Indy 500 2025 starting grid: Your complete guide with Shwartzman on pole

Elizabeth Blackstock 19 May 2025 10:00 PM

Indy 500 starting grid qualifying Robert Shwartzman Takuma Sato Pato O'Ward PlanetF1

Robert Shwartzman (inside), Takuma Sato (middle) and Pato O'Ward (outside) comprise the front row of the 2025 Indy 500 starting grid.

We’re officially in the throes of race week for the Indy 500 2025, and the starting lineup has been set by two feverish days of qualifying that saw history made.

F1 hopeful Robert Shwartzman nabbed pole position for the all-new Prema Racing team in his first-ever oval qualifying session. We have all the details on how it happened and what the full starting line-up will look like for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Indy 500 2025 grid: How do the drivers line up?

In the modern era, qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 takes place over two days during the weekend prior to the race itself. In 2025, 34 drivers set to work battling for the 33 available starting positions — meaning someone would be ‘bumped,’ or fail to make the field.

After the final pre-qualifying practice session, drivers or their representatives (often a family member or friend) take turns randomly selecting their qualifying order on Saturday. This season, drivers were asked to select one of 34 boxes, inside of which contained a small coin with their quali order inscribed.

On Saturday, the first day of qualifying, every driver is guaranteed one chance at qualifying for the race — which is done by amassing the average speed over four laps of the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The driver who drew No. 1 on Friday will have the first crack at qualifying, with the rest of the field following suit.

When the full field has qualified, any driver who wants to attempt a faster qualifying speed can do so by entering one of two “lanes.”

By selecting the priority lane, drivers are given precedence in heading back out on the track by entirely withdrawing their initial qualifying speed. If the driver sets a slower speed, then that slower speed now counts as their only qualifying attempt.

In the “normal” or “slow” lane, drivers can retain their initial qualifying speed but still attempt to set a faster speed — at the expense of allowing all the cars in the priority lane to qualify before them, which could mean the seven-hour session times out before they have a chance to hit the track. However, if a driver in the normal lane sets a slower speed on his second lap, he can still use his first attempt to keep a higher grid position.

On Saturday, positions 13-30 are locked in. The 12 fastest and four slowest drivers move on to additional sessions on Sunday.

The first Sunday qualifying session is a Fast 12 session; here, the six quickest drivers will advance to the Fast Six session that will set pole position. Drivers who finished in positions 7 through 12 will be locked into those positions after that session.

Then comes the Last-Chance Qualifying session, which is termed Bump Day. In this session, the four slowest drivers in the field will compete for a place on the last row of the grid — which means one driver won’t make the cut and will be “bumped” from the race.

Finally, Sunday ends with the pole session, where the six fastest drivers in that afternoon’s Fast 12 session compete for pole.

Full 2025 Indy 500 starting grid

- 1. Robert Shwartzman (No. 83 Prema Racing) R
- 2. Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) W
- 3. Pato O’Ward (No. 5 McLaren)
- 4. Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing) W
- 5. Felix Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank Racing)
- 6. Alex Palou (No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing)
- 7. David Malukas (No. 4 A. J. Foyt Racing)
- 8. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 McLaren)
- 9. Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Andretti Global) W
- 10. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Team Penske)
- 11. Conor Daly (No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing)
- 12. Alexander Rossi (No. 20 ECR) W
- 13. Kyffin Simpson (No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing)
- 14.

