Indy 500 Qualifying 2 | INDYCAR on FOX

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A jam-packed wall and flying for all ready. If you want to know how tough it was to make it through into this top 12, know this. The three guys who just missed out in 13th, 14th, and 15th places are 49-year-old Takuma Sato, 45-year-old Ed Carpenter, and 51-year-old Helio Castroneves. That's 145 years combined and 66 career Indy 500 starts. This guy, Kiffin Simpson, aged just 21, could become the youngest pole sitter in Indy 500 history.

[00:00:40]One of the three Chip Ganassi Racing drivers, and all three made it through into the top 12. The only team to achieve that feat of getting all of their drivers through to this stage of qualifying. And such an impressive thing for the team to pull off considering that Alex Palou went right near the end like Kiffin Simpson.

[00:00:58]Teammate Scott Dixon [music] was the first car out. So, a cross a variety of track conditions, this team managed to get all three out. And you just heard over the radio, "You've got the same car you had before." So, this group has decided keep it consistent, give the driver what he knows, and not try to go for broke necessarily.

[00:01:17]>> Take a look at track temperature hovering right around 111 degrees, similar to when Kiffin Simpson made his run. But critical information coming from his team, which is Chip Ganassi Racing, one of the most successful teams in the history of IndyCar.

[00:01:33]They know, just based on Kiffin Simpson's out lap, that aerodynamically the pressure on the front and rear of the car is identical. This guy is a kite boarder. That's his passion in the Cayman Islands. He knows how to work the wind. He starts his run.

[00:01:48]>> Two prep laps done. Green flag waves.

[00:01:51]It's go time. Four laps of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for each driver. That's a total of 10 miles. The average speed over those 10 miles will determine who transfers to the Firestone Fast Six to fight for pole.

[00:02:08]And you've got these cars so trimmed out, so little downforce that these tires are struggling to hang on over four laps. You've got to make adjustments to your driving. You've got to make adjustments to the tools inside the race car to help the handling as these Firestone tires start to wear because you are really straining when you're cornering at 230-plus miles an hour. One thing we'll be watching closely with the top 12 is how much throttle they're using or lifting.

[00:02:33]Should be 100% through all four laps. I saw Kiffin Simpson with the tiniest of lifts on his first lap. We'll also be watching the usage of the hybrid. Extra power once it's deployed. You can deploy it and regenerate it, or you can deploy it once at the very end as Chip Ganassi, Kiffin's team owner, watches on. 231.06 for his first lap. His average over the four to make it through to this stage with 231.09.

[00:03:04]Two laps to go.

[00:03:09]Kiffin dealing with pretty similar track conditions.

[00:03:12]That's really great consistency from Kiffin Simpson at almost identical speed across the first two laps. And normally, we would see that speed just start to drop off a little bit from lap one to two, into three, and lap four. But to hold that consistency, a brilliant first two laps from the young man. I'm taking a look at the rear wing of Kiffin Simpson. You see quite a bit of yellow on the top surface, which tells me that it's pretty level, not much rake back.

[00:03:41]That's a downforce decision the team will make. How much downforce do we want to risk to gain a drag reduction as he takes lap three.

[00:03:50]230.5. So he's lost about a half a mile an hour from lap two to lap three.

[00:03:56]He's lost that, but he'll now use that hybrid system. You can see him deploying it. That's going to give him a boost of about 60 extra horsepower, and we saw in the first round of qualifying that can seriously improve that fourth lap speed.

[00:04:08]Let's see what it is for Kiffin with two corners to go.

[00:04:10]>> He hits 239 miles an hour with the hybrid going into turn three, a jump of about 2 miles an hour thanks to the hybrid.

[00:04:18]>> Very few drivers went faster than 239 on the run into turn three earlier in the day. Over the line for Kiffin Simpson.

[00:04:25]This will be the benchmark average for the four laps, 230.883 miles an hour. He did find time on that last lap, and right now it will be a career best for Kiffin Simpson starting position here at Indy. Previous was 13th, and now his teammate, the championship leader, the reigning champion, and the defending Indy 500 winner takes to the track. You know what? We're not used to saying this, but the pressure is on [music] Alex Palou a little bit here.

