Palou takes Indy 500 pole in rain-compressed qualifying

The IndyCar Series scrambled to convert its familiar two-day qualifying process into a single-day affair where the entire field of 33 was set for next weekend’s Indianapolis 500, and the seven-hour adventure delivered a two-time polesitter in Alex Palou and a huge contingent of winners and contenders who had no speed to muster when it mattered.

It was a byproduct of the format chosen by IndyCar where the 12-7 p.m. ET sessions limited every driver to one qualifying run during the full-field outing that locked in 13th through 33rd place, and the series held firm to the single-run restriction for the Fast 12 group and the Fast Six party that determined pole.

Palou, the defending race winner, rocketed around the 2.5-mile oval in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda at a four-lap average of 232.248mph and was the only driver to reach the 232mph plateau.

“I have no words,” said Palou, who earned his first Indy 500 pole in 2023. “Today, honestly, we didn’t expect to have that much speed. Wow. That was incredible. Thank you to all the fans.”

A hearty crowd turned out for the rapid-fire day and cheered enthusiastically for Palou and many others as they posted big speeds. The sprint for pole position started with ECR’s Alexander Rossi in the No. 20 Chevy (231.990mph), who held on earn second ahead of Team Penske’s David Malukas in the No. 12 Chevy (231.877mph).

Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist was the hot prospect for pole after obliterating the field in the 33-car session and again in the Fast 12, but appeared to peak early as his No. 60 Honda couldn’t climb higher than fourth in the Fast Six (231.375mph). Santino Ferrucci starred throughout the afternoon in the No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevy (230.846mph) and delivered with fifth, which marks his third top-six start in four years.

Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward had a blunt assessment after scraping into the Fast Six, saying “That run was pretty shit, to be honest,” and his fortunes didn’t improve much once he ran for a final time in the No. 5 Chevy and settled for an average speed (230.442mph) that left him sixth.

Outside the Fast Six, the first up was Ganassi’s Kyffin Simpson in the No. 8 Honda (230.883mph). It was a meaningful result for the third-year driver, who was the first driver outside the Fast 12 in 2025 and scaled to become the first outside of the Fast Six in 2026.

Dreyer & Reinbold’s Conor Daly delivered the best Indy 500 qualifying run of his career with eighth in the No. 23 Chevy (230.712mph) and edged 2024 Indy polesitter Scott McLaughlin, who ran ninth in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevy (230.577mph).

“The Pennzoil Chevy needed a little bit more front [grip],” McLaughlin said. “I was really battling into [Turn] 3 trying to play with the tools, the weight jacker and front bar to get it to turn, but it just wouldn’t turn there. So, I put the white flag up and did what I could. Sometimes you just have to do that.”

The fastest rookie qualifier was Foyt’s Caio Collet, who secured 10th in the No. 4 Chevy (230.539mph). The Brazilian was impressive at the recent Indy Open Test, fast in race-trim running, and fast again in qualifying as he outran 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon in 11th (230.347mph) in his No. 9 Ganassi Honda and Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Rinus VeeKay, who took 12th in the No. 76 Chevy (229.585mph) while maintaining a remarkable record of making the Indy 500’s Fast 12 all six years he’s had Chevy power.

For those who made it no farther than the Fast 12, the list was littered with stars who ranged from angry to confused as their intentions to pack the Fast 12 went awry in a variety of ways.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato was 13th (230.995mph) ahead of three-time polesitter Ed Carpenter in 14th (230.829mph) with ECR and MSR’s Helio Castroneves in 15th (230.881mph).

Marcus Ericsson was the best for an Andretti Global group that rose no higher than 18th (230.667mph), just in front of teammate Will Power in 20th (230.279mph). Arrow McLaren’s Ryan Hunter-Reay was 23rd (230.202mph) to edge Penske’s Josef Newgarden in 24th for Team Penske (230.165mph). Title contender Kyle Kirkwood completed the distant day for Andretti in 26th (229.607mph).

Directly behind Newgarden and next to Kirkwood is HMD Motorsports/AJ Foyt Racing’s Katherine Legge, who reached 229.456mph in the No. 11 Chevy to claim 27th. RLL rookie Mick Schumacher was 28th in the No. 47 Honda (229.450mph).

Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Sting Ray Robb was the slowest of the 33, which wasn’t a surprise after he held on to a car that was doing its best to fight him throughout the four laps. The Idahoan averaged 226.572mph in the No. 77 Chevy.

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