Ed Carpenter (No. 33 ECR)
15. Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 A. J. Foyt Racing)
16. Devlin DeFrancesco (No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)
17. Sting Ray Robb (No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing)
18. Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 ECR)
19. Kyle Larson (No. 17 McLaren)
20. Louis Foster (No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) R
21. Callum Ilott (No. 90 Prema Racing)
22. Helio Castroneves (No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing) W
23. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Andretti Global)
24. Nolan Siegel (No. 6 McLaren) R
25. Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 23 DRR-Cusick Motorsports) W
26. Jack Harvey (No. 24 DRR-Cusick Motorsports)
27. Colton Herta (No. 26 Andretti Global)
28. Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)
29. Marco Andretti (No. 98 Andretti Global)
30. Marcus Armstrong (Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian)
31. Rinus VeeKay (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing)
32. Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Team Penske) W
33. Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske) W
Bumped: Jacob Abel (No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing) R

R denotes rookie, W denotes former Indy 500 winner

Row-by-row 2025 Indy 500 starting grid:

Row 1: 1. Robert Shwartzman | 2. Takuma Sato | 3. Pato O’Ward
Row 2: 4. Scott Dixon | 5. Felix Rosenqvist | 6. Alex Palou
Row 3: 7. David Malukas | 8. Christian Lundgaard | 9. Marcus Ericsson
Row 4: 10. Scott McLaughlin | 11. Conor Daly | 12. Alexander Rossi
Row 5: 13. Kyffin Simpson | 14. Ed Carpenter | 15. Santino Ferrucci
Row 6: 16. Devlin DeFrancesco | 17. Sting Ray Robb | 18. Christian Rasmussen
Row 7: 19. Kyle Larson | 20. Louis Foster | 21. Callum Ilott
Row 8: 22. Helio Castroneves | 23. Kyle Kirkwood | 24. Nolan Siegel
Row 9: 25. Ryan Hunter-Reay | 26. Jack Harvey | 27. Colton Herta
Row 10: 28. Graham Rahal | 29. Marco Andretti | 30. Marcus Armstrong
Row 11: 31. Rinus Veekay | 32. Josef Newgarden | 33. Will Power

Indy 500 2025 grid in full: A complete guide

1. Robert Shwartzman (No. 83 Prema Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 0
Best Indy 500 start: 1st (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: N/A
Previous wins from qualifying position: 21

Robert Shwartzman made history by qualifying on pole for the 2025 Indianapolis 500.

His team, Prema Racing, has only entered IndyCar this year after a long history in the European open-wheel racing scene. Shwartzman himself has never competed on an oval. And yet the duo displayed mind-boggling speed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — good enough for pole.

This is the first pole position for a rookie since 1983 — which also happens to be the year Prema was founded. Shwartzman joins Mauri Rose as one of two Jewish Indy 500 polesitters, and he’s also the only Indy 500 polesitter who has a Formula 1 grid penalty to serve!

The polesitter of the Indy 500 has won the race 21 times —more than any other slot on starting grid — which means that statistically, Shwartzman’s shot at becoming a rookie winner are quite high.

However, it’s likely that Shwartzman will have a lot to learn in what will be his first-ever oval race, so it may help to keep expectations reasonable!

2. Takuma Sato (No. 75 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 15
Best Indy 500 start: 2nd (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: 1st (2017, 2020)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 11

By snatching a second-place starting position, 48-year-old Japanese driver Takuma Sato has proven that age is no barrier in racing.

The former Formula 1 driver (Jordan, BAR, Super Aguri) is only contesting the Indy 500 in 2025, as he’s since taken charge of Honda’s young driver development program. However, he’s made the most of his one-off thus far, taking over as the quickest driver at the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team.

Eleven drivers have won the race from the middle of the first row, and Sato will hope to add to that list in order to secure his third Indy 500 victory.

3. Pato O’Ward (No. 5 McLaren)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 5
Best Indy 500 start: 3rd (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: 2nd (2022, 2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 13

Few drivers have come closer to victory at the Indy 500, only to lose out in the closing moments, than Pato O’Ward.

The Mexican driver will be the first from his country to sit on the first row of the Indy 500 grid, but O’Ward will be hoping to convert that to a win. He’s finished twice by slim margins twice, and he’s also crashed in the closing laps from the front of the field.

