Here is the qualifying order for the 2022 Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS -- Four Chevys will roll off pitlane in succession to kickoff Saturday's Indianapolis 500 qualifying battle, as the engine manufacturer hopes to even the score after Honda has not only won the last two editions of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but had one of its drivers start on pole.
After a Fast Friday filled with fewer than 500 combined laps run by the 33-car field due to high temperatures and even higher wind gust speeds, Arrow McLaren SP not only turned one of the fastest laps in the field (Pato O'Ward, 3rd-fastest at 231.798 mph), but they clearly won the 'luck' battle afterwards. Drivers, or a representative of their choice, came up onto a stage in Pagoda Plaza and blindly selected their spot in the order to make their first qualifying run Saturday -- and they did so in order of their final spot on the time charts Friday.
More on Fast Friday:
O'Ward nabbed the top spot early, and his teammates Felix Rosenqvist (4th) and Juan Pablo Montoya (9th) not only will be able to run close to him and try and learn a thing or two about the conditions, but will do so as early as possible, with as low of temperatures as possible.
Last year's starter on the outside of Row 1 Rinus VeeKay will roll off 2nd. Interestingly, four of the next five drivers in the order are rookies, meaning they'll likely have more advantageous conditions to try and lay down a four-lap average good enough to launch them into the Fast 12.
On the other end of the spectrum, Team Penske president Tim Cindric drew the starting spots of all three of his drivers in succession and was booed off-stage after the results (Scott McLaughlin 22nd, Josef Newgarden 28th and Will Power 32nd).
How Indy 500 qualifying weekend works:
Drivers preparing for chaotic Indy 500 qualifying: 'The fans are the winners'
Indy 500 practice, qualifying start times moved up on Saturday to avoid rain
As much as anyone, all eyes Saturday will be on Dalton Kellett, who drew the 33rd starting spot. With rain set to arrive around 2 p.m. -- near when he'll likely be making his run -- Saturday's results will only be "official" and count toward slotting the field if all 33 drivers have the opportunity to make at least one run Saturday. If rain comes earlier than expected, or if a series of crashes slow down the process, and the session can't be restarted before 6 p.m., IndyCar will have to restart the process Sunday morning.
Qualifying will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. Gates for spectators will open at 8 a.m., with the first of two 30-minute half-field practice sessions starting at 8:30 a.m.
Fast 12
These drivers will compete for pole position on Sunday: Rinus VeeKay, Pato O'Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, Alex Palou, Tony Kanaan, Jimmie Johnson, Ed Carpenter, Marcus Ericsson, Romain Grosjean, Scott Dixon, Will Power and Takuma Sato.
Here's how rows 5-11 stand:
Includes car number, driver name (R-Indy 500 rookie; W-Indy 500 winner), engine make, team, average speed in mph. All drivers use Dallara chassis and Firestone tires
Indy 500 Row 5
13. (18) David Malukas (R), Honda, Dale Coyne Racing with HMD, 231.607
14. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Team Penske, 231.580
15. (23) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, 231.508
Indy 500 Row 6
16. (60) Simon Pagenaud (W), Honda, Meyer Shank Racing, 231.275
17. (11) JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 231.112
18. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing, 230.999
Indy 500 Row 7
19. (77) Callum Ilott (R), Chevrolet, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 230.916
20. (27) Alexander Rossi (W), Honda, Andretti Autosport, 230.812
21. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 230.766
Indy 500 Row 8
22. (24) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, Dreyer & Reinbold, 230.464
23. (98) Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Herta Autosport with Marco Curb, 230.345
24. (29) Devlin DeFrancesco (R), Honda, Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport, 230.326
Indy 500 Row 9
25. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, Andretti Autosport, 230.235
26. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Team Penske, 230.154
27. (06) Helio Castroneves (W), Honda, Meyer Shank Racing, 229.630
Indy 500 Row 10
28. (14) Kyle Kirkwood (R), Chevrolet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 229.406
29. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 228.916
30. (6) Juan Pablo Montoya (W), Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren SP, 228.622
Indy 500 Row 11
31. (30) Christian Lungaard (R), Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 227.053
32. (45) Jack Harvey, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 226.851
33. (25) Stefan Wilson, Chevrolet, DragonSpeed/Cusick Racing, no speed
Here was the order the drivers went off on Saturday:
The qualifying order for the Indy 500
1. Pato O'Ward
2. Rinus VeeKay
3. Callum Ilott
4. Felix Rosenqvist
5. Romain Grosjean
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Devlin DeFrancesco
8. J.R. Hildebrand
9. Juan Pablo Montoya
10. Takuma Sato
11. Marco Andretti
12. Graham Rahal
13. Tony Kanaan
14. David Malukas
15. Santino Ferrucci
16. Colton Herta
17. Stefan Wilson
18. Scott Dixon
19. Alex Palou
20. Conor Daly
21. Helio Castroneves
22. Scott McLaughlin
23. Ed Carpenter
24. Alexander Rossi
25. Marcus Ericsson
26. Jack Harvey
27. Sage Karam
28. Josef Newgarden
29. Christian Lundgaard
30. Simon Pagenaud
31. Kyle Kirkwood
32. Will Power
33. Dalton Kellett
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500 2022 qualifying order