[00:04:53]The track should be cooling off, which means the track should be getting faster for the runners who take their laps later on [music] in this session. Does he risk it all to make it through into the top six?

[00:05:05]How much does he dare to push right now?

[00:05:08]He will get two preparation laps just as every driver. The first lap at relatively low speed. We say a low speed compared to what you're driving out on the roads normally.

[00:05:17]>> [music] >> It's about double what you would be able to run on the roads around 140 miles an hour. Then, halfway around this second lap, he will crank it up and really start to put the speed on through turns three and four to start his four-lap qualifying run. He is the most successful driver over the last four seasons in this sport, and I want you to watch closely when we go on board with Alex Palou, whether it's inside his helmet or just above it, how smooth this driver's hands are, how precise the positioning is of his race car relative to that white line in the grass, right there. This guy is consistent.

[00:05:58]More consistent than any other driver over the distance. That's what differentiates him, his precision.

[00:06:06]Green flag.

[00:06:07]Townsend, you call him the surgeon, and with good reason.

[00:06:11]Oh.

[00:06:14]Pretty quick warm-up speed. You kind of keep an eye on that to see how quickly the guys are coming to start their runs.

[00:06:20]2:22, a little bit quicker than teammate Kevin Simpson last time out. And you can see from this awesome driver's-eye camera what Alex Palou is seeing. You've got the shift lights, the weight jacker, fast jacker lights. You've got gear position, all sorts of information on the steering wheel that the driver is managing and monitoring while they're driving 230-plus mph.

[00:06:41]>> The ghost car will show you that Alex Palou is trending just ahead of his teammate. Some of that may have come from the fact that Alex Palou is doing what no other driver is. And on that first lap, he's using just about 20% of his hybrid and regenerating that again.

[00:06:55]So, he's just giving it these little squeezes, rather than deploying everything. There, he uses it again, 15% this time. He'll regen- No, he won't.

[00:07:03]He'll use even more on the back straight.

[00:07:04]>> Watch the top speed here. Last lap, Palou hit 240. Does he do it again? Yes, 240 mph. Big speeds. Well, he regen'd a little bit back going into three, so a very different strategy. Interesting that the teammates, Townsend, are using different deployment strategies for that hybrid. As Chip Ganassi watches on, but 2:32 is a mega lap so far. 2:31.4, so loses.6 of a mile an hour. The fastest car through the turn three and turn four traps that we've seen so far today.

[00:07:39]Watch the blinking red light right here.

[00:07:41]That's the fast jacker. that's the system [music] that's lowering the back of the car on the straightaway and then at the last second Palou's going to hit a button and drop the nose, pitch it forward so that the car can corner.

[00:07:54]Regens almost everything.

[00:07:57]Coming into full.

[00:08:01]This is a clean run from Alex Palou.

[00:08:04]A one-time pole sitter here at the Indy 500. He took his first victory here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 12 months ago. He is a four-time champion.

[00:08:13]He is the man with the target on his back, the one everyone knows they have to beat.

[00:08:18]He is clinical and ever so fast. Dumping all of that hybrid here on the last lap.

[00:08:24]Let's see if he can beat 240. He matches it.

[00:08:28]And then he regens with that tailwind so he'll have another blast coming out of turn four. 7/10 of a mile an hour drop-off between lap one and lap three.

[00:08:37]Can he improve on that final lap or does it continue to drop? Such intelligent use of his tools. Over the line for Alex Palou. What is it? It's a 231.665.

[00:08:49]Alex Palou goes top. And that is going to take some beating.

[00:08:54]Riding on board now with Santino Ferrucci. From Woodbury, Connecticut, one of the most exciting drivers that we have on ovals.

[00:09:02]Has finished every one of the Indy 500s that he has entered inside the top 10.

[00:09:07]He absolutely adores this place.

[00:09:10]>> He's put it all on the line to get into the top 12.

[00:09:14]And earlier in the day we heard him talking to his team saying, "You give me a car on the Give me a car to go for pole and I will give it everything." His finishing record here is outstanding.

[00:09:25]His qualifying record less so.

[00:09:27]Average start here at just 15.

