One of the most underrated yet crucial portions of the annual month of May schedule in the buildup to the Indy 500 is the qualifying draw, given how much conditions can change from the time the first car rolls off pit lane for its first attempt to the time the last car rolls off.
Following Friday's "Fast Friday" practice session to wrap up Indy 500 practice week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, that qualifying draw is set to take place to determine the full order for initial qualifying runs on Saturday.
All entries are set to pick a number, from No. 1 to No. 34, to determine the order in which they make a four-lap qualifying attempt around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval.
Generally speaking, it is better to draw earlier in the order than later when the track is cooler, so drivers and teams are technically allowed to forego their initial runs, should a pre-qualifying issue arise. We saw this with several drivers and teams last year. However, this means that they are no longer guaranteed a qualifying run.
Given the expected wind speeds and gusts on Saturday, the importance of the already important qualifying draw is increased.
Saturday, Sunday Indy 500 qualifying format explained
On Saturday, the fastest 12 drivers advance to Sunday, while the drivers who finish from 13th to 30th place are locked into their respective starting spots. The drivers who finish from 31st to 34th also advance to Sunday, but for all the wrong reasons.
After the initial run-through on Saturday, two lanes open up: a regular lane and a priority lane. Anybody can enter the regular lane and make another attempt, but the priority lane allows drivers and teams to skip the regular lane. The caveat is that they completely remove themselves from the Indy 500, with all previous speeds being thrown out.
Sunday is set to open up with the Top 12 session, and the fastest six drivers are set to advance to the Firestone Fast Six. The drivers who finish from seventh through 12th place are locked into their respective starting spots.
Before the Firestone Fast Six sets the front two rows in the field of 33, the Bump Day session is scheduled to occur. Three of the four drivers involved in that sessions are set to lock themselves onto the back row, while one will ultimately fail to qualify for the 109th running of the Indy 500.
Follow along with our live qualifying order updates as numbers are picked.
2025 Indy 500 - Full qualifying order
1 - Marcus Ericsson - No. 28 Andretti Global Honda
2 - Pato O'Ward - No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
3 - Kyffin Simpson - No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
4 - Robert Shwartzman - No. 83 Prema Racing Chevrolet
5 - Alexander Rossi - No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
6 - Ryan Hunter-Reay - No. 23 DRR-Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet
7 - Jack Harvey - No. 24 DRR-Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet
8 - Christian Lundgaard - No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
9 - Marcus Armstrong - No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda
10 - Graham Rahal - No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
11 - Nolan Siegel - No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
12 - Conor Daly - No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
13 - Felix Rosenqvist - No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda
14 - Scott Dixon - No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
15 - Colton Herta - No. 26 Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian Honda
16 - David Malukas - No. 4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
17 - Santino Ferrucci - No. 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
18 - Will Power - No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet
19 - Kyle Larson - No. 17 Arrow McLaren-Hendrick Chevrolet
20 - Helio Castroneves - No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda
21 - Takuma Sato - No. 75 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
22 - Ed Carpenter - No. 33 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
23 - Marco Andretti - No. 98 Andretti Global Honda
24 - Jacob Abel - No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing Honda
25 - Alex Palou - No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
26 - Louis Foster - No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
27 - Scott McLaughlin - No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet
28 - Sting Ray Robb - No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
29 - Christian Rasmussen - No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
30 - Kyle Kirkwood - No. 27 Andretti Global Honda
31 - Devlin DeFrancesco - No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
32 - Callum Ilott - No. 90 Prema Racing Chevrolet
33 - Josef Newgarden - No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet
34 - Rinus VeeKay - No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Indy 500 full field qualifying is scheduled to take place from 11:00 a.m. ET to 5:50 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 17, with Fox Sports 1 set to provide live coverage at 11:00 a.m. ET, Fox Sports 2 at 1:30 p.m. ET, and Fox at 4:00 p.m. ET. Sunday's sessions are set to be shown live on Fox beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. The race itself is set to be shown live on Fox beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 25. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!