LIVE: Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Day Two
- DIVEBOMB Motorsport
- 4 hours ago
- 9 min read

Welcome to DIVEBOMB's coverage of the second day of qualifying for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500. The first 12 positions of the field will be decided, while somebody's Indy 500 dream will end today.
Stay tuned for all the updates throughout the day from Dan Jones, Archie O'Reilly and Morgan Holiday. Photos are provided by DIVEBOMB Photographer, Dominic Loyer who can be found on Instagram (@dominicloyer_photography).
Feel free to get in touch with us on social media with predictions, thoughts or anything else you'd like! You can find DIVEBOMB at @divebombmotorsport on Instagram and @divebombmsport on X.
----
KEY MOMENTS OF THE DAY:
Palou, McLaughlin, Newgarden, O'Ward, Dixon, Shwartzman, Malukas, Rosenqvist, Sato, Power, Ericsson and Lundgaard made the Fast 12 on Saturday
Abel, Andretti, Armstrong and VeeKay to fight for the final three spots in Last Chance Qualifying
McLaughlin will not run for pole, to line up 12th after crashing in morning practice
Penske fail technical inspection, denying attempts for Newgarden and Power
Rosenqvist, O'Ward, Shwartzman, Dixon, Palou and Sato transfer to the Fast Six
Jacob Abel fails to qualify for 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500
----
LIVE UPDATES
Closing thoughts: An incredible run for a team that's struggled to adapt to IndyCar thus far and missed the beginning of Indy 500 practice. Shwartzman's pole position marks the first time that a rookie won the pole award at the 500 since 1983.
Shwartzman is a rookie in IndyCar and hasn't raced on an oval before so it's easy to see why he was counted out by so many people heading into the Month of May. But compared to many other drivers on the grid he has an incredibly diverse racing portfolio and has proved his adaptability yet again here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A good result as well for Sato and O'Ward, two drivers who will be disappointed to miss out on pole but will have experience on their side against the rookie come next Sunday. One things' for sure -- you won't want to miss this year's Indy 500.
Shwartzman's pole outshines the big drama of the day, the Penske situation. All three cars will start on Row 4 after McLaughlin's crash put him out of contention and Newgarden's car failed inspection for a component that was also on Power's car. There will likely be more coming out on that situation in the next few days, but for now all eyes are on the PREMA rookie.
2025 INDIANAPOLIS 500 ROWS 1-4
ROW 1: Shwartzman, Sato, O'Ward
ROW 2: Dixon, Rosenqvist, Palou
ROW 3: Malukas, Lundgaard, Ericsson
ROW 4: McLaughlin, Newgarden, Power
18:59 ET - ROOKIE DRIVER ROBERT SHWARTZMAN SECURES POLE POSITION FOR THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
And that's it for the PREMA Racing rookie as Rosenqvist's four-lap average of 231.987 mph puts him only fifth place!
18:54 ET - O'Ward comes into this year's 500 with something to prove after just missing out on the race win in 2024. He posts a 232.490 mph speed for his first lap but a wiggle on his second lap costs him a little speed. His third lap has him tracking to come third between Sato and Dixon, and that's where he ends up. Only Rosenqvist can now deny Shwartzman for pole position.
18:50 ET - And sure enough that's provisional pole for Shwartzman and a gauranteed front row start for the rookie! The rookie posts a 232.790 mph average, bumping Sato down to second and Dixon down to third. Just two more drivers remain, Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist.
18:48 ET - Shwartzman's first lap speed is 233.166 mph, if he keeps this up he'll beat out Sato!
18:46 ET - Dixon had two lap times in the 232 mph range before dropping off a little on the second half of his run. His final average is 232.052, putting him second ahead of Palou. The veteran Sato remains on provisional pole for now. But up next is the biggest surprise of the weekend -- PREMA Racing's rookie Robert Shwartzman.
18:40 ET - Palou's first of four laps is 231.946 mph, and his second lap is just two hundreths slower. His third lap drops him down a little before a further drop off on his final lap. His average of 231.378 mph puts him well behind Sato. Scott Dixon is up next.
18:35 ET - It's a 232.478 mph average over four laps for Sato, setting a solid benchmark for the rest of the field. Álex Palou up next, he finished fifth in the Fast 12 so will be looking for something more on his final run of the day.