[00:09:30]He's been fourth in qualifying before so he has had a few good seasons but for how good he is in the races, if he can start up in the first two rows, those first six positions, that puts him in a really good situation, a really good spot to try to take that victory. And if you look at the comparison of where he sits to Alex Palou, just trailing the champ as he goes into turn four. Now, I talked about the driving style of Alex Palou, that tremendous precision. You want to know what kind of driver Santino Ferrucci is? Well, that helmet paint scheme inspired by the late great Evil Knievel. That's the kind of guy Ferrucci is. He's a big send, big commitment kind of guy. Loves getting on the ball and trying to hang on.

[00:10:15]And just deployed 50% of the battery.

[00:10:17]So, again, a little bit of a different strategy here from Santino. Those gloves are busy. Those hands are busy as he makes adjustments to the balance of his race car to try to keep things going here. Decent first lap.

[00:10:29]>> While Alex Palou was using just little squirts of the hybrid, Santino one big burst and then one big regen.

[00:10:37]Let's see what lap two looks like.

[00:10:39]Lap one was a 2:31.2. Lap two for Santino Ferrucci is a 2:31.4. He's getting faster. That's impressive, James. He's tuned on his car a little bit and built speed. Now, you see the hybrid deployed in a big way through turns one and two. Still wide open on the throttle. This is a Conor Daly-like drive so far in terms of adjusting to the conditions.

[00:11:02]The conditions are tricky. Absolutely 110° track surface temperature, 86° ambient. When the track gets hotter, it gets greasier. The grip goes down. These drivers having to hang on to these race cars.

[00:11:17]White flag. One lap.

[00:11:22]2:30.8. It's still looking good in the stars and stripes.

[00:11:26]The Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet with the gold rear wing.

[00:11:30]Santino Ferrucci.

[00:11:32]Half a lap now to run.

[00:11:38]Thing looks pretty hooked up still on lap four.

[00:11:41]Track down still 110°.

[00:11:46]Recharging the pack through three so that he can have a nice full deployment here coming off of four to the line.

[00:11:52]Huge boost out of four. Great run to the line. Santino Ferrucci looking to take it to Alex Palou.

[00:12:01]It's second place for Ferrucci. The 231.098 average with Pato O'Ward, his ninth year in IndyCar. This will be his seventh Indianapolis 500. He's only started on the front row once before, but he's gunning for pole position today. 50 years on from his McLaren team's last pole position at this great race. That was Johnny Rutherford. He won that race back then. They have not been back to victory lane since. Half a century ago.

[00:12:31]This guy has an uncanny ability to drive around problems with his race car especially when it matters like in the last 10 laps of the IndyCar 500 or in these four qualifying laps. This will be fun to watch. The Mexican driver has six previous races here and James an average finish of 6.8. Exceptional.

[00:12:53]Exceptional when you consider that one of those was a DNF, was a crash late in the race while running in the top three.

[00:13:00]Interestingly, Pato used some of his hybrid on his warm-up laps. Now, you may have heard us refer to the fact they can regenerate that hybrid usage during a run. Well, how can they do that without braking? They have paddles on the back of the steering wheel that allows them to regenerate while they're at speed.

[00:13:18]That induces a little bit of drag on the car so drivers might not always be wanting to do it. That's why we have some who are using it in all one burst and some like Pato here who are choosing to regenerate and then use it again. And he uses it now.

[00:13:36]Great three, great three.

[00:13:39]That's an engine map change command coming from the strategist for Pato O'Ward. Boy, he's looking a little bit high mid corner everywhere.

[00:13:48]This thing is starting to skate around a little bit. And a little wiggle in turn two. It is lively in the cockpit. Watch his hands here in turn three. This car seems to have more kickback through the steering than anything we've seen so far.

[00:14:10]Lively is how he likes it.

[00:14:14]Two laps complete, two to go.

[00:14:16]He sets his car up differently to almost every other driver in this championship.

[00:14:21]Few can hang on to a car that is set up the way that Pato O'Ward likes it.

[00:14:25]Oh, you can see he's battling the [music] wheel. That push of the button with his right thumb, that would have been putting some right front weight through the weight jacker. That's trying to numb down the steering a little bit, trying to take care of the back of the race car essentially. A little bit loose for Pato right now. But once again, the consistency between the two laps is phenomenal. Just 237 mph compared to Alex Palou's 240 on the back straight.

