IMS announces Indy 500 qualifying schedule, format for 2023

The Indianapolis 500 again has a slightly new qualifying format and schedule for the 107th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Fans will see the Last Chance Qualifying format that was introduced in 2021, along with the Fast 12 and Fast 6 sessions Sunday, May 21 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway across nearly four hours that afternoon.

Shortly after gates open at 10 a.m. for the Sunday of qualifying weekend, the fastest 12 cars from Saturday's full day of qualifying action will practice from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by another hour-long practice (12:30-1:30 p.m.) for the four cars that haven't yet qualified in the field by virtue of not locking in one of the 30 fastest times on Saturday.

From 2-3 p.m., the fastest 12 cars from Saturday will get one attempt to post an additional time -- in order of slowest to fastest from Saturday -- and those times will lock into place positions 7 through 12 on the grid and determine the six who will advance to the Fast Six session later in the afternoon to decide the pole.

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After an hour break, the four cars vying for the final three spots in the field will run from 4-5 p.m. Each will be guaranteed at least one four-lap run but all may make multiple attempts to try and bump their way back into the field of 33 before the clock expires. The car with the slowest time among them from that session will not make this year's Indy 500.

From 5:15-5:45 p.m., the fastest six cars from the Fast 12 session will get one run in order of slowest to fastest from that session earlier in the day. The cars will be slotted into the field according to these four-lap average speeds -- with the fastest taking the pole. In an important change from a year ago, cars vying for pole will no longer need to be concerned about their Chevy or Honda engines properly cooling down before making their final run in qualifying with the two-plus hour break in between the Fast 12 and Fast 6 sessions with bumping back in the mix and the LCQ session splitting the Fast 12 and Fast 6.

The first day of qualifying -- May 20 -- will include two 30-minute practice sessions, each including half the field, spanning from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Full field qualifying will begin at 11 a.m. and last until 5:50 p.m. Drivers will draw for their spot in the initial qualifying order Friday evening.

Cars that want to make additional runs Saturday will then slot into two lanes throughout the afternoon: The priority lane, which will get them onto the track quicker but force them to withdraw their qualified time (if they have one); or the second lane, which will allow drivers to improve their qualifying time, without risking the one they already registered. Gates will open at 8 a.m. Saturday.

At the end of Saturday, drivers in positions 13-30 will be locked into those spots on the final 500 starting grid for the May 28 race. The entirety of all practice and qualifying sessions, as is the case across the rest of the Indy 500 lead-up, will air live on Peacock for Premium subscribers, and NBC will air Saturday's 2:30-4:30 p.m. qualifying action live, as well as the LCQ and Fast 6 sessions from 4-6 p.m. Sunday.

Other important Indy 500 schedule notes

• The opening day of practice (Tuesday, May 16) will begin at 9 a.m. with a two-hour veteran session, where 33 of the 34 cars (minus Abel Motorsport's RC Enerson) will be allowed to practice. Enerson will be given from 1-3 p.m. to cycle through his refresher program, and then all cars will be permitted to run from 3-6 p.m. Gates will be open from 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Practice days the rest of the first week (Wednesday-Friday) will have cars on-track from noon to 6 p.m., and gates will be open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
• IndyCar and IMS will hold the race's final traditional practice session for the field of 33 on Monday, May 22, from 1-3 p.m., with gates open that day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• IndyCar's Carb Day practice on Friday, May 26, will run from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and gates will open at 8 a.m. The annual pitstop competition will run from 2:30-4 p.m., followed by the Carb Day concert headlined by Bryan Adams.
• Legends Day at IMS will begin with the full-field autograph session from 9-10 a.m., followed by the public drivers' meeting at 10:30 a.m. Gates will open at 8 a.m.
• Gates will open to IMS on race day at 6 a.m. Cars will roll onto the grid starting at 10:30 a.m., followed by various pre-race activities including driver intros (11:47 a.m.), the invocation and National Anthem (12:17 p.m.), 'The Command' (12:38 p.m.) and the green flag (12:45 p.m.).

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