But 2025 was particularly brutal. O’Ward made what looked to be the race-winning pass on Josef Newgarden, only for the Penske driver to sweep around him on the final corner. O’Ward lost out by the blink of an eye, and he was positively distraught after the race.

Thirteen drivers have won the Indy 500 from the outside of the first row — the best starting position for winners after pole position.

More on the 2025 Indy 500:

👉 Indy 500 prize money explained: How much money does the winner receive?

👉 Indy 500 2025: When is it and how can I watch on TV and live stream?

4. Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 22
Best Indy 500 start: 1st (2008, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022)
Best Indy 500 finish: 1st (2008)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 7

Scott Dixon has won six IndyCar championships and five Indy 500 pole positions, but the legendary driver has only managed to win the Greatest Spectacle in Racing once, back in 2008.

Dixon’s No. 9 Honda has been quick right out of the gate, and he knows how to lead laps; he’s done so more than any other driver in 500 history! If he’s able to manage his pace and stay out of trouble, he’s a strong contender for victory.

Drivers who started fourth on the grid for the Indy 500 have won the race seven times.

5. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 6
Best Indy 500 start: 3rd (2023)
Best Indy 500 finish: 4th (2022)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 7

Despite setting a monstrous flying lap in Fast 12 qualifying, Felix Rosenqvist wasn’t quite able to replicate that pace when it came time to fight for pole position. Nevertheless, a fifth-place starting position is still an extremely strong start.

He’s had pace in the build-up to the race, becoming the first driver to reach 234 miles per hour in 2025.

With seven drivers having won the Indy 500 from fifth on the grid, the Swedish driver has a some promising statistics in his favor heading into race day.

6. Alex Palou (N0. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 5
Best Indy 500 start: 1st (2023)
Best Indy 500 finish: 2nd (2021)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 5

Alex Palou has won four IndyCar titles, but he’s still hunting for his first-ever oval win.

That’s not to say that Palou is bad at ovals; in fact, he’s qualified on pole position once and finished in the top-10 four times at the Indy 500! But somehow, this talented driver hasn’t been able to bring his No. 10 across the line for a win.

He’s starting sixth in 2025, a position from which five other drivers have won. Will he continue his dominant streak this year to make that six drivers?

7. David Malukas (No. 4 A. J. Foyt Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 2
Best Indy 500 start: 7th (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: 16th (2022)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 5

In just his third Indy 500 start, A. J. Foyt Racing driver David Malukas will start from seventh on the grid, a position from which five other drivers have managed to win the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

With most of the Penske team relegated to the rear of the starting grid, all eyes are on Foyt, a team that benefits from a technical partnership with Penske, to take their place,

Considering Malukas’ speed all month long, he could very well turn this start position into a win.

8. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 McLaren)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 3
Best Indy 500 start: 8th (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: 13th (2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 3

Christian Lundgaard made the swap from RLL to McLaren in 2025, and he’s taken three podiums to his name so far.

While his eighth-place starting position isn’t the best, it’s better than anything he’s managed at the race before. Three drivers have won from eighth; Lundgaard will be hoping to become one of them.

9. Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Andretti Global)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 6
Best Indy 500 start: 5th (2022)
Best Indy 500 finish: 1st (2022)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 1

2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson has seen the best and worst of what this race has to offer; just two years after his win, he was fighting to even make the field after a crash saw his qualifying car absolutely demolished.

In his second year with Andretti Global, Ericsson will start from ninth — which is a huge turnaround from his 32nd-place start last year. However, only one other driver has won the 500 from ninth on the grid.

10. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Team Penske)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 4
Best Indy 500 start: 1st (2024)
Best Indy 500 finish: 6th (2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 2

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin may have been a legend down in the Australian Supercars series, but he’s also proven that he has what it takes to find speed in the IndyCar series.

Mastering the art of the oval hadn’t been easy for McLaughlin, but 2024 marked a turning point for the Kiwi driver; he qualified on pole and took his best-ever finish in the race.

