IndyCar: PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying for Indy 500

Team Penske has swept the first three provisional qualifying positions for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.   Will Power was the fastest, with a four-lap average time of 234.030.

Scott McLaughlin made a significant impact, being the second driver out for today’s Armed Forces Indy 500 Qualifying Day. His impressive time of 233.533 secured him second place for the remainder of the day.

Josef Newgarden set the third-fastest time of 233.528 mph.

In the No 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Alexander Rossi did not take his allotted qualifying spot. Still, he waited until later in the afternoon and set his time of 233.636 to take the fourth spot.

Kyle Kirkwood, the Andretti Global No 27 AutoNation Honda, set the fastest time for a Honda engine, taking the fifth spot with 232.964

The Chevrolet engine seems to be the power house to have for this race, but several drivers experienced a loss of power during their qualifying run this afternoon.

Kyle Larson, the Arrow McLaren No 17 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, had an issue during his first qualifying attempt but managed to get back on track and set his time of 232.951 for the 6th spot.

The late afternoon qualifying was the busiest that I can remember in recent years.  Many drivers made multiple attempts to better their time and try and keep their spot in the top twelve or in position 13-30 before the gun went off at 5:50 pm.

Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 winner, made three qualifying attempts, waving off the second try due to the time not being quicker than his first time.  As the gun went off, The Swede was told he would have to come back tomorrow and try to get into the field.

Graham Rahal, the Rahal Letterman Lanigan No 15 United Rentals Honda, is probably thinking about being bumped out of the 2023 race by his teammate.  Rahal was on the track when the time expired, but because he was on track, he made another attempt, only to tell his team that he was not getting any faster.   He will have to come back tomorrow and try to make the last row.

If the Penske trio can advance from Top 12 Qualifying and hold the top three spots at the end of Firestone Fast Six qualifying Sunday afternoon, it will be just the second front-row sweep by one team in Indianapolis 500 history. Team Penske first achieved the feat in 1988 with pole sitter Rick Mears, No. 2 qualifier Danny Sullivan and No. 3 qualifier Al Unser.

All three Penske drivers benefited from favorable positions in the qualifying draw and made their sole four-lap qualifying attempts in the first hour of the six-hour, 50-minute session, when track and air temperatures were at their coolest.

Rahal was able to enter the 2.5-mile oval just before the clock struck 5:50 p.m. to end qualifying, but he waved off the run after just one lap due to lack of speed in his No. 15 United Rentals Honda. It will be the second straight year in the Last Chance Qualifying session for Rahal, who failed to qualify for last year’s race but competed as a substitute for the injured Stefan Wilson.

Saturday Qualifying Results for 2024 Indy 500

Lucille Dust reporting live from Indianapolis