Mother Nature threw a wrench into Indianapolis 500 qualifying weekend Saturday, as persistent rain at Indianapolis Motor Speedway washed out all on-track qualifying activity and forced IndyCar officials to completely alter the format for Sunday.
Originally, the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 was set to use IndyCar’s new two-day qualifying format, with Saturday locking in positions 16-33 and Sunday determining the pole through the Fast 12 and Firestone Fast Six sessions.
Instead, qualifying will now become a condensed one-day shootout Sunday at the Racing Capital of the World.
All 33 drivers will receive a guaranteed four-lap qualifying run beginning Sunday afternoon, with the fastest 12 advancing into the knockout portion of qualifying later in the day. From there, the Top 12 session will trim the field down to the Firestone Fast Six, which will determine the first two rows and pole position for next Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.
One major storyline entering the weekend was already the lack of “Bump Day” drama. With only 33 entries for 33 starting spots, every driver in the field is guaranteed a place in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing barring a catastrophic issue.
Still, qualifying Sunday carries enormous importance around the Speedway.
Track position remains king at Indianapolis, especially in today’s turbulent aero era, and starting near the front can completely change a driver’s month. Pole position also remains one of the most prestigious accomplishments in motorsports, particularly at a place where legends are immortalized four laps at a time.
And despite the rain washing away a full day of running, the condensed format may actually add even more pressure. Teams will have less time to react to changing track conditions, fewer opportunities to make adjustments and virtually no margin for error as speeds push well north of 230 mph around the 2.5-mile cathedral of speed.
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