Indy 500: Complete schedule for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500

By Asher Fair | May 15, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 23: Scott Dixon of Australia, driver of the #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Dallara, races alongside Juan Pablo Montoya of Columbia, driver of the #2 Team Penske Chevrolet Dallara, and Will Power of Australia, driver of the #1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet Dallara, after a restart during the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on May 23, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Practice for the 2018 Indy 500 begins later today before qualifying this weekend, more practice next week and the race next Sunday. Here is the full schedule for it.

With the IndyCar Grand Prix at the 13-turn, 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in the books, the next race on the 2018 IndyCar schedule is the Indianapolis 500 on the four-turn, 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

This year’s running of the Indy 500 is the 102nd running of the event, also known as the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, at the historic track in Speedway, Indiana. With the race itself and preparation for it set to take up what’s left of the IndyCar schedule this May, let’s take a look at the race schedule over the next two weeks.

Including today, nine of the next 13 days are set to feature some kind of on-track IndyCar action related to the Indy 500, whether that action includes practice, qualifying, both practice and qualifying, or the race itself.

Here is the schedule for this year’s Indy 500, starting with today’s practice and ending with the race itself on Sunday, May 27. Note that these sessions may be changed, postponed or canceled depending on weather conditions.

All practice sessions will be streamed on IndyCar.com, the IndyCar app, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

On Tuesday, May 15, 11:00 a.m. ET to 1:00 p.m. ET is designated as practice time for the oval veterans, while 1:00 p.m. ET to 3:00 p.m. ET is designated for the rookie orientation program and the refresher tests. The first practice session that all drivers are allowed to participate in is set to take place from 3:00 p.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. ET.

On Wednesday, May 16, Thursday, May 17 and Friday, May 18, all drivers will be allowed to practice from 11:00 a.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. ET.

On Saturday, May 19, two groups of practice are set to take place from 8:00 a.m. ET to 8:30 a.m. ET and 8:30 a.m. ET to 9:00 a.m. ET, respectively, before all drivers will be allowed to practice from 9:00 a.m. ET to 9:30 a.m. ET. Qualifying is then scheduled to take place from 11:00 a.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. ET.

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The top nine qualifiers will be locked into one group, while the 10th through 33rd place qualifiers will be locked into the second group. The 34th and 35th place drivers will not be allowed to compete throughout the remainder of the month, as they will have failed to qualify for the race.

Qualifying is set to be broadcast live on WatchESPN from 11:00 a.m. ET to 3:00 p.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. ET, with ABC set to broadcast it live from 4:00 p.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. ET as well. The Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network is set to broadcast the entire session from 11:00 p.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. with no breaks.

On Sunday, May 20, the drivers in the 10th through 33rd place group from Saturday are set to practice from 12:00 p.m. ET to 12:45 p.m. ET, while the drivers in the first through ninth place group from Saturday are set to practice from 1:15 p.m. ET to 2:00 p.m. ET.

Qualifying for the 10th through 33rd place drivers from Saturday is set to take place from 2:45 p.m. ET to 4:45 p.m. ET to set the fourth through 11th rows of the grid, while qualifying for the first through ninth place drivers from Saturday is set to take place from 5:00 p.m. ET to 5:45 p.m ET to set the first three rows of the grid.

Both Sunday qualifying sessions are set to be broadcast live on the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network and WatchESPN from 2:30 p.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. ET. ABC is also set to broadcast qualifying live from 4:00 p.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. ET.

On Monday, May 21, drivers will be allowed to practice from 12:30 p.m. ET to 4:00 p.m. ET. Friday, May 25 is the final practice day for drivers prior to the race itself, and drivers will be allowed to practice from 11:00 a.m. ET to 12:00 a.m. ET on that date.

The 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 27 is set to be broadcast live on ABC, WatchESPN and the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network from 11:00 a.m. ET to 3:30 p.m. ET. Drivers are to report to their cars at 12:05 p.m. ET, and their engines are to be started at 12:14 p.m. ET. The 200-lap race itself is scheduled to begin at 12:21 p.m. ET.

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Be sure not to miss any of the scheduled practice sessions or qualifying sessions for this year’s running of the Indianapolis 500, and definitely be sure not to miss the race itself on Sunday, May 27.