[00:14:57]Three complete. And it's another 231.2.

[00:15:00]That is unbelievable consistency from Pato O'Ward.

[00:15:03]>> That is incredible.

[00:15:05]You're used to seeing anywhere from a half mile an hour to maybe a mile an hour of degradation in the lap speed between lap one and lap four, but unbelievably consistent. Great job on the engineering department to make sure that the right downforce level was on the car. Pato doing a great job from behind the wheel to adjust the tools. I saw a lift of the throttle though in turn three with that tailwind pushing him into the corner.

[00:15:29]Have to see if he can make up for it with some of that hybrid deployment. Lap four >> flag. Checkered flag.

[00:15:34]>> complete here for Pato O'Ward. Over the yard of bricks, Pato O'Ward 231.088.

[00:15:41]Big drop there on that last lap. Big drop. Dropped him just behind Ferrucci by 1/100 of a mile an hour. To put it in perspective, the track temperature was 98° when Scott went out earlier today.

[00:15:54]It's now 110°.

[00:15:57]The good news is he's seen what his teammate Alex Palou could do. He would have gotten feedback from Alex from Alex's engineers to know what the track conditions are cuz it's going to be probably more different for Scott than any other driver that's going to be out here in this session. He is a 23-time competitor in the Indy 500, a five-time pole sitter.

[00:16:20]This guy has more experience at the sharp end dancing on the tip of the needle than anybody in this field. His wife Emma Dixon makes the walk to get ready to meet her husband at the end of this four-lap run.

[00:16:33]You know Chip Ganassi has speed in the race cars. My question is how aggressive has Dixon been on downforce? How much is he willing to push it right here? As James said, you only have to be sixth or better, but you don't want to get short.

[00:16:47]>> Only one driver in history has more pole positions at the Indy 500 than Scott Dixon. That man is Rick Mears with six, himself a four-time winner of this race.

[00:17:00]Scott Dixon quite incredibly just one victory at the Indy 500 to his name, but my word he knows how to hustle four laps out of a car around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

[00:17:10]23 races here at the Indy 500 as we see the current leader is teammate Alex Palou, and it's incredible to think that in 23 attempts with 33 cars in the field, he's got an average start of 7.4.

[00:17:24]So good around qualifying here. Of course, like you say, that includes those five pole positions. Ooh, a soft first lap, 230.8.

[00:17:34]Dixon will see that on his steering wheel as he crossed the line.

[00:17:39]What can he do? Where can he find the time? Well, this is it. What he needs to do now is what has been so difficult for drivers to do all the way through today, and that is to find time, to increase his speed lap on lap.

[00:17:56]It's not going to be a run for the top of the charts, but like we said, it's only got to be good enough for the top half of this group. And so, Dixon just has to be laser-focused on that consistency.

[00:18:07]He will know this instinctively, but 230.4, more of a drop than he'd like here on lap two.

[00:18:16]That average sitting at 230.6. His teammate Kiffin Simpson, who went out first, his four-lap average at 230.8.

[00:18:24]If he continues on this sort of decline, I'm not even sure he'll be able to out-qualify the number eight.

[00:18:34]All he needs to do is get into the top six.

[00:18:37]But with that in mind, after him come seven drivers who were faster than him earlier in the day. It is now an uphill task for Scott Dixon. Three laps complete. Has he found time? No, he's lost more time, half a mile an hour on that lap.

[00:18:52]>> And such a dramatic difference in the strategy on hybrid use here with Scott Dixon. He's just using a little bit. Now he goes to fully dump it.

[00:19:06]You're shifting, you're using the fast jackhammer, tuning the tools in the car, the front roll bar, the rear roll bar, the weight jacker, hybrid deployment.

[00:19:14]There's so much to remember, so much procedurally for these drivers to do while balancing an IndyCar on the absolute limit at over 230 mph. It is no mean feat.

[00:19:25]Scott Dixon crosses the line averaging out at a 230.347.

[00:19:31]Fifth of five for Scott Dixon.

