How it Works: 107th Indianapolis 500 Qualifying
SPEEDWAY, IN. — Qualifying for the 107th Indianapolis 500 kicks off Saturday morning at the hallowed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
34 cars will vie for 33 spots in the 500. Right away Saturday, drivers who are first through 30th fastest will lock in.
On Saturday, all 34 drivers will lay down a qualifying attempt. During an attempt, a driver will run four laps. The average lap time determines where a driver qualifies.
- Ex: If Driver A runs three 38-second lap times and a 42-second lap time, while Driver B runs three 39-second lap times and 38-second lap time, Driver B would qualify higher than Driver A since their average is better (38.75 secs. vs. 39 secs.)
After everyone gets at least one attempt, teams may doing another attempt or as many attempts as they choose. There are also two lanes they can choose from when they go out for an attempt:
- Lane 1 – Priority lane, where a team must withdraw their time and post another time
- Lane 2 – Teams that have already qualified can use this to go back out and improve their time. If they don’t improve, nothing changes
This goes from 11 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. ET Saturday (TV: Peacock all day; NBC from 2:30-4:30 p.m.). At the end of the day, positions 13-30 will be set.
On Sunday, from 2-3 p.m. ET, the top 12 drivers will each make an attempt to determine who makes the Firestone Fast Six and who starts 7th through 12th (TV: Peacock)
Then, a session from 4-5 p.m. ET (TV: NBC), will determine positions 31-33. This will also determine the one driver who will miss the 2023 Indianapolis 500.
Each driver will get at least one attempt but they can make multiple attempts until time runs out.
Drivers can also run an additional cool-down lap following each qualifying run to cool the engines and get in line for additional attempts. With 10 minutes left, drivers won’t be able to do that anymore.
Each driver’s most recent attempt will remain eligible for the starting lineup until the time is withdrawn or the session ends.
After this, the Firestone Fast Six will determine (TV: NBC) starting positions 1-6. Each driver will get one attempt in this session to go for the pole.
The qualifying order for Saturday is as follows. Click here to see practice results.
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com