Update: Qualifying is delayed due to rain.
Weather permitting, the first round of the qualifying session for the 110th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 16, beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Each driver is set to make one four-lap qualifying attempt around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval, after which point drivers are allowed to make as many additional attempts as they please.
Drivers can get in line to run again without withdrawing their previous speeds, or they can get in the "fast lane", which sends them to the front of the line at the cost of all of their previous speeds.
The session is scheduled to end at 5:50 p.m. ET, at which point the driver on the race track must have taken the green flag for the qualifying run to count.
There are just 33 drivers on this year's Indy 500 entry list, so IndyCar modified the qualifying format slightly from previous years, since there is no need for a Bump Day/Last Row Shootout session.
The top 15 drivers from Saturday's session are set to advance to Sunday, while the drivers who place 16th to 33rd are locked into their starting position for next Sunday's race.
The 10th to 15th place drivers are set to take part in another Sunday qualifying session, and the top three drivers from that session, in which all six drivers are set to make a single four-lap qualifying attempt, are set to advance to a session which is also slated to feature the top nine drivers from Saturday.
Those 12 drivers are then set to make one four-lap qualifying attempt each, and the top six from that session are set to advance to the Firestone Fast Six shootout for pole, once again with each driver being given one attempt.
In short, the first goal for Saturday is to be in the top 15, and the second is to be in the top nine. However, while a top 15 result on Saturday guarantees a top 15 starting position, a top nine result only guarantees a top 12 starting spot.
Note that this all remains subject to change if weather modifies the schedule.
A full qualifying order, which was determined by the traditional post-Fast Friday random coin draw, can be found here.
Follow along with our Indy 500 qualifying updates from the "Racing Capital of the World".
Indy 500 Saturday qualifying updates, starting lineup
Qualifying is scheduled to continue on Sunday, May 17, with live coverage set to be provided by Fox beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action from Indianapolis Motor Speedway!
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