[00:19:33]>> ends of the track. So, yeah, the whole strategy of how I was going to use the hybrid and it kind of went out the window and um yeah, car balance-wise, we didn't quite make it any better from the first try that we had. It just feels the exact same. So, I don't know I don't really know how much more we can do. Um I don't think we can make big big changes, so I think this is just what we've got.

[00:19:54]Two-time Indy 500 runner-up Pato O'Ward, we'll wait and watch. Uh nevertheless, than fourth right and we apologize for Pato's choice of language during that interview. But, what about this guy on track now? Kyalami, the rookie in the IndyCar Series from São Paulo, Brazil, has been lighting up this track ever since he first took a step onto it.

[00:20:16]Brilliantly into the top 12. In fact, let's not forget, if you want to dream the impossible dream, we had a rookie on pole this time last year at the Indianapolis 500. Could we have two in two years?

[00:20:30]>> are complete. With the pace this guy's shown, shoot, you wouldn't put it past him. And look at the pace for the first lap. It's 231.858.

[00:20:38]Collet is flying once again. He's got a very fast race car. In fact, we have seen nobody faster at the end of the back straightaway than Kyle Kirkwood, 240.996.

[00:20:51]This A.J. Foyt Chevy is making good speed. And if Alex Palou is the benchmark in this series right now, this young rookie has shown a lot of the same attributes in the cockpit in terms of his precision and maturity, especially as a rookie. Well, good. One one lap is great.

[00:21:10]>> But, you got to do four to call to remember your tools. What is lap number two? A big drop-off. It is a big drop.

[00:21:16]231.0. The average now down to 231.4.

[00:21:20]Still good enough for second ahead of his teammate Santino Ferrucci, but he needs to not drop off by that amount every lap or he will plummet down.

[00:21:28]>> You can see the gap now to the leader Palou is growing on this third lap. And you hear this call, "Stay ahead of your tools." That's what we're talking about.

[00:21:36]Those adjustments to the setup of the race car that you can make. Sorry, James. Way high there in turn three. Up in the gray with the right side tires.

[00:21:46]He's narrowly hanging on.

[00:21:50]Third lap three.

[00:21:52]229.4. That's a massive drop. And that's that big slide in turn three. Got wide.

[00:22:00]Scrubbed a bunch of speed.

[00:22:04]Just trying to hang on at this point and consolidate.

[00:22:06]>> Use all your deploy coming to the line here.

[00:22:09]He's going to have the full pack to deploy coming out of three and four.

[00:22:13]That's going to help boost that final lap a little bit, but big lift now in three. Not the full lap run he would have wanted, but to make it through to the top 12 on debut. Worthy of note.

[00:22:26]Kyle Kirkwood has arrived.

[00:22:30]A brilliantly impressive day on Super Sunday here at the Speedway. Goes faster than Scott Dixon. have an engineering association with Ganassi. So, Scott still rooting kind of for one of his teammates there with Felix Rosenqvist.

[00:22:44]Now, we sit on board though with Alexander Rossi, who has been on the front row here once. Won this race on debut.

[00:22:52]But, in arguably, he has at his control this year one of the best cars he has ever had for the Indy 500.

[00:22:59]>> Well, what I've always said about Rossi's career here at the Speedway is it seems sort of unjust because he won on debut as a rookie, but since then has had significantly better drives. There was a little bit of luck involved back in 2016. He'll be the first to tell you, but he really has developed into one of the greatest drivers of the current era around this racetrack. He's had some tremendous drives here over the years, but yet to get back to victory lane this year with Ed Carpenter racing with ECR, excuse me, a team that is known for bringing very quick cars to the Speedway. He was dynamite in that first round of qualifying, ran the heat of the day, and is right now on pace to stay ahead of the bubble position of Scott Dixon. Looking pretty good here for Rossi. What he does, I think better than just about anybody, is his turn in at the end of these long straightaways is so decisive. Watch him sweep up to the outside wall, and with no hesitation, bam, he's just going to carve that thing into the corner in the shadows. James, you and I have both been part of this shootout at the end of the day to qualify up front. Things start to change dramatically in terms of what it looks like down in turn one with the heavy shadows from the setting sun. You're driving 240 mph turning into turn one in the shade, and then all of a sudden you exit out of two, and then and it's bright. Your eyes have to adjust so quickly cuz at these speeds, guys, you're traveling more than a football field a second. So, if it takes your eyes a couple tenths of a second to adjust, you've already gone 20 or 30 yd, and you have a margin of error at this speed of about 6 to 8 in.

