NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying Report - Indianapolis 500/Day One
May 21, 2023
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race: Qualifying Report - Indianapolis 500/Day One
Date: May 20, 2023
JOSEF NEWGARDEN
No. 2 SHELL POWERING PROGRESS DALLARA/CHEVROLET
GROUP 1 PRACTICE - N/A
QUALIFYING POSITION - 17TH
SCOTT McLAUGHLIN
No. 3 PENNZOIL DALLARA/CHEVROLET
GROUP 1 PRACTICE - N/A
QUALIFYING POSITION - 14TH
WILL POWER
No. 12 VERIZON 5G DALLARA/CHEVROLET
GROUP 1 PRACTICE - N/A
QUALIFYING POSITION - 12TH
Qualifications for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 are a two-day event. The top 12 speeds from Saturday will move on to a second round on Sunday before whittling that group down to the Firestone Fast Six. Only those six drivers will have a shot at the pole position. Drivers that slot in between 13-30 on Saturday afternoon will lock in those positions for the race. Those outside the top 30 will have a separate session on Sunday to lock in the final row, with one driver not making the 33-car field.
Team Penske elected not to participate in the group practice session that preceded the first day of PPG presents Armed Forces Qualifying on Saturday morning. Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet team were the first Team Penske car to make a qualifying run, going out third and briefly holding the top spot before dropping down the order as the day progressed. The No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Chevrolet team of Josef Newgarden and the No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet team of Scott McLaughlin elected to forfeit their initial run in hopes of more favorable conditions later in the day. Both drivers qualified just inside the top 12 before being "bumped" out as qualifying continued. As the day wound down, Newgarden and the No. 2 team again forfeited their official time for one more run to make the top 12, but in a tightly packed field he was only able to score a 17th-place starting position. When the day's drama was complete, Power was sitting in the 12th position and will have a chance for another NTT P1 Award to add to his series record. McLaughlin just missed out on the top 12 and will start the Indianapolis 500 from the 14th position.
WHAT THEY SAID - "I can't believe how tight this qualifying session was today. Before our last run we trimmed the Verizon 5G Chevy and changed gears, and ran basically the same speed. It's an incredibly fierce field. This No. 12 team has done a great job, but it's a very competitive field. It shows just how tough INDYCAR is, and I think it's great."
- Will Power
WHAT'S NEXT - Practice for the top 12 qualifiers will begin tomorrow morning at 11:30 am ET. Qualifying to cut down to the Firestone Fast Six begins at 2:00 pm ET. Those six drivers will run for the pole position following the qualifying session for the last row that begins at 4:00 pm ET.