Indy 500: Graham Rahal lands top spot in qualifying draw; full order

Graham Rahal drew the top spot in the qualifying order for the 104th running of the Indy 500, followed by teammate Takuma Sato.

Following a Fast Friday practice session for the 104th running of the Indy 500 that saw the quickest lap run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1996, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal drew the top spot in the qualifying order for the first of two days of Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying.

Given how the track changes as the conditions change, Rahal, who was vocal about needing a good draw, should be at an advantage. In fact, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing should be at an advantage as a whole, as Takuma Sato drew the second spot while Spencer Pigot drew seventh.

Pigot led the trio in fifth place in the Fast Friday practice session behind the wheel of his #45 Honda with Sato in eighth behind the wheel of his #30 Honda and Rahal in 14th behind the wheel of his #15 Honda.

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Andretti Herta Autosport’s Marco Andretti, who led the session with the best lap the Brickyard has seen in over 24 years behind the wheel of his #98 Honda, drew a disappointing 28th spot in the qualifying order.

Each of the 33 drivers on the entry list is set to make one four-lap qualifying run around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval one Speedway, Indiana, with additional attempts allowed following the first runs.

Drivers may make additional attempts without withdrawing their first attempts, or they may withdraw all previous attempts to move to the front of the line for an additional attempt. Attempts are unlimited.

At the end of the day, the top nine drivers will advance to tomorrow afternoon’s Fast Nine Shootout for the pole position while everybody else will be locked into their starting positions from 10th through 33rd place.

Here is the full qualifying order for the opening day of Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying for the 104th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Order – Driver – Car, Team, Engine
1 – Graham Rahal – #15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
2 – Takuma Sato – #30, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
3 – Dalton Kellett – #41, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
4 – Rinus VeeKay – #21, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
5 – Jack Harvey – #60, Meyer Shank Racing, Honda
6 – Scott Dixon – #9, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
7 – Spencer Pigot – #45, RLL Racing with Citrone/Buhl Autosport, Honda
8 – Pato O’Ward – #5, Arrow McLaren SP, Chevrolet
9 – Josef Newgarden – #1, Team Penske, Chevrolet
10 – Will Power – #12, Team Penske, Chevrolet
11 – Sage Karam – #24, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Chevrolet
12 – Alexander Rossi – #27, Andretti Autosport, Honda
13 – Fernando Alonso – #66, Arrow McLaren SP, Chevrolet
14 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – #28, Andretti Autosport, Honda
15 – Zach Veach – #26, Andretti Autosport, Honda
16 – Marcus Ericsson – #8, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
17 – Oliver Askew – #7, Arrow McLaren SP, Chevrolet
18 – Felix Rosenqvist – #10, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
19 – Ed Carpenter – #20, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
20 – James Hinchcliffe – #29, Andretti Autosport, Honda
21 – Ben Hanley – #81, DragonSpeed, Chevrolet
22 – James Davison – #51, DCR with Rick Ware & Byrd Belardi, Honda
23 – Alex Palou – #55, DCR with Team Goh, Honda
24 – Santino Ferrucci – #18, DCR with Vasser-Sullivan, Honda
25 – Conor Daly – #47, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
26 – Charlie Kimball – #4, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
27 – Simon Pagenaud – #22, Team Penske, Chevrolet
28 – Marco Andretti – #98, Andretti Herta Autosport, Honda
29 – Tony Kanaan – #14, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
30 – Colton Herta – #88, Andretti HS Autosport, Honda
31 – Max Chilton – #59, Carlin, Chevrolet
32 – Helio Castroneves – #3, Team Penske, Chevrolet
33 – J.R. Hildebrand – #67, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Chevrolet

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Tune in to NBC Sports Gold at 11:00 a.m. ET this morning for the live broadcast of qualifying for the 104th running of the Indy 500 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.