18:32 ET - Morgan here to round out Indy 500 qualifying with the Fast 6! Six drivers in the running for Pole Position will get one chance to set the fastest time. Takuma Sato up first to set a four-lap average.
18:26 ET - It'll be Marco Andretti, Marcus Armstrong and Rinus VeeKay on the final row for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Jacob Abel says he was "preparing for this outcome," and states his confusion at the result after showing good pace all week long and is "going slower and slower every single run."
18:24 ET - Rinus VeeKay is being interviewed and he sounds absolutely despondent. Dale Coyne Racing's pace has progressively got worse throughout the week, and it ends with Jacob Abel not making the field for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
18:22 ET - JACOB ABEL FAILS TO QUALIFY FOR THE INDIANAPOLIS 500
Abel doesn't have the speed, and Rinus VeeKay will be relieved as he makes the field in 33rd place. Jacob Abel's Indianapolis 500 dream is over before it's already begun.
18:20 ET - The VeeKay family might have a sigh of relief as Abel is not going any quicker here, I think Abel needs a miracle.
18:18 ET - It's only a 226.913 mph for VeeKay. Abel's last attempt was quicker than what VeeKay has just pulled off! Have the No.18 Dale Coyne Racing team made a huge error here? Will Jacob Abel knock his teammate out the Indianapolis 500? I cannot believe what I'm watching, this is remarkable.
18:16 ET - VEEKAY IS NOT GOING QUICKER! A reminder that he has pulled his previous time and this will be his final attempt! Oh my goodness.
18:12 ET: Disregard my last message! Rinus VeeKay has pulled his time and he's going to go out again! Drama, drama and more drama.
18:10 ET: Apologies for the lack of updates but there's not much to update you with. Cooling work is continually taking place on Jacob Abel's No.51 entry. He will be the only car to run again, Rinus VeeKay will not be able to respond if Abel goes quicker.
17:52 ET: Abel has lost his previous times due to unapproved work on the car - not that it matters because he wasn't in the provisional field anyway. He's going to head out on track in just a minute to put some air through his extremely hot Honda engine.
17:45 ET: Whilst VeeKay's run was taking place, the cameras kept on panning to Josef Newgarden who's having a jog on the other side of the fence. He's seemingly looking out for the cameras with the limelight once again on him and Team Penske for all the wrong reasons.
17:42 ET: It's 227.740 for Rinus VeeKay, roughly 0.6 mph quicker than Jacob Abel. Both Dale Coyne Racing cars are significantly off the pace of Armstrong and Andretti and it looks like it will be between Abel and VeeKay to make the field.
17:38 ET: It's only 227.112 average for Jacob Abel, who lies effectively two mph off the next fastest car in Marcus Armstrong. The only car to still run is Abel's teammate, Rinus VeeKay and you rather get the feeling it could be an inter-team battle to make the Indianapolis 500.

17:31 ET: 229.741 mph four-lap average for Marco Andretti to put him seven tenths of a mph ahead of Armstrong. You feel that will be good enough for Andretti to make the field for next Sunday's Greatest Spectacle in Racing - but nothing is guaranteed here!
17:25 ET: A 229.091 mph four-lap average for Marcus Armstrong who sets the initial benchmark here in Last Chance Qualifying. Marco Andretti will be the next driver out on track.
17:22 ET: Here we go, Marcus Armstrong is first up.
17:15 ET: A reminder that one of Jacob Abel, Marcus Armstrong, Rinus VeeKay and Marco Andretti will go home today. The slowest of the four will not make the field for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
17:12 ET: We'll provide you with more Penske-related updates if and when they come. But let's turn our attention to Last Chance Qualifying which starts at 17:15 ET. This is slightly different to the way the Fast 12 works. In the Fast 12, all drivers had one guaranteed run, and that was it. In Last Chance Qualifying, drivers will get a guaranteed run, but will have the opportunity to run again until the gun fires at 18:15 ET.
17:09 ET: Tim Cindric has stated that the No.12 had passed inspection and the No.2 had not. Both cars were the same so they opted to pull Power out of qualifying. There are suggestions that it was spotted by Chip Ganassi on pitlane.
