To the untrained eye, speeding around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, completing a four-lap qualifying run for the Gainbridge-presented Indianapolis 500, looks aesthetically simple. But the difficulty and danger are much more challenging than most people think.
Qualifying is MUCH more than riding for 10 miles. With 34 cars vying for 33 spots in the field, someone is going home on Sunday. Careers are made here and missing the show can break one’s stride.
Qualifying at Indianapolis is not for the faint of heart.
The challenge of a qualifying effort begins the moment the car rolls off pit road for this weekend’s PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying.
A lot of chaos can happen in four rounds. The way drivers have to attack each lap makes each of them unique.
So which round is the most important of these?
Round 1: “Honestly, you have to have the car a little bit spicy in a way so that Rounds 1 and 2 have that really good top average speed,” said Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Pietro Fittipaldi.
Round 2: “You can put a heater on that first lap, but I feel like that drop off after the first lap is pretty significant,” said Ed Carpenter racing driver Rinus VeeKay, who has made three straight Indianapolis 500 starts on the front row. “That’s usually where you see the difference between second place in the second round.” VeeKay was part of last year’s Indianapolis 500 that posted the time difference between the top two qualifiers in “500” history (0.0040 of a second) and the second tightest 1-2 speed margin in “500” history (0.006 mph).
Round 3: “I think laps 3 and 4 are tough,” said Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Graham Rahal. “Laps 1 and 2 the tires are there. Even if you’re a little off balance, you can do it in (Laps) 3 and 4, especially if you relax like I did on my first run last year. Yeah, that’s a bit o*o.” Five-time Indianapolis 500 NTT P1 winner Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing echoed Rahal’s sentiments, saying that rounds 3 and 4 are the critical tracks to make it.
Round 4: Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward said the final lap was the worst from inside the car. “The last one is the most important, because if you get a bad one, it will ruin your average.” Three-time Ed Carpenter agreed three-time Indianapolis 500 pole sitter. “That’s what’s unique about qualifying here is the fact that it’s a four-round average. The first two rounds are always much easier than the last two. I think my first two poles we didn’t have the fastest single lap than the other guys on the front row. It all came down to that fourth round, so the fourth is always important.” Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Conor Daly said the fourth round the past two years has taken him from the Fast 12 to 18th or 19th. “Round 4 is rubbish,” he said.