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The month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is all about speed, excitement and history. This weekend, INDYCAR’s biggest stars will push their cars to the extreme in qualifying for the 2026 Indy 500.
Drivers will battle for pole position over two days of qualifying. With speeds expected to exceed 230 mph as teams seek a place in ‘The Greatest Show in Racing’.
Here’s everything you need to know about qualifying for the Indy 500, including the TV schedule, streaming information and format.
How to watch Indy 500 qualifying
- Dates: Saturday May 16 and Sunday May 17
- Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, IN
- TV channels: FOX, FS1, FS2
- Streaming: FOX One, FOX Sports app and FOXSports.com
Qualifying schedule for the Indy 500
Saturday Qualifying – Day 1
Full-court qualifications:
- Practice: 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET (FS2)
- Qualifying: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET (FS2)
- Qualifying: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET (FS1)
- Qualifying: 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
Sunday Qualifying – Day 2
- Practice: 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET (FS2)
- Qualifying Final 15: 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Top 12 Qualifying: 5:00 p.m. to 6:35 p.m. ET (FOX)
- Firestone Fast Six: 6:35-6:55 p.m. ET (FOX)
How does qualifying for the Indy 500 work?
Drivers will be able to practice on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, with drivers getting an extra boost on Friday to prepare for qualifying. There will be a drawing for qualifying order after practice on Friday.
On Saturday, each driver will be able to complete the four laps in the order of the qualifying draw. A driver is not required to post a time, but typically they will go out and post a speed.
Once all cars have had a chance to qualify, there will be two qualifying lines:
- A priority line for all drivers who are not qualified or who have withdrawn their qualifying time.
- A secondary queue for any driver who has not removed the qualifying time.
Those in the priority line can exit before those in the secondary line. If a driver who didn’t retire earlier has a slower pace than that previous time, INDYCAR can force him to end the race – so no one can simply run a slow race to prevent another driver from taking to the track before qualifying ends at 5:50 p.m. ET on Saturday.
The top 15 drivers from Saturday advance to Sunday to determine their order in the lineup. Drivers 16th through 33rd will start the Indianapolis 500 in that order. If there were more than 33 cars, drivers ranked 31st and worse would have to requalify on Sunday to determine the final three spots.
Who won the Indy 500 pole last year?
Rookie Robert Shwartzman won the pole for the 2025 Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average speed of 232.790 mph.
When will the 2026 Indy 500 take place?
The 2026 Indy 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 24, 2026 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on FOX and streaming on FOX One.
Coverage begins at 10 a.m. ET and the green flag drops at 12:30 p.m. ET.
