IndyCar News: Full Indy 500 Qualifying Order for Saturday

Today is the first day of qualifying for the 109th running of the NTT IndyCar Series Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Qualifying to make the Indy 500 is generally a confusing affair for non-hardcore race fans, so we’ll try to simplify the convoluted mess.

The Indy 500 is the only race where drivers have to string together 4 consecutive laps and the 4-lap average of those laps is what counts. In other races, your fastest lap counts, but not for the Indy 500. A driver must be perfect for 4 laps – a daunting task.

The order that the 34 drivers will attempt 4-lap qualification runs is determined by the luck of the draw.

Generally speaking, it is better to draw earlier in the order than later when the track is cooler, so drivers and teams are technically allowed to forego their initial runs, should a pre-qualifying issue arise

Given the expected wind speeds and gusts on Saturday, the importance of the already important qualifying draw is increased.

On Saturday, the fastest 12 drivers advance to Sunday, while the drivers who finish from 13th to 30th place are locked into their respective starting spots. The drivers who finish from 31st to 34th also advance to Sunday, but for all the wrong reasons.

After the initial run-through on Saturday, two lanes open up: a regular lane and a priority lane. Anybody can enter the regular lane and make another attempt, but the priority lane allows drivers and teams to skip the regular lane. The caveat is that they completely remove themselves from the Indy 500, with all previous speeds being thrown out.

Sunday is set to open up with the Top 12 session, and the fastest six drivers are set to advance to the Firestone Fast Six. The drivers who finish from seventh through 12th place are locked into their respective starting spots.

Before the Firestone Fast Six sets the front two rows in the field of 33, the Bump Day session is scheduled to occur. Three of the four drivers involved in that sessions are set to lock themselves onto the back row, while one will ultimately fail to qualify for the 109th running of the Indy 500.

2025 Indy 500 – Full qualifying order

1 – Marcus Ericsson – No. 28 Andretti Global Honda
2 – Pato O’Ward – No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
3 – Kyffin Simpson – No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
4 – Robert Shwartzman – No. 83 Prema Racing Chevrolet
5 – Alexander Rossi – No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
6 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – No. 23 DRR-Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet
7 – Jack Harvey – No. 24 DRR-Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet
8 – Christian Lundgaard – No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
9 – Marcus Armstrong – No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda
10 – Graham Rahal – No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
11 – Nolan Siegel – No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
12 – Conor Daly – No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
13 – Felix Rosenqvist – No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda
14 – Scott Dixon – No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
15 – Colton Herta – No. 26 Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian Honda
16 – David Malukas – No. 4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
17 – Santino Ferrucci – No. 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet
18 – Will Power – No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet
19 – Kyle Larson – No. 17 Arrow McLaren-Hendrick Chevrolet
20 – Helio Castroneves – No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda
21 – Takuma Sato – No. 75 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
22 – Ed Carpenter – No. 33 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
23 – Marco Andretti – No. 98 Andretti Global Honda
24 – Jacob Abel – No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing Honda
25 – Alex Palou – No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
26 – Louis Foster – No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
27 – Scott McLaughlin – No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet
28 – Sting Ray Robb – No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
29 – Christian Rasmussen – No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
30 – Kyle Kirkwood – No. 27 Andretti Global Honda
31 – Devlin DeFrancesco – No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
32 – Callum Ilott – No. 90 Prema Racing Chevrolet
33 – Josef Newgarden – No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet
34 – Rinus VeeKay – No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda