QUALIFYING REPORT – SATURDAY: 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge
Qualifying Notes
- Qualifying for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 officially kicked off today as the field spent nearly seven hours trying to lock in a starting position in the top 12, and a chance at starting on the pole in the iconic 500-mile race.
- The Andretti INDYCAR team had a day of mixed results as Marcus Ericsson secured a spot in tomorrow’s Fast 12 Qualifying Session, Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta locked in their positions for the race and Marco Andretti fell just short of a secured Row 10 starting position, forcing the 20-year veteran back on track tomorrow for the Last Chance Qualifying Session.
- With Rows 5 through 10 set today, tomorrow’s qualifying sessions will allow the top 12 qualifiers to make their final attempt for a front-row start, while today’s final four qualifiers will make their attempt to qualify for next Sunday’s race. Coverage for Qualifying will air live on FOX starting at 4 PM ET.
Qualifying Results
Colton Herta
No. 26 Gainbridge Honda
P29
| 4-Lap Average | 230.192 MPH |
- Colton Herta’s first qualifying run unfortunately ended before he was able to turn a full lap at speed when the Gainbridge Honda made contact with the wall coming out of Turn 1. Herta was seen, released and cleared by the AMR Safety Team and the Gainbridge team got to work on repairs to get Herta back on track for another attempt.
- With just over an hour of Qualifying left, the Gainbridge team had made an impressive recovery getting the car back out in time for Herta to make another qualifying attempt. The quick work by the team paid off and Herta successfully moved the Gainbridge Honda above the cutline and into a secured spot on the Indianapolis 500 grid.
“We’re not happy just making it into the show, we want to fight for pole and be in the Fast 12. So, when we don’t get the chance to do that, it’s pretty disappointing. But today was a major heroic effort by the Gainbridge crew. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that on any car. Bare chassis, bare tub and about four and a half hours to a complete car. The only thing that we transferred over was the engine. Everything else was destroyed. So, to have a car that not only runs, but is safe in the balances is nice, and in that amount of time is just an amazing feat. It was their day, and they kept us in it.”
Kyle Kirkwood
No. 27 Siemens Honda
P25
| 4-Lap Average | 230.917 MPH |
- The next highest qualifier for Andretti INDYCAR was Kyle Kirkwood, who, like his teammate, secured his spot in the race in his first attempt.
- The Siemens Honda only ran one more qualifying run, which unfortunately didn’t move Kirkwood into the Fast 12, locking in Kirkwood’s 25th starting position for the race.
“All this week, we thought we were the fastest car, and now we’re here in P25. One positive is that we’re in the show, and that’s all that matters. That is the important thing. We got the crew. We’ve driven from the back here before a couple of years ago and had a shot at winning then. There’s no doubt in my mind that we won’t have another shot again.”
Marcus Ericsson
No. 28 Allegra® Honda
P11*
| 4-Lap Average | 232.132 MPH |
- Rolling off first in the qualifying order, Marcus Ericsson’s first of three qualifying attempts held strong throughout the day in the top 12. Despite waving off the final two attempts, the No. 28 Allegra® Honda’s speed solidified his spot as the sole Andretti INDYCAR fighting for the pole tomorrow.
“I think it was a really good effort by the No. 28 Allegra®️ crew today. Obviously, after what happened last year for us, it was nice to bounce back and have a good qualifying day. To be in the top 12 and proceed to fight in a sort of pole shootout is a good achievement. So, I’m really proud of the whole group there. We need to find a bit more to fight for the pole tomorrow, so we will have some work to do overnight. But overall, it was a really good effort today, and it’s going to be fun to go out and drive again tomorrow.”
Marco Andretti
No. 98 MAPEI / CURB Honda
NA*
| 4-Lap Average | 229.859 MPH |
“I think we would have been just in there, but the trim level that we were at there at the end is kind of demoralizing for the speed. So, I don’t know what else to do. I think tomorrow is ours to lose, so we just need to play it smart and just do four solid ones. We should be okay. Just the fact that we’re running tomorrow is a bummer.”
*The No. 28 Allegra® Honda qualified P11 today, but will participate in the top-12 qualifying session to determine official starting position.
*The No. 98 MAPEI / CURB Honda did not finish in the top 30 and was therefore not designated a position today. Final Position will be determined tomorrow afternoon.
Rob Edwards
Chief Operating Officer
“This was a super challenging day. It’s not what we hoped for and not what we expected. Obviously, we’re happy that Marcus is in the Fast 12. The 28 guys did a great job there. The 26 program didn’t get off to a very good start, but I’m extremely proud of the whole team and how they came together. I’m proud that we were prepared for the eventuality of an incident, proud that we executed our preparedness and happy that Colton is in the show. The No. 27 is a bit of a mystery. We thought that early in the week, it was the fastest of the four cars, but it just didn’t have the speed today. We’re still glad that Kyle is safely in the show. We’re going to need to find some speed with Marco tomorrow, but we’ve got some good heads that can focus on that, so we’ll tackle that one tonight.”
