So even though qualifying for the Indy 500 began Saturday, May 18, we did not know who would start on the pole for the 2019 Indy 500 — or who would be bumped from the field — until late Sunday afternoon.
MORE: Watch the Indy 500 live with fuboTV (7-day trial)
The Indy 500 qualifying process began Saturday, May 18 with a qualifying session that began at 11 a.m. ET and ran through 5:50 p.m. ET. All 36 cars that have entered to qualify for the Indy 500 were guaranteed at least one qualifying attempt, each of which was four laps, and multiple four-lap runs were allowed as time permitted. This quaifying session set positions 10-30 in the 33-car field for the Indy 500. The cars that qualified in these spots were locked into place and did partake in the qualifying sessions Sunday.
NBC Sports Gold showed the majority of Saturday’s Indy 500 qualifying session. For the last hour, starting at 5 p.m. ET, NBCSN carried the action.
On Sunday, May 19, last row qualifying took place live on NBC. This session set positions 31-33 for the Indy 500. Then, Fast 9 qualifying, which also was shown live on NBC, set the first three rows, including the pole, for the Indy 500.
A breakdown of the Indy 500 qualifying format is below.
A total of 36 cars entered for a chance to make the 33-car field for the Indy 500. Fernando Alonso, Patricio O’Ward and Max Chilton were bumped from the field during last row qualifying Sunday.
The starting lineup for the 2019 Indy 500 is below.