[00:24:32]>> And the glare from the sun as it starts to dip behind the stands, Rossi loses 1 mph between lap one and lap two. That's a big loss. He dumps the hybrid big time through turn two there.

[00:24:46]Track temp starting to fall down a little bit, 109°. So, we've lost a degree from where it was just on the last run.

[00:24:55]Still 100% on the throttle, though, wide open as Rossi rounds four.

[00:25:02]And no partial usage of the hybrid for Rossi. It's all or nothing. The absolute dump at 100%. The regen back to 100%.

[00:25:10]That lap 230.858.

[00:25:12]He's finding time. Did a great job to stabilize the time loss there.

[00:25:18]Still 100% flat out on throttle. Deploys the hybrid once again. He looks to be in good shape remember for that >> bubble.

[00:25:26]And if he can find time on this fourth lap, he could find himself up behind only Alex Palou.

[00:25:34]This last lap, then. This last corner as he turns it into four. Absolutely critical. 40% of the hybrid left.

[00:25:42]Will he use it? Should use it? Doesn't use it.

[00:25:45]Checkered flag.

[00:25:47]Over the line for Alexander Rossi.

[00:25:49]And it's good enough only for fourth.

[00:25:51]How much difference might it have made, VK?

[00:25:55]First time that his Huncos Hollinger Racing team have made their way into the top 12 at the Indy 500. He has been on the front row here for half of the races that he has contested. Half of the Indy 500s that he has run. Quite the record for Rinus VeeKay, but last year was in a battle with his teammate and only narrowly avoided being bumped out of the field. What a difference 12 months has made. He is rejuvenated and back on form at Indianapolis.

[00:26:30]Slow warm-up speed for that launch lap. The 239, nearly 240 heading into turn three. It's a committed first lap.

[00:26:39]>> And a big adjustment for VK. The last time he was on the racetrack, it was 101°.

[00:26:46]Right now, 108.

[00:26:49]Different conditions, less grip. 232.1.

[00:26:53]>> Wow! That is the biggest first lap that we've seen so far.

[00:26:58]You can hear the crowd in turn one super excited to see that massive speed the 232.

[00:27:04]So impressive so far guys, Palou the only driver that has actually improved their time from the first round of qualifying and you see right there Rinus VeeKay ahead of Kyle Kirkwood on the bubble.

[00:27:17]The question is how much does that big lap challenge the Firestone tires? How much grip did he use to get the big number? We're about to find out what the bleed looks like on lap two.

[00:27:30]230.3, it's a huge drop and that's why he was there or there abouts with Kyle Kirkwood on the bubble when in fact after that first lap you'd imagine he'd be fighting with Alex Palou for top honors. And that tells me that Rinus VeeKay and his HMD Motorsports team maybe took a little too much downforce out of the race car. It's starting to slide a little bit more and as it slides things go from bad to worse on grip. Big throttle adjustments for Rinus VeeKay in turn three. Guys, I'm watching the wind sock on top of the pylon. It is blowing harder than we've seen. So that's a huge tailwind into turn three. It makes it so difficult for these drivers and a massive speed loss again because of that lift.

[00:28:14]>> Wow. You watch his family, his mom and his wife watch on from 232 to 230 to 228. That's the slowest single lap we've seen in this session. What started out so promisingly is falling apart for Rinus VeeKay. You compare this run to that of Alex Palou with that smooth consistent performance.

[00:28:36]And I can only guess that they were just too aggressive here on downforce as Rinus VeeKay comes to complete the run.

[00:28:43]This will be a big disappointment for him and his family.

[00:28:48]Over the line for VK. Unsurprisingly, the slowest we've seen so far.

[00:28:53]to ever compete in this sport as well.

[00:28:56]So, everything is here to help McLaughlin be his best when it counts, including the advice of the four-time winner, the six-time pole sitter, Rick Mears.

