The starting lineup for the 109th running of the Indy 500 is set to be determined this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and unlike for a typical oval race, this weekend's qualifying format is not as simple as each driver making a single two-lap attempt.
Friday night's qualifying draw determined the order in which the 34 drivers on the entry list are set to make their four-lap qualifying attempts around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval on Saturday.
Once those initial guaranteed runs are complete, two lanes open up. The first lane is the regular lane, which any driver can enter to make an additional qualifying run. The second lane is the priority lane, which any driver can use to jump ahead of those in the regular lane, but with the caveat of needing to surrender all previous qualifying speeds.
Drivers have an unlimited number of attempts after the guaranteed runs are complete. Qualifying is scheduled to run from 11:00 a.m. ET to 5:50 p.m. ET.
What Saturday's Indy 500 qualifying results mean
The fastest 12 drivers from Saturday's session advance to Sunday afternoon's Top 12 session, while the drivers who finish from 13th through 30th place are locked into their respective starting positions.
The top six drivers in the Top 12 session advance to the Firestone Fast Six, but between the Top 12 and the Firestone Fast Six is the Bump Day session, featuring the four drivers who finished outside of the top 30 on Saturday. The slowest of those four drivers in this session will fail to qualify for the race, while the top three lock themselves onto the 11th and final row.
In the Firestone Fast Six, the polesitter is determined, and the front two rows in the field of 33 are set.
All qualifying action is set to be shown live on either Fox, Fox Sports 1, or Fox Sports 2, with Sunday's three sessions set to be shown exclusively on Fox beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action from the "Racing Capital of the World"!