Today was full of fast speeds on the oval, and a little confusion on the sidelines.
The qualification format is different this year; so different that even the drivers and engineers aren’t quite sure how it will work out tomorrow. What is certain is that there will be two shootouts on day 2 of qualifying. The fun will begin with the cars in positions 10-30 from today re-qualifying in the first shootout to determine their final pole positions.
Then, the cars in the 1-9 positions will compete in the second shootout. They’ll start with the car in 9th, JR Hildebrand’s #21, and work the way to the top of the list, Ed Carpenter’s #20. Each car will get to make one qualifying round of laps, which will determine the final pole positions for race day.
The only positions that were determined today are numbers 31-33, belonging to Alex Tagliani, Martin Plowman, and Buddy Lazier, respectively.
The shootouts tomorrow are sure to be eventful, and there should be cars that move positions. Rain delays and cancelled practices this past week meant that the cars and drivers weren’t quite tuned in as well as hoped, and many were still using today’s qualifying laps much like they would practice laps.
Results of qualifying Saturday for the 98th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Verizon IndyCar Series (Rank, car number in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, time and speed in parentheses):
1. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 02:36.0735 (230.661)
2. (34) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.2090 (230.460)
3. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 02:36.2286 (230.432)
4. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.2452 (230.407)
5. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 02:36.3022 (230.323)
6. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.4306 (230.134)
7. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.4741 (230.070)
8. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.4993 (230.033)
9. (21) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy, 02:36.5032 (230.027)
10. (26) Kurt Busch, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.5493 (229.960)
11. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.5904 (229.899)
12. (98) Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.6471 (229.816)
13. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy, 02:36.6681 (229.785)
14. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 02:36.7821 (229.618)
15. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.0111 (229.283)
16. (7) Mikhail Aleshin, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.1426 (229.091)
17. (8) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.3252 (228.825)
18. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.3522 (228.786)
19. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.4043 (228.710)
20. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.4364 (228.664)
21. (22) Sage Karam, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.4460 (228.650)
22. (6) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.5435 (228.508)
23. (10) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.5944 (228.435)
24. (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.6265 (228.388)
25. (63) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.6474 (228.358)
26. (17) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.6917 (228.294)
27. (5) Jacques Villeneuve, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.7766 (228.171)
28. (33) James Davison, Dallara-Chevy, 02:37.7912 (228.150)
29. (16) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.8713 (228.034)
30. (18) Carlos Huertas, Dallara-Honda, 02:37.9011 (227.991)
31. (68) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 02:38.0246 (227.813)
32. (41) Martin Plowman, Dallara-Honda, 02:38.5601 (227.043)
33. (91) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Chevy, 02:38.9102 (226.543)
Sunday, May 18th Armed Forces Pole Day Schedule:
7:00 a.m. Public Gates Open
8:30 a.m. Verizon IndyCar Series Practice Begins
9:00 a.m. IMS Midway Open
9:30 a.m. Verizon IndyCar Series Practice Concludes
Sam Schmidt Event Begins
9:45 a.m. Enlistment Ceremony Begins – Plaza Stage
10:15 a.m. Enlistment Ceremony Concludes – Plaza Stage
11:00 a.m. Verizon IndyCar Series Group 1 Qualifying (Positions 10 – 33, each driver will make one attempt)
Rapid Fire Concert Begins – Plaza Stage
Noon Rapid Fire Concert Concludes – Plaza Stage
12:15 p.m. American Dairy Pin Distribution Begins – Pagoda Plaza
1:15 p.m. American Dairy Pin Distribution Concludes – Pagoda Plaza Qualifying Pre-Race Show Begins – Pagoda Plaza Stage
2:00 p.m. Verizon IndyCar Series Fast 9 Qualifying Begins Qualifying Pre-Race Show Concludes – Pagoda Plaza Stage
2:45 p.m. Verizon IndyCar Series Fast 9 Qualifying Concludes
3:00 p.m. Verizon Pole Award Celebration
4:00 p.m. IMS Midway Close – Public Gates Close