The last qualifying session on Saturday saw IndyCar’s quickest six drivers complete one final qualifying run to determine who would sit on pole.
Takuma Sato was initially the quickest driver, but he was out-done by the rookie Robert Shwartzman who claimed an unlikely pole.
The Israeli driver completed four laps at an average speed of 232.790 MPH and boosted the newcomer PREMA team to their biggest achievement since joining the series a couple months ago.
READ MORE: Indianapolis 500 – Full Qualifying Report
Sato ended up qualifying second and will start between Shwartzman and Pato O’Ward on the front row.
Scott Dixon, Felix Rosenqvist, and Alex Palou filled out the second row with admirable qualifying efforts of their own.
The one driver who was sent home was rookie Jacob Abel, who could not quite put together enough speed to secure a place in the biggest race of the season.
Update: Josef Newgarden and Will Power were penalized for unapproved modifications to their cars. They were demoted from 11th and 12th on the grid back to the final row.
| # | Driver | Time (4 laps) | Avg. Speed (MPH) | Quali session |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Shwartzman | 02:34.6459 | 232.790 | Fast Six |
| 2 | Takuma Sato | 02:34.8534 | 232.478 | Fast Six |
| 3 | Pato O’Ward | 02:35.1069 | 232.098 | Fast Six |
| 4 | Scott Dixon | 02:35.1377 | 232.052 | Fast Six |
| 5 | Felix Rosenqvist | 02:35.1809 | 231.987 | Fast Six |
| 6 | Alex Palou | 02:35.5894 | 231.378 | Fast Six |
| 7 | David Malukas | 02:35.4411 | 231.599 | Top 12 Shootout |
| 8 | Christian Lundgaard | 02:35.6015 | 231.360 | Top 12 Shootout |
| 9 | Marcus Ericsson | 02:35.8347 | 231.014 | Top 12 Shootout |
| 10 | Scott McLaughlin | No time | – | Top 12 Shootout |
| 11 | Conor Daly | 02:35.3568 | 231.725 | Locked in Saturday |
| 12 | Alexander Rossi | 02:35.3725 | 231.701 | Locked in Saturday |
| 13 | Kyffin Simpson | 02:35.4127 | 231.641 | Locked in Saturday |
| 14 | Ed Carpenter | 02:35.4180 | 231.633 | Locked in Saturday |
| 15 | Santino Ferrucci | 02:35.4453 | 231.593 | Locked in Saturday |
| 16 | Devlin DeFrancesco | 02:35.4575 | 231.575 | Locked in Saturday |
| 17 | Sting Ray Robb | 02:35.5336 | 231.461 | Locked in Saturday |
| 18 | Christian Rasmussen | 02:35.5489 | 231.438 | Locked in Saturday |
| 19 | Kyle Larson | 02:35.6242 | 231.326 | Locked in Saturday |
| 20 | Louis Foster | 02:35.8049 | 231.058 | Locked in Saturday |
| 21 | Callum Ilott | 02:35.8489 | 230.993 | Locked in Saturday |
| 22 | Helio Castroneves | 02:35.8592 | 230.978 | Locked in Saturday |
| 23 | Kyle Kirkwood | 02:35.8999 | 230.917 | Locked in Saturday |
| 24 | Nolan Siegel | 02:36.1342 | 230.571 | Locked in Saturday |
| 25 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 02:36.2752 | 230.363 | Locked in Saturday |
| 26 | Jack Harvey | 02:36.2853 | 230.348 | Locked in Saturday |
| 27 | Colton Herta | 02:36.3910 | 230.192 | Locked in Saturday |
| 28 | Graham Rahal | 02:36.6152 | 229.863 | Locked in Saturday |
| 29 | Marco Andretti | 02:36.6979 | 229.741 | Last Chance Quali |
| 30 | Marcus Armstrong | 02:37.1426 | 229.091 | Last Chance Quali |
| 31 | Rinus VeeKay | 02:38.0753 | 227.740 | Last Chance Quali |
| 32 | Josef Newgarden | No time | Penalized | Top 12 Shootout |
| 33 | Will Power | No time | Penalized | Top 12 Shootout |
| – | Cut Line | – | – | – |
| 34 | Jacob Abel | 02:38.5122 | 227.112 | Bumped Out |
c9km6b