It took Alex Palou (main photo) just four laps around Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday to tighten his grip even harder on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES this season and zero in on possibly his second career Indianapolis 500 pole.
Three-time series champion and current points leader Palou, who has won four of the first five races this season, was the fastest driver on the opening day of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. He turned a four-lap average speed of 233.043 mph on his only qualifying attempt of the day in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Palou’s sole attempt came at 1 p.m., two hours after qualifying opened on the 2.5-mile oval with air temperatures around 70 degrees and track temperatures around 100 degrees, about 20 and 35 degrees cooler, respectively, than Fast Friday presented by Turtle Wax practice. Wind speeds picked up to 15-20 mph , with gusts exceeding 30 mph while the wind direction shifted from the south to the west.
Palou and the 11 other fastest drivers in nearly six hours of qualifying today will participate in Top 12 Qualifying at 4:05 p.m. ET Sunday, which will whittle the field to the Firestone Fast Six that will compete for the NTT P1 Award at 6:25 p.m.
In between those sessions, Rinus VeeKay and Jacob Abel of Dale Coyne Racing, Marcus Armstrong of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian and 2020 “500” pole sitter Marco Andretti of Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb-Agajanian will compete for the three final spots in the 33-car starting field in Last Chance Qualifying from 5:15-6:15 p.m.
Practice for the Top 12 will take place from 1-2 p.m., with a final practice for the Last Chance Qualifiers from 2-3 p.m. (both sessions FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Joining 2023 “500” pole winner Palou in the Top 12 Qualifying session Sunday are 2024 pole winner Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske (233.013 Saturday, second), two-time reigning “500” winner Josef Newgarden of Team Penske (233.004, third), Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren (232.820, fourth), 2008 “500” winner Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing (232.659, fifth), rookie Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing (232.584, sixth), David Malukas of AJ Foyt Racing (232.546, seventh), Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian (232.449, eighth), two-time “500” winner Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (232.415, ninth), 2018 “500” winner Will Power of Team Penske (232.144, 10th), 2022 “500” winner Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global (232.132, 11th) and Christian Lundgaard of Arrow McLaren (231.809, 12th).
There were 73 qualifying attempts on a hectic day of track activity, none more frantic perhaps than local hero Conor Daly’s last-ditch try to earn a spot in Top 12 Qualifying.
Indianapolis-area native Daly drove his No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet on the track at 5:46 p.m. ET as the last driver on track before the session ended. Daly already had qualified 21st but was attempting to improve his speed and earn a spot in the top 12 that get a shot at the NTT P1 Award on Sunday.
Daly was fast enough to snare the 12th and final spot after three laps, but he slowed on the last trip around the historic oval and ended up 13th with a four-lap average of 231.725 — .0564 of a second short after 10 miles at top speed.
There was further drama under partly cloudy skies. Andretti, grandson of 1969 Indy 500 winner Mario Andretti, made four attempts to try and earn his 20th “500” start but fell short and will fight for a spot Sunday.
Graham Rahal, who struggled with car handling all week, was the final driver to earn a guaranteed spot today. He qualified 30th at 229.863 mph in the No. 15 United Rentals Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on his second attempt, at 3:27 p.m. Then he had an agonizing wait of nearly two and one-half hours to see if his speed would keep him in the field.
Two drivers had mixed results after big crashes earlier in the day.
Colton Herta qualified 29th at 230.192 after hitting the SAFER Barrier and flipping upside down in Turn 1 on his first attempt at 12:05 p.m., making secondary contact in Turn 2. The Andretti Global team thrashed to prepare a car for him, and he made the show at 4:45 p.m.
Armstrong hit the SAFER Barrier heavily in Turn 1 during pre-qualifying practice this morning in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda, which was damaged beyond immediate repair. The Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian crew hustled to convert a road-course car into an oval car in Gasoline Alley, but Armstrong wasn’t fast enough in two attempts in the final 55 minutes and will try to gain a starting spot Sunday.
2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson qualified 21st at 231.326 in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. 2024 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Larson is attempting the “double” May 25 of racing in the “500” and the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race that evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge is scheduled for Sunday, May 25 (10 a.m. ET).
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