Indy 500: Qualifying format for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500

Qualifying for the 102nd running of the Indy 500 is set to take place this Saturday and Sunday. Here is the qualifying format for each day.

A total of 35 IndyCar drivers are set to attempt to qualify for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 at the four-turn, 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana. Of those 35 drivers, 33 will make the field and slot into the 11 rows of three on the starting grid on race day next Sunday, May 27.

Here is how those 33 drivers and the grid itself will be determined.

Following the Fast Friday practice session from 12:00 p.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday, May 18, a blind draw will be held to determine the qualification order for the 35 drivers on Saturday, May 19, guaranteeing each driver one qualifying attempt on that day for the session scheduled to last from 11:00 a.m. ET to 5:50 p.m. ET.

After drivers have made their first qualifying attempt, they are allowed to have unlimited extra qualifying attempts. However, they must wait in a line if they do not wish to have their previous qualifying time withdrawn upon their next attempt. If they opt to use the “Fast Lane” and go to the front of the line, all of their previous qualifying times will be withdrawn.

At the end of the session, the top nine drivers will be locked into Fast Nine Shootout on Sunday, May 20 when they will be shooting for the pole position and the first three rows of the grid will be set, while the drivers who finished the session from 10th place through 33rd place will all be shooting to start 10th and rows four through 11 on the grid will be set. Qualifying for the drivers from 10th through 33rd will take place on Sunday before the Fast Nine Shootout does.

The drivers who finish 34th and 35th quickest in Saturday’s qualification session will not be allowed to compete beyond Saturday, thus preventing them from qualifying for the 2018 Indy 500 field.

The qualification order on Sunday for the drivers who finished the Saturday session from 10th place through 33rd will be determined by reversing the order from Saturday’s session. Therefore, the 33rd place qualifier on Saturday will make his or her qualifying attempt first on Sunday, while the 10th place qualifier will make his or her qualifying attempt last.

The qualification order on Sunday for the Fast Nine Shootout will be determined by the same method. The ninth place qualifying on Saturday will make his or her qualifying attempt first on Sunday, while the first place qualifier will make his or her qualifying attempt last.