Indy 500: How are points awarded? Two major differences

There are two key differences in the way points are awarded for the Indy 500 compared to the way they are awarded for other IndyCar races.

Following a week of practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, qualifying for the 106th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to take place this weekend, with the first session set to feature all 33 drivers on the entry list and take place later this morning and afternoon.

Sunday afternoon is set to see two more sessions, the first of which including the top 12 drivers from the Saturday session (Top 12 Qualifying) and the second of which including the top six drivers from the Top 12 Qualifying session (Firestone Fast Six) to determine the polesitter.

This is different than past seasons, which featured only a Top Nine Shootout with Saturday’s fastest nine drivers.

The 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval in Speedway, Indiana itself is set to take place on Sunday, May 29.

But points are awarded for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” a bit differently than they are for other races on the IndyCar schedule.

There are two key differences. First of all, points are doubled for the race itself. For example, the race winner scores 100 points as opposed to 50, and the runner-up scores 80 points as opposed to 40.

A full scoring system can be found here.

Notably, the point for leading at least one lap is not doubled, and neither are the two points for leading the most laps. So the driver who leads the most laps still scores three bonus points, not six.

The second difference is the way points are awarded for qualifying. Instead of one point going to the polesitter like it does for a regular race, the drivers who advance to the Top 12 Qualifying session all score points.

The drivers who finish from seventh to 12th place in this session score between one and six points. The seventh place qualifier scores six, and the point total decreases by one point per position down to one point for the 12th place qualifier.

The top six drivers from the Top 12 Qualifying session then advance to the Firestone Fast Six. Drivers who participate in this session score between seven and 12 points. The polesitter scores 12 points, and the point total decreases by one point per position down to seven points for the sixth place qualifier.

So if the polesitter wins the race and leads the most laps in the race itself, he would score the maximum point total of 115 points (12+1+2+50+50).

Tune in to Peacock at 11:00 a.m. ET later today for the live broadcast of the first day of qualifying, which is scheduled to run through 5:50 p.m. ET, and tune in to NBC at 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon for the live broadcast of the second day, which is scheduled to run through 6:00 p.m. ET. The race itself is set to be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 29. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don’t miss it!