Indianapolis 500 qualifying reduced to a one-day event after Saturday rainout

Qualifying for the 2026 Indianapolis 500 will take place over just one day.

The first session of qualifying was rained out on Saturday, meaning all 33 cars attempting the race will finalize their starting spots on Sunday. Thanks to intermittent rain at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, no one made a qualifying attempt on Saturday before IndyCar canceled the day’s activity.

With 33 spots available in the field, no one will miss the race. This year’s qualifying is about track position and pit selection.

On Sunday, every car will get one qualifying attempt starting at Noon ET. Unlike in past Indy 500 qualifying sessions, teams will not be able to withdraw their qualifying times and make another qualifying attempt.

The fastest 12 cars from the first round will move on to the second round of qualifying, while the cars from 13th on back will start where they qualified on their initial attempt.

The top six cars from the second round of qualifying will then run for the pole position at 6 p.m. The bottom six cars from the second round will start in spots Nos. 7 through 12.

Saturday’s rainout simplified qualifying considerably. With no one set to miss the race, qualifying was adjusted earlier in the week in a rather complicated way. The top nine drivers from Saturday’s runs would have locked themselves into the top-12 second round on Sunday, while the drivers in spots Nos. 10-15 on Saturday would have run again on Sunday for the final three spots in the second round. Those 12 drivers would have then been whittled in half for the top-six shootout.

Three-time defending series champion Alex Palou is the defending Indianapolis 500 winner and the heavy favorite to win this year’s race. Last year’s win was Palou’s first Indy 500 win as he further solidified his status as one of the best IndyCar drivers ever.