti, 232.662
Row 6
16. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, Carpenter, 232.433
17. (2) Joseph Newgarden, Chevrolet, Penske, 232.402
18. (23) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, Trier & Reinbolt, 232.133
Row 7
19. (28) Romain Grosjean, Honda, Andretti, 231.997
20. (06) Helio Castroneves, Honda, Meyer Shank, 231.954
21. (26) Colton Herda, Honda, Andretti, 231,951
Row 8
22. (60) Simon Paganot, Honda, Meyer Shank, 231.878
23. (18) David Malukas, Honda, Coyne, 231769
24. (98) Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti, 231,682
Row 9
25. (24) Stephen Wilson, Chevrolet, Trier & Reinbold, 231.648
26. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, Andretti, 231353
27. (78) Agustin Canabino, Chevrolet, Juncos Hollinger, 231,320
Row 10
28. (77) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, Junkos Hollinger, 231.182
29. (50) RC Enerson, Chevrolet, Abel, 231.129
30. (44) Kathryn Legg, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan, 231.070
