There were shocks at the top and bottom of the field during Indy 500 qualifying ahead of the Fast Six shootout.
As the final day of Indy 500 qualifying approached, tension built at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After weeks of build up, and days of practice, pole position would be decided today.
The Fast 12 would be whittled down to the Fast 6, before the battle to start the world-famous race from the front would be finalised.
But for some, their Indy 500 journey would come to an abrupt and disappointing end. The Last Chance Shootout offered one last chance to the bottom four drivers to secure redemption. Two would not qualify.
Drama unfolded during Indy 500 qualifying before the session had got underway. Scott McLaughlin suffered a huge crash in practice, and his car was not ready for qualifying. He would start the Indy 500 from lower down the order, despite making the top 12.
Top 12 attempt to progress
Christian Lundgaard was the first to do his run. His average of 231.360 mph set the benchmark for the rest of the field to beat.
Josef Newgarden and Will Power were wheeled back into their garages after both cars failed pre-qualifying technical inspection. With Scott McLaughlin already eliminated, it became a brutally difficult afternoon for Team Penske.
Down to just nine cars, the top 12 became a battle of pride as well as survival. After Marcus Ericsson’s run failed to top Lundgaard, two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato was next. Despite dancing with the wall, his lap comfortably beat the McLaren.
Felix Rosenqvist laid down a statement of intent, beating Sato’s time by nine-tenths of a mile per hour.
Rookie Robert Schwartzman lost time as his run progressed, but recovered on his final lap to progress to the Fast Six.
The vastly experienced Scott Dixon advanced with ease, with Ericsson now in trouble with just three drivers remaining.
The second McLaren of Pato O’Ward was next to attempt to progress to the Fast 6. His effors saw him move into second, eliminating team-mate Lundgaard.
Alex Palou was the final driver to take to the famous oval in the opening part of qualifying. His run proved precarious for Chip Ganassi, as his times were close to the elimination zone. His final lap secured P5.
Progressing to Fast 6: Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O’Ward, Robert Schwartzman, Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, Takuma Sato
Eliminated: Christian Lundgaard, Marcus Ericsson, David Malukas
Last Chance Qualifying at the Indy 500
With 33 positions on the grid, one of the bottom four drivers would see their Indy 500 dream end after the shootout.
Marcus Armstrong, Rinus VeeKay, Jacob Abel and Marco Andretti had one guaranteed run before additional attempts could be made.
At the end of the first runs, It was Jacob Abel in the dreaded bottom spot. Rinus VeeKay deployed his hybrid early, and began bleeding time. At the end of his run, he beat his Dale Coyne team-mate, by half an mile an hour.
Abel took to the track with 20 minutes remaining but only to cool it down before pitting. The second runs began with just seven minutes remaining.
Rinus VeeKay ventured out, his position at the bottom of the group demanded urgent action. His run proved disastrous, his pace far behind his previous attempt.
Team-mate Abel now held the fate of VeeKay and himself in his hands. His run was agonisingly close to VeeKay’s. But his last lap bled time, and became the driver to be eliminated from qualifying.
Classification
31. Marco Andretti
32. Marcus Armstrong
33. Rinus VeeKay
Eliminated: Jacob Abel