However, McLaughlin had a nasty wreck during morning warm-up before Sunday’s Fast 12 qualifying session. His No. 3 Chevy was destroyed and was not ready to hit the track for the session, which should have seen him nab the 12th-place starting position — had it not been for some Team Penske drama!

Only two previous drivers in the 108 years of this race have won from 10th on the grid.

11. Conor Daly (No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 11
Best Indy 500 start: 11th (2019, 2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: 6th (2022)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 3

Conor Daly has been a consistent force at Indianapolis for over a decade, often putting together strong performances in one-off or lower-tier cars.

His 11th-place start in 2025 matches his previous best-ever start. With three drivers having won from 11th before, Daly will be hoping to add his name to the list.

12. Alexander Rossi (No. 20 ECR)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 9
Best Indy 500 start: 3rd (2017)
Best Indy 500 finish: 1st (2016)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 2

Alexander Rossi won the Indy 500 on his first try in 2016 when a genius fuel strategy call and some careful driving meant he was the first driver to cross the finish line on Memorial Day Sunday.

The former F1 driver has been chasing that victory ever since, never quite able to make it stick. This will be his first Indy 500 with his new team, ECR, and while he initially qualified 14th, two penalties have allowed him to move up to 12th.

Only two other drivers have won the race from 12th — but that’s just one position lower than where Rossi started when he managed to win in 2016!

13. Kyffin Simpson (No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 1
Best Indy 500 start: 13th (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: 21st (2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 4

Kyffin Simpson’s 13th-place starting position is his best 500 start yet, though he only has one other start to his name!

Of the three Chip Ganassi Racing drivers, Simpson is the only one to have wrecked his car during practice; the nasty accident saw him lose control, crack into the wall, and lose control of his car as it slid into pit road.

But four drivers have won the race from 13th, so his hopes will be high that he can discover a great result!

14. Ed Carpenter (No. 33 ECR)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 21
Best Indy 500 start: 1st (2013, 2014, 2018)
Best Indy 500 finish: 2nd (2018)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 1

ECR team owner Ed Carpenter has largely stepped away from active competition to focus on running his outfit — but as an Indiana native, he’ll never turn down a chance to compete in the Indianapolis 500.

This year, Carpenter will start from 14th position; only one driver has previously won from there.

15. Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 A. J. Foyt Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 6
Best Indy 500 start: 4th (2023)
Best Indy 500 finish: 3rd (2023)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 4

Santino Ferrucci has really distinguished himself as a competitive oval racer, finishing in the top 10 every single time he’s raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway no matter where he qualifies.

This year, he’ll be starting the race from 15th — not his best finish, but not his worst. Further, four drivers have won the race from 15th, proving that it’s possible.

16. Devlin DeFrancesco (No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 2
Best Indy 500 start: 16th (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: 13th (2023)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 2

After a year away from racing, Devlin DeFrancesco has returned to the Indianapolis 500 with a new team, and he’s been rewarded with his best-ever start: 16th!

The Canadian racer will hope to transform the 16th into a victory the same way two other drivers have done in the past.

17. Sting Ray Robb (No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 2
Best Indy 500 start: 17th (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: 16th (2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 2

Sting Ray Robb — yes, that is his real name! — will be making his third Indy 500 start with a third different team in 2025, and this year, he’s secured his best-ever start.

Robb initially qualified 19th, though he’s been bumped up to 17th thanks to penalties. Two other drivers have won the 500 from this position.

18. Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 ECR)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 1
Best Indy 500 start: 18th (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: 12th (2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 0

Christian Rasmussen, driver of the No. 21 ECR machine, has looked aggressive throughout qualifying — but not quite when it comes to speed.

The Danish racer was slicing and dicing his way through the field in practice, but when it came time to qualify, he could only secure 20th; he was bumped up to 18th as a result of penalties on other drivers.

