Alex Palou secures pole for the 110th Indianapolis 500

Alex Palou will start the defense of his Indianapolis 500 victory from pole after posting the fastest run in Sunday qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. IndyCar said Palou’s four-lap average in the Firestone Fast Six was 232.248 mph, good for his second career pole in the race and a $100,000 NTT P1 Award bonus. Alexander Rossi qualified second at 231.990 mph, and David Malukas took third at 231.877 mph to complete the front row. Hours later, IndyCar officials reordered the back of the grid after post-qualifying inspection failures for Caio Collet and Jack Harvey. ### How fast was Palou’s pole run? Palou’s winning average was 232.248 mph over four laps in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, according to IndyCar. The series said that made him the first reigning Indianapolis 500 winner to earn the pole for the next year’s race since Helio Castroneves did it in 2010. Palou, a four-time and reigning IndyCar champion, also won the Indy 500 pole in 2023. (indycar.com) “I have no words,” Palou said, according to IndyCar. “It just feels incredible.” IndyCar said the Spaniard’s run came after a weather-disrupted weekend in which rain washed out Saturday qualifying plans and compressed the schedule into Sunday. ### Who joins him on the front two rows? Rossi, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet, secured the middle of the front row with a 231.990 mph average, while Malukas put the No. 12 Chevrolet third at 231.877 mph. (indycar.com) IndyCar’s qualifying order and NBC Sports’ updated lineup both listed Felix Rosenqvist fourth at 231.375 mph, Santino Ferrucci fifth at 230.846 mph and Pato O’Ward sixth at 230.442 mph on Row 2. Kyffin Simpson, Conor Daly and Scott McLaughlin filled Row 3 in the provisional order published after the Fast Six session. Scott Dixon, Rinus VeeKay and Takuma Sato followed on Row 4 in NBC Sports’ updated lineup after later penalties were applied. ### Where did Josef Newgarden end up? Josef Newgarden qualified 23rd and will start from the middle of Row 8, according to NBC Sports’ updated grid. (nbcsports.com) The Team Penske driver won the Indianapolis 500 in 2023 and 2024, but Yahoo Sports said he will need to move through traffic if he wants another victory on May 24. Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified 22nd and Romain Grosjean 24th alongside Newgarden in that row. Katherine Legge, who is also attempting the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, is listed 27th in the starting order published by Yahoo Sports. (nbcsports.com) ### Why did the starting grid change after qualifying ended? IndyCar officials announced about three hours after qualifying that Collet and Harvey had their times disallowed for unapproved modifications found in post-qualifying inspection. NBC Sports and local outlet WTHR reported the violations involved changes to the Dallara-supplied Energy Management System covers and the cover-to-A-arm mounting points with unapproved hardware. (sports.yahoo.com) Collet had originally qualified 10th, and Harvey had qualified 29th, before both were sent to the rear of the 33-car field. WISH-TV reported the two drivers also will choose pit boxes after the rest of the field. ### When is the race and where can viewers follow it? The 110th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 24, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. (nbcsports.com) Yahoo Sports listed the start time as 12:30 p.m. ET on Fox. The 33-car field is now set, with Palou on pole, Rossi and Malukas on the front row, and Newgarden starting 23rd after qualifying weekend ended with the late inspection penalties for Collet and Harvey. (nbcsports.com) (sports.yahoo.com)