17:06 ET: Both Team Penske's violated Rule 14.7.8.16 which relates to an unapproved body fit on the rear crash structures which had seams filled to smooth the airflow going through them. The team were reportedly seen making attenuator adjustments on pitlane whilst in the queue for both Newgarden's and Power's qualifying attempts.
17:03 ET: Hi all, Dan with you to cover Last Chance Qualifying where we will see somebody's Indianapolis 500 dream over before it's already begun. The key storyline is both Josef Newgarden and Will Power failing tech inspection - more on that shortly.
16:51 ET: Your Fast Six: Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O'Ward, Robert Shwartzman, Scott Dixon, Álex Palou and Takuma Sato. Eliminated: David Malukas, Christian Lundgaard and Marcus Ericsson. Penske will then have all three cars on Row 4 in order of yesterday's speeds - Scott McLaughlin P10 after his practice crash earlier today, then Josef Newgarden and Will Power after failing technical inspection.
16:48 ET: Álex Palou transfers to the Fast Six in P5 with a 231.800 mph four-lap average. It was looking nervy for a moment... certainly not the best run we have seen out of Palou. He pushes David Malukas out as the Fast 12 session concludes.
16:42 ET: It's Fast Six for Pato O'Ward! A 232.186 mph four-lap average puts him a comfortable P2 for Arrow McLaren. Qualifying has not been his forte at the Speedway but last year's runner-up has found speed in 2025. He bumps teammate Christian Lundgaard down to P7.
16:38 ET: Scott Dixon secures his spot in the Fast Six at the expense of Marcus Ericsson. The six-time champion goes P3 with a 231.971 mph four-lap average but cannot usurp the rookie driver-team combination of PREMA and Robert Shwartzman. A whole new chapter being written in Saturday's headline story.
16:33 ET: PREMA Racing and Robert Shwartzman are going to the Fast Six for their maiden Indy 500 and their first-ever oval race! The rookie delivers an astonishing 233.173 mph first lap and, despite some drop-off, holds on to go P2 with a 232.008 mph four-lap average. Remarkable work from the debutants.
16:28 ET: David Malukas goes P3 for AJ Foyt Racing with a 231.599 mph four-lap average. He only needs one other car to go slower than him in order to confirm a spot in the Fast Six.
16:23 ET: Felix Rosenqvist goes P1 by almost 0.9 mph! An incredibly consistent run from the Meyer Shank Racing man as he logs a 232.523 mph four-lap average, going quickest on his final lap. With all three Penske cars eliminated from running, that already puts Rosenqvist into the Fast Six.
16:21 ET: This is big drama at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway... two definite pole contenders wiped out before even running!
16:19 ET: Takuma Sato goes to the top of the speed charts after three runners with a 231.686 mph four-lap average. But major drama off-track... Team Penske have indeed failed technical inspection on their two remaining cars and have been denied their qualifying runs! After last year's front row lockout, the 20-time Indy 500 champions will have all three cars starting on the front row. If they go off Saturday's speeds, McLaughlin will start P10 despite his earlier crash.
16:15 ET: The remaining Team Penske cars of Josef Newgarden and Will Power are rolling back to the garage! Reports swirling that they may have failed technical inspection...
16:14 ET: Marcus Ericsson cannot beat Christian Lundgaard's benchmark of a 231.360 mph four-lap average. The driver of the No.28 Andretti Global Honda logs a 231.014 mph run - extremely consistent lap to lap.
16:10 ET: Christian Lundgaard sets the early benchmark of a 231.360 mph over four laps. A clean and consistent run from the Danish driver. But judging by yesterday's speeds, that may not be enough for the Fast Six. It is still Lundgaard's best-ever qualifying result in his Indy 500 career, with a worst outcome of P11 given Scott McLaughlin is not running after his earlier practice crash.
16:05 ET: Archie here for the first part of the second day of qualifying. We are rolling for the Fast 12, starting with Arrow McLaren's Christian Lundgaard. The order of running for this session is determined in reverse order of yesterday's top 12.
15:52 ET: Welcome to our coverage of the second day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying. Archie will take you through the Fast 12, Dan will bring you Last Chance Qualifying whilst Morgan will provide you coverage for the Fast Six.