How Does Qualifying Work At The Indy 500?

The Indianapolis 500, also known as the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, occupies nearly the entire month of May and is widely known as one of the best races in the world. In previous years, qualifying at the Indy 500 has always followed the same rules seen at other Oval circuits, with the only caveat being that it took place over the course of two days. These two qualifying days are much more intense in comparison to other race weekends because despite the normal 34 car lineup, only 33 cars make the actual grid for the race. Due to the nature of the 110th running of the Indy 500 and the fact that there are only 33 cars set to make an appearance for qualifying, IndyCar has announced a change to the procedure to extend the session and bring back some of the high stakes.

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How does qualifying work at the Indianapolis 500?

For 2026, the two Indy 500 qualifying days are set to take place on Saturday, May 16th and Sunday, May 17th.

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Day One

Day One of qualifying will take place between the hours of 11:00am to 5:50pm (ET) which will establish the positions 16-33 for the race. The fastest nine cars from Day One will be locked into the Top 12 qualifying session on Day Two with a chance to advance further to the Firestone Fast Six and an opportunity to fight for the highly sought after NTT P1 Award that ensures the driver starts from pole position on Race Day. The drivers who finish Day One in positions 10-15 will advance to the Final 15 round on Day Two and have the chance to fight for the three final spots in the Top 12 round.

Day Two

Based on the qualifying speeds from Day One, the six cars ranked from 10-15 will start in reverse order and will have one opportunity to post a traditional four-lap qualifying time starting at 4:00pm (ET). The three fastest cars will then advance to the Top 12 qualifying round.

Scheduled for 5:00PM (ET) on Day Two, the Top 12 Qualifying will begin with the three advancing cars from Final 15 with the order starting from the slowest car to the fastest car. Similar to the previous years at the Indy 500, the fastest six will advance to the Firestone Fast Six to determine the positions one through six and have an opportunity to fight for the NTT P1 Award for pole. The cars who finished 7-12 will fill out the starting positions 7-12 according to their time and speed.

The Firestone Fast Six is roughly scheduled for 6:35PM (ET) which is when each entrant will be given a singular attempt and will qualify in reverse order based on their Top 12 qualifying results. The driver with the fastest speed and time will earn pole position along with a $100,000 prize. The remaining five drivers will complete the first two rows of the starting grid.

Points and prizes

The driver who claims the NTT P1 Award for pole position will be awarded a $100,000 cash prize. 

Also on offer are championship points that are only awarded to the drivers who advance to the Top 12 qualifying session. The driver who secures pole position will receive 12 points, the runner up will receive 11 points and onwards. The points awarded will decrease by one-point increments down to the 12th fastest driver who will receive one championship point.

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Indy 500 Qualifying Schedule

The 2026 Indianapolis 500 qualifying sessions will take place on Saturday, May 16th and Sunday, May 17th, 2026. Please note that all times listed are set in ET.

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Saturday, May 16th

8:30AM - 9:30AM

• Pre-Qualifying Practice

11:00AM - 5:50PM

• IndyCar Series Qualifying (Determining positions 16-33)

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Sunday, May 17th

1:00PM - 2:00PM

• Final 15 Practice (Positions 10-15 from Day One)

2:00PM - 3:00PM

• Top 12 Practice (Positions 1-9 from Day One)

4:00PM

• Indianapolis 500 Final 15 Qualifying (Positions 13-15 determined, fastest three advance to Top 12)

5:00PM

• Top 12 Qualifying (Positions 7-12 determined, fastest six advance to Firestone Fast Six)

6:35PM

• Firestone Fast Six

7:00PM

• NTT P1 Award Presentation

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Please keep in mind that times are subject to change based on delays, weather and a variety of other factors.

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