Alex Palou captured the pole position for the 2026 Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average speed of 232.248 mph after rain forced IndyCar to compress all time trials into a single marathon Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Spanish four-time series champion, driving the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, was the only driver to break the 232 mph barrier and became the first reigning Indy 500 champion to secure the pole since Hélio Castroneves in 2010.
Alexander Rossi finished second at 231.990 mph in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, while David Malukas rounded out the front row in third at 231.877 mph driving the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, marking the Chicago native’s career-best Indy 500 starting position.
The qualifying weekend began under ominous skies on Saturday, May 16, when light rain started falling an hour before the scheduled 8:30 a.m. ET practice session, forcing IndyCar to cancel morning practice entirely and delaying the 11:00 a.m. ET qualifying start time.
Throughout the day, heavy rains drenched the flat 2.5-mile oval and the massive track never dried enough to complete even a single round of qualifying for all 33 entrants, marking the first time since 2008 that Saturday qualifying was completely wiped out by weather.
By afternoon, it became clear track officials would not be able to dry the surface sufficiently to get all cars through their four-lap runs, prompting race officials to make the decisive call to postpone Saturday’s qualifying to Sunday.
When Sunday arrived, the atmosphere at Indianapolis Motor Speedway carried an electric urgency as drivers faced a radically compressed format that would see all 33 cars compete in three distinct sessions beginning at noon.
Updated 2026 Indianapolis 500 Qualifying results after penalties
Full 2026 Indianapolis 500 schedule: Qualifying, Practice, Race times and TV
Fast 12
The opening round of the 2026 Indianapolis 500 qualifying session determined the crucial split between the top 12 and the rest of the field, with all 33 cars getting one attempt each.
Palou entered the day at a disadvantage after his wife, Esther, drew the 31st qualifying position in the blind draw, meaning he ran much later than several rivals and in hotter conditions.
Even so, he advanced by posting a 231.155 mph average in the first round, good enough for 11th, then improved dramatically in the Fast 12 to 231.665 mph, which placed him second behind Felix Rosenqvist.
Rosenqvist, who had looked like the pole favorite after leading the opening round at 232.599 mph and the Fast 12 at 232.065 mph, remained fast enough to stay in contention and enter the Fast 6 as the man to beat.
Kyffin Simpson, Conor Daly, Scott McLaughlin, Caio Collet, Scott Dixon and Rinus VeeKay also advanced to the final round that would decide the first two rows and the pole winner.
Completing the Fast 12, the first up was Kyffin Simpson in the No. 8 Chip Ganassi Honda (230.883mph), followed by Conor Daly who delivered a career-best Indy 500 qualifying run in eighth in the No. 23 Dreyer & Reinbold Chevy (230.712mph).
Scott McLaughlin finished ninth in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevy (230.577mph), while Caio Collet emerged as the fastest rookie in 10th in the No. 4 A.J Foyt Chevy (230.539mph). Scott Dixon took 11th (230.347mph) in his No. 9 Chip Ganassi Honda as Rinus VeeKay rounded out the Fast 12 in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevy (229.585mph).
Fast Six
ECR’s Alexander Rossi was the first to go out in the Firestone Fast Six and immediately hit a four-lap average of 231.990 mph to set the benchmark.
The No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Pato O’Ward went out second and posted a four-lap average of 230.509mph, followed by Santino Ferrucci, who pushed his No. 14 AJ Foyt Chevrolet to an average of 230.846mph.
David Malukas was the fourth driver out on track with his No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet setting an average of 231.877 mph.
Alex Palou rolled out fifth and ultimately delivered the decisive run with an average 232.248 mph to bump Rossi off the top spot and secure Indy 500 pole position.
Felix Rosenqvist, despite his earlier pace, faded to fourth at 231.375 mph after losing speed in the final segment, while Ferrucci and O’Ward completed the second row in fifth and sixth.
