Rinus VeeKay led the 33 drivers after the first day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500.
The Ed Carpenter Racing driver is one of the 12 who advance to Sunday’s two-stage knockout qualifying to determine the pole-winner for the 106th running of the race.The qualifying session that was affected by two lengthy delays for rainfall and lightning. VeeKay was the second driver out on track and put together a sensational four-lap run, clocked at an average speed of 233.655mph (376.031kph).
The first stoppage came at 2:12pm local time for rain. After over an hour and a half of waiting for the rain to stop and the track to dry, just ten minutes of running commenced before a second stoppage due to lightning strikes near Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
VeeKay’s run surpassed that of McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward, who was the first driver out on track when time trials began at 11:00am. O’Ward qualified at an average speed of 233.037mph, ahead of his team mate Felix Rosenqvist at 232.775mph.
Defending IndyCar Series champion and 2021 Indy 500 runner-up Alex Palou was fourth after a run at 232.774 mph, ahead of his team mate and 2013 Indy winner Tony Kanaan (fifth) and Jimmie Johnson (sixth). The seven-time NASCAR champion was the fastest of the Indy 500 rookies in the field.
But Sato had a hard road to make the cut: His first run was invalidated after he impeded Marco Andretti’s first qualifying attempt, then he brushed the wall at turn two on the penultimate lap of his second and final run.
The top 12 drivers will qualify again tomorrow, with the fastest six qualifiers advancing to a Fast Six shootout (similar to IndyCar’s road and street course events) to determine the pole winner. They will also earn championship points based on their qualifying position.
Positions 13 through 33 have been set and include more than a few notable names. Josef Newgarden was almost set to withdraw his time and requalify, but because the second stoppage came out before he took to the track, the two-time IndyCar champion kept his 14th place starting position.
Rookie Callum Ilott qualified 18th, one place ahead of 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi. Last week’s Indianapolis Grand Prix winner Colton Herta starts 25th after having to delay his run due to an engine problem.
Defending Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves will start 27th as he bids for a record fifth victory in the race.
All 33 entrants were guaranteed a starting position in the field of 33, including Stefan Wilson, who did not set a time after pulling out of the qualifying queue because of a gearbox and engine issue.
Putting VeeKay’s sensational run into perspective, it was the third-fastest qualifying run in the history of the Indianapolis 500, behind Arie Luyendyk and Scott Brayton’s 1996 qualifying efforts in what was then an open-chassis, open-tyre category using larger-displacement turbocharged engines.
The Fast 12 qualifying shot-out begins on Sunday at 21:00 BST (16:00 EDT).
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Indianapolis 500 qualifying results after day one
Position | Car | Driver | Team | Engine |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Carpenter | Chevrolet |
2 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | McLaren SP | Chevrolet |
3 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | McLaren SP | Chevrolet |
4 | 10 | Alex Palou | Ganassi | Honda |
5 | 1 | Tony Kanaan | Ganassi | Honda |
6 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Ganassi | Honda |
7 | 33 | Ed Carpenter | Carpenter | Chevrolet |
8 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Ganassi | Honda |
9 | 28 | Romain Grosjean | Andretti | Honda |
10 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Ganassi | Honda |
11 | 12 | Will Power | Penske | Chevrolet |
12 | 51 | Takuma Sato | Coyne/RWR | Honda |
13 | 18 | David Malukas | Coyne/HMD | Honda |
14 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Penske | Chevrolet |
15 | 23 | Santino Ferrucci | DRR | Chevrolet |
16 | 60 | Simon Pagenaud | Meyer Shank | Honda |
17 | 11 | JR Hildebrand | Foyt | Chevrolet |
18 | 20 | Conor Daly | Carpenter | Chevrolet |
19 | 77 | Callum Ilott | Juncos Hollinger | Chevrolet |
20 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti | Honda |
21 | 15 | Graham Rahal | RLL | Honda |
22 | 24 | Sage Karam | DRR | Chevrolet |
23 | 98 | Marco Andretti | Andretti | Chevrolet |
24 | 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Andretti Steinbrenner | Honda |
25 | 26 | Colton Herta | Andretti | Honda |
26 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Penske | Chevrolet |
27 | 06 | Helio Castroneves | Meyer Shank | Honda |
28 | 14 | Kyle Kirkwood | Foyt | Chevrolet |
29 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | Foyt | Chevrolet |
30 | 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | McLaren SP | Chevrolet |
31 | 30 | Christian Lundgaard | RLL | Honda |
32 | 45 | Jack Harvey | RLL | Honda |
33 | 25 | Stefan Wilson | DragonSpeed/Cusick | Chevrolet |
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IndyCar
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Don
22nd May 2022, 1:02
Weather conditions were just right for some super high speeds for the early qualifiers. The final qualifying rounds should be very interesting Sunday.
KrisK (@prime)
22nd May 2022, 5:38
Seeing the top 12 has me excited for tomorrow. I always have to go for Carpenter team but it wouldn’t hurt my feelings to see a McLaren on the pole.
amian
22nd May 2022, 11:13
So disappointed with Herta’s engine failure! I hope his race pace will be fast so he can move up quickly.
Cool to see old fox Kaanan at the front!
Also, team Ganassi is a powerhouse.
Lastly, you gotta love Veekay’s national Netherlands car livery :)
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
22nd May 2022, 12:19
Insane that O’Wards run was the 5th fastest in Indy qualifying history, yet he’s still only 2nd fastest in the session!
Let’s hope today’s weather conditions are good enough to see someone smash the record.