This year will be Rasmussen’s best-ever Indy 500 start; no driver has won from 18th on the grid, but he’ll be trying to become the first to do so.

19. Kyle Larson (No. 17 McLaren with Rick Hendrick)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 1
Best Indy 500 start: 5th (2024)
Best Indy 500 finish: 18th (2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 2

Kyle Larson’s name is far more familiar to stock car racing fans than to open-wheel fans, but that hasn’t stopped him from once again trying his hand at “doing the double” — or, competing in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon before jetting over to Charlotte for NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in the evening.

This will be Larson’s second attempt at completing the feat; in 2024, a rain-delayed Indy 500 meant that Larson arrived to Charlotte after the Coke 600 had already started. Just before he was about to climb into the car, the race was ended early for rain — thus depriving Larson of the opportunity to actually contest the Double.

He’ll try again this coming Sunday, though potential rain around Indianapolis on race day may mean Larson has to forfeit another year.

Kyle Larson qualified 21st but will start the 2025 Indy 500 from 19th after two Team Penske cars were penalized. Only two drivers have managed to win the race from 19th.

20. Louis Foster (No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 0
Best Indy 500 start: 20th (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: N/A
Previous wins from qualifying position: 3

England’s Louis Foster will line up 20th on the grid for his first-ever Indianapolis 500 — which means he’ll also be competing for Rookie of the Year honors against a stacked field that includes polesitter Robert Shwartzman.

Racing for RLL this season, Foster has endured a bit of a rocky road thus far, though his ability to start the 500 from 20th position as opposed to further down the grid should bolster his confidence.

Can Foster win? Three drivers have done so from 20th on the grid in the previous 108 runnings of the race, so the chances are slim — but nothing is impossible.

21. Callum Ilott (N0. 90 Prema Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 3
Best Indy 500 start: 15th (2024)
Best Indy 500 finish: 11th (2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 1

Hopes have been high for Callum Ilott in 2025; after a few rocky years in IndyCar that included ample abuse from fans of his former teammate, the Briton has finally nabbed a full-season ride with the brand-new Prema Racing team.

But while his teammate managed to stick the car on pole in his debut, Ilott’s Month of May has been far more subdued. He qualified 23rd, though he’ll now start from 21st due to two Penske penalties. With only one driver managing to win from that position on the grid, he’ll need a clean and faultless race to contest for a win.

22. Helio Castroneves (No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 24
Best Indy 500 start: 1st (2003, 2007, 2009, 2010)
Best Indy 500 finish: 1st (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 2

If Helio Castroneves can win the 2025 Indianapolis 500, he’ll be the only driver in history to have won the event five times — and the third driver to win the 500 from 22nd on the grid.

At 50 years of age, Castroneves is the oldest driver on the grid, but has by no means slowed down; his most recent victory at the iconic race came just a few years ago, in 2021.

23. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Andretti Global)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 3
Best Indy 500 start: 11th (2024)
Best Indy 500 finish: 7th (2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 0

While 2025 doesn’t represent Kyle Kirkwood’s worst start to the Indy 500, it has come close. The Andretti Global driver will line up 23rd — a position from which no driver has ever won — on Sunday.

24. Nolan Siegel (No. 6 McLaren)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 0
Best Indy 500 start: 24th (2025)
Best Indy 500 finish: N/A
Previous wins from qualifying position: 0

Nolan Siegel was fighting for a slot on the Indy 500 starting grid in 2024 when he lost control of his car and crashed hard into the wall. Though that meant he was the driver who was “bumped” for that year’s race, Siegel’s drive and gracious acceptance of the situation saw him rocket to the top of every team’s prospective driver list.

Now, in 2025, Siegel is racing full-time with McLaren; he’s the lowest-placed starter of his team, but that’s still not too bad considering it’ll be his first-ever Indy 500.

25. Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 23 DRR-Cusick Motorsports)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 16
Best Indy 500 start: 3rd (2012, 2016)
Best Indy 500 finish: 1st (2014)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 1

Winner of the 2014 Indy 500, Ryan Hunter-Reay is back for his 17th attempt at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing — but his chances aren’t quite the best.

Only one driver has managed to win from 25th on the grid. Making things more challenging is the fact that his team is a 500-only effort, and he too is only contesting this race.

26. Jack Harvey (No. 24 DRR-Cusick Motorsports)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 7
Best Indy 500 start: 20th (2020)
Best Indy 500 finish: 9th (2020)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 0

Jack Harvey has traded full-time IndyCar competition for a microphone; you’ll recognize him as one of the pit reporters for the sport after its move to FOX this year. But he’s still trying his hand at the Indy 500.

Harvey is partnering up with DRR, the one-off team fielding Hunter-Reay, for his only start of the season. His 26th-place starting slot is one that no driver has won from before.

27. Colton Herta (No. 26 Andretti Global)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 6
Best Indy 500 start: 2nd (2021)
Best Indy 500 finish: 8th (2020)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 1

Colton Herta’s 2025 season has been messy, and that was epitomized this past weekend when his No. 26 Honda flipped upside down on the first flying lap of his initial qualifying run.

Herta was unharmed, but his car was absolutely demolished. It was all hands on deck for Andretti Global; the team not only managed to repair the car but to even wrap it in the appropriate sponsor livery with just enough time in the day to allow Herta to put a time on the board.

The American racer wasn’t particularly quick — he only qualified 29th — but it was still good enough to guarantee him a slot in the show. He’s moved up thanks to some penalties; only one driver has won from 27th, but Herta will be hoping to add to that total.

28. Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 17
Best Indy 500 start: 4th (2009)
Best Indy 500 finish: 3rd (2011, 2020)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 2

Graham Rahal has never quite been able to match the legacy of his father, at least as far as Indianapolis 500 victories are concerned, and these last few years have been come of his most challenging.

Back in 2023, Rahal was bumped from the Indy 500 field for the first time in his career — though he was indeed able to compete after DRR driver Stefan Wilson broke his back in post-qualifying practice.

In 2024, Rahal once again found himself on the cusp of being bumped but was able to snatch the very last slot on the grid.

In 2025, he and Marco Andretti had a fierce battle in the closing stages of Saturday’s qualifying session, both trying to avoid having to move on to the Last-Chance Qualifying session on Sunday. This year, Rahal was able to avoid it by setting the 30th-fastest time.

He’ll line up 28th on the grid after two Penske penalties; Rahal will be looking to win a race from a position that only two other men have converted to victory.

29. Marco Andretti (No. 98 Andretti Global)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 19
Best Indy 500 start: 1st (2020)
Best Indy 500 finish: 2nd (2006)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 0

Marco Andretti, the grandson of 1969 Indy 500 winner and 1978 F1 World Champion Mario Andretti, had to fight hard for his position in the 2025 Indianapolis 500 — the only IndyCar race he’s contesting this year.

Andretti was one of four drivers who struggled to set a fast time on Saturday, which meant he had to fight for a starting slot on Sunday in the Last-Chance Qualifying session. The fact that he was the quickest of the four drivers was a weight off his shoulders and meant he made the show.

While he was originally slated to line up 31st, two penalties for Team Penske means he’s been promoted to 29th on the grid.

No driver has won the race from 29th, which will make Andretti’s hopes of broadening his family’s legacy just a little dimmer.

30. Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 Meyer Shank Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 1
Best Indy 500 start: 16th (2024)
Best Indy 500 finish: 30th (2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 0

Marcus Armstrong lost control of his No. 66 Meyer Shank Honda in the last warm-up session before Indy 500 qualifying kicked off in full force on Saturday. His race car was absolutely demolished, and the Meyer Shank crew had to work hard to make repairs.

Armstrong wasn’t quite as lucky as Herta; while he, too, was able to attempt to get a time on the board on Saturday, he wasn’t able to set a time fast enough to secure him a place in the show.