[00:29:09]Who used to drive this famous yellow Pennzoil to so much success right here. The yellow submarine. Indeed.

[00:29:19]It's been a tough start [music] of the season. Remember, there's six races coming into this weekend.

[00:29:26]And McLaughlin has had a couple of big mistakes and a couple of big crashes.

[00:29:31]Average finish of 9.8 on the season so far.

[00:29:35]The Penskes have been, for the majority of this month of May, the team to beat around the Four laps, 10 >> miles for Scott McLaughlin. He has a rocket ship underneath him. What time can he put up? It looks beautifully under control. A phenomenal first two corners.

[00:29:53]>> Watch the speed climb down the back straightaway. We saw Palou with a 240.

[00:29:57]HOW ABOUT SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN?

[00:29:59]>> 242! 242!

[00:30:02]THE CROWD LOVED THAT!

[00:30:07]WHAT TIME WILL THAT put up for McLaughlin for his first lap? 242 into turn three.

[00:30:13]The time over the line, over the yard of bricks, for lap one for Scotty Mac is only a 231.8.

[00:30:20]So, like Rinus VeeKay, I've got to wonder if they take too much wing out to do four consistent laps. He had a massive tailwind into three. That's going to help that top speed turning into three, but then you catch a crosswind as you're turning. That takes some of the life out of the tires, and you can see now, neck and neck with Kyle Kirkwood on the bubble to transfer into the Firestone [music] Fast Six. The ghost car is no longer for the fastest car. It is for the driver in sixth place, the driver on the bubble. You have to make it through into the top six to transfer.

[00:30:53]Collet is in that position. He's at the top of your screen.

[00:30:57]The 24-year-old from Sao Paulo, Brazil, watches and waits and sees what Scott McLaughlin can put up, but McLaughlin's losing time.

[00:31:05]You talk about that transition from darkness to light through turn one as Kyle >> Collet's ghost car is coming back at Scott McLaughlin. The track changes, too, Townsend. That corner is going to be cooler in the shade than when you get to turn two or like here in turn three where it's in the sun.

[00:31:21]>> McLaughlin's really hanging on here. Got dangerously close to hitting the outside wall in turn two on this lap. He's got one more to go, four corners. White flag here.

[00:31:33]Nothing in it. Between McLaughlin and Collet. 229.9, he's dropped 1 and 1/2 mile an hour. You heard deploy into one, he didn't do it. He got it on the exit of turn one going into turn two and he's working the throttle. He had to work the throttle there. That lift is going to cost him. Is it going to cost him a place in the Firestone Fast Six?

[00:31:57]Oh, he's high.

[00:31:59]He's high in turn three with that tailwind. That also will cost him as the car is going to scrub off that white line. Is it enough to make it through into the Firestone Fast Six for Scott McLaughlin across the yard of bricks?

[00:32:15]And it's It is enough. Just Just Just 4/100s We hear he had a lift in three on the warm-up lap coming to the green and that affects [music] you. He's lifted in one and two already. Struggle bus for Conor Daly.

[00:32:31]>> It looked very, very difficult down here in turn three with the tailwind.

[00:32:37]See what he does on board. Only reaching 239 mph only I say as he has to lift again.

[00:32:45]Scott McLaughlin hitting 242. Now he may be trimmed out. So the car could accelerate here but we'll find out what those lifts did to his average.

[00:32:55]231.063.

[00:32:59]If he can find just a shade of time, it will be enough for him. And let's not forget the consistency of his last run is what pulled him through but also his ability to lift, to ride on the absolute limit of adhesion.

[00:33:18]You can see the ghost car there with McLaughlin on the bubble. This is the time that we're looking to beat if we're Conor Daly. 230.577.

[00:33:27]And that's the current average. Let's see what happens to that when he crosses the line.

[00:33:35]All right, found a bit of speed. He's getting quicker.

[00:33:39]Jack Harvey will like that. The crowd like that.

[00:33:45]He is the home hero. Woah, this place absolutely adores him and he's starting to take liberties.

[00:33:53]Jack Harvey exhaling on Conor Daly's behalf. That's some real teammate work right there.