As a result, he was one of four drivers left to battle through the Last-Chance Qualifying session — and he was able to set a competitive enough time for 32nd. He’ll move up to 30th in the wake of penalties, though no driver has ever won from that position on the grid.

31. Rinus Veekay (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 5
Best Indy 500 start: 2nd (2023)
Best Indy 500 finish: 8th (2021)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 0

Rinus Veekay has been moved up the starting order as a result of two Penske penalties, but the Dutch driver had just barely managed to snatch the last slot on the grid during Sunday’s last-chance qualifying session.

The driver who qualified on the front row in three of his five previous 500 starts found himself going head-to-head with his Dale Coyne Racing teammate Jacob Abel for the 33rd-place starting position. Coyne allowed the crews of both drivers to operate independently in those closing moments of qualifying.

And Veekay’s crew decided to take a bold strategy: They scrapped the driver’s initial qualifying speed in the LCQ session, confident that they’d be able to set a faster speed in their second attempt.

They didn’t.

Veekay went slower than he had done on his first attempt, but he was forced to stick with his slower speed. The No. 18 crew looked on anxiously as Abel took to the track for the final qualifying attempt of the session — and were relieved when Abel, too, was slower.

No drivers have won the 500 from a 31st-place starting position.

32. Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Team Penske)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 13
Best Indy 500 start: 2nd (2016)
Best Indy 500 finish: 1st (2023, 2024)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 0

In 2025, Josef Newgarden is looking to make history by becoming the first driver to win this iconic race three times in a row — but the back-to-back champ is going to have his work cut out for him.

As cars lined up for the Fast 12 qualifying session, the Penske Nos. 2 and 12 of Newgarden and Will Power were pulled from the pit lane and brought back to the garage.

According to Team Penske head Tim Cindric, the cars had passed technical inspection, but a steward then noticed that two of the Penske cars had a seam in their attenuator filled; this is not allowed, so crews for both cars attempted to grind out that seam on pit road.

Rival team owner Chip Ganassi raised the point that no team should be allowed to alter the car after it had passed tech, thus prompting Penske to pull its cars out of line and withdraw from the session.

Newgarden was initially listed as starting 11th, but on Monday, IndyCar announced that he had been dropped to 32nd on the grid. His strategist will be suspended for the remainder of the Indy 500, his entry will forfeit its qualification points, and the team has been fined $100,000.

No driver has won from 32nd on the grid — making Newgarden’s three-peat a near impossibility.

33. Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 17
Best Indy 500 start: 2nd (2010, 2015, 2024)
Best Indy 500 finish: 1st (2018)
Previous wins from qualifying position: 0

As Will Power circles the tail end of his career, he’s looking for a second Indy 500 victory to further cement his name into the history books — but from last on the grid, he’s going to be hard-pressed to make it happen.

Power was one of the two Team Penske cars penalized for illegal bodywork modification, with Josef Newgarden being the other. Like Newgarden, Power was dropped down the grid, losing his 12th-place start to now take up 33rd. Power’s strategist has been suspended, his entry has lost its qualification points, and the team has also been fined $100,000.

No driver has won the Indy 500 from the last slot on the grid, meaning it might take a miracle for Power to take home a win.

Bumped: Jacob Abel (No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing)

Number of Indy 500s contested: 0
Best Indy 500 start: N/A
Best Indy 500 finish: N/A
Previous wins from qualifying position: N/A

With 34 entrants for the Indy 500 and only 33 starting positions available, someone was going to have to be bumped. Unfortunately for Jacob Abel, that someone was him.

The 24-year-old rookie simply didn’t have the pace in Sunday’s Last-Chance Qualifying session; he and Dale Coyne teammate Rinus Veekay both made two attempts in that final session, but it was Abel who came out on the losing end.

The driver from Louisville, Kentucky will watch the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 from the sidelines