[00:33:58]Well, we saw we said this T Bell, he's almost the most prepared for these conditions cuz he had to do so much adjustment on the fly in that first run.

[00:34:07]Hoping it was going to be a little bit smoother for himself, I bet.

[00:34:10]The crowd is roaring over the yard of bricks. One more lap to run for Conor Daly.

[00:34:16]It's a 230.4 for Conor Daly. Ah, dropping time. Needs a massive final lap. Needs a huge one.

[00:34:24]He's right with McLaughlin.

[00:34:28]How how brave dare he be now?

[00:34:37]Daly through three. He's closing in the short shoot.

[00:34:40]>> He's closing.

[00:34:43]Through four, he is closing. There's going to be inches in it. Can Daly make it through? Can he get into the Firestone Fast Six?

[00:34:51]The crowd ROARS HIM HOME. AND OVER THE LINE, HE'S SIXTH. HE'S IN.

[00:34:56]UNBELIEVABLE.

[00:34:58]this morning or I should say earlier this afternoon, so it's going to be a relief for him to know they maintained enough pace to make their way into the Firestone Fast Six.

[00:35:07]>> On target. What can you say about this young man, David Malukas, who has stepped into one of the most storied teams, one of the most famous seats, one of the most known cars in this championship, in all of motorsports, and has taken the pressure on his shoulders and raced magnificently.

[00:35:26]The confirmation coming from his team.

[00:35:28]>> Lap one.

[00:35:29]Enter three. Three. On target. That's what you want to hear as a pilot.

[00:35:34]As you grip your fighter jet into turn one, that means all systems are go.

[00:35:38]Everything is reading as they hope aerodynamically.

[00:35:45]Using the hybrid through two.

[00:35:48]What speed can he hit by the end of the straight? Adjusting his front bar there.

[00:35:53]It's only just a 238.

[00:35:57]Downshift out of three.

[00:36:00]Maybe they've added a little bit of downforce just seeing some of the struggles that people are >> Lap two. are dealing with.

[00:36:08]Lap one over the line. It's a 231.536.

[00:36:18]He's on pace with Daly.

[00:36:21]Daly's time, as a reminder, at 230.712 for lap average.

[00:36:27]Solid start for Malukas. It looks pretty composed right now. T Bell, it's not getting the top end that we saw before, but you can see from the ghost car on the bottom to Daly on the bubble. He's got the advantage at the moment, but Daly was so strong in that last lap.

[00:36:43]>> And Daly found time.

[00:36:47]He's tracking him down already. Malukas has got to stay in front of the balance of this car.

[00:36:51]>> He drops time, point two of a mile an hour from lap one to lap two. Malukas has to hang on or find time. Two laps to go. Softening off that front bar is going to give him a little bit more front grip through turn two. Those short shoots happen so quickly at 230 miles an hour.

[00:37:08]>> another front bar adjustment with the right hand.

[00:37:12]Still looks to have impeccable handling, wide open on the throttle here. Looking very good for Malukas.

[00:37:21]Smooth.

[00:37:23]White flag. Another adjustment. That's the third one this lap. Sitting on a full pack of hybrid, 231.2, just 1/10 of a mile an hour, so consistent.

[00:37:33]>> Consistency is great. Lines are beautiful. Car is hooked up. Malukas has the legs on Conor Daly.

[00:37:42]Can he keep it all together? Just two corners to run for David Malukas.

[00:37:47]More adjustments and the gap to Conor growing.

[00:37:52]For the 24-year-old from Chicago, Illinois who came second in last year's Indianapolis 500 deploying the hybrid.

[00:38:01]The final push to the line for David Malukas. Where will this place him?

[00:38:06]It is in the sixth and it's second.

[00:38:12]Incredible. That last lap hybrid deployment found him time. His fastest lap of the run. He's better on race day, T Bell, than he does at any other point of the weekend. He's been really quick in practice in race trim. He's been the driver that the other drivers have all pointed to and said Conor Daly is able to rip through traffic better than anybody they've seen all month. As Felix Rosenqvist takes to the track now, guys, what a decision this team has to make.

[00:38:40]They know they have a rocket ship, but they know the conditions are more difficult than when they put this guy on track earlier in the day, and he said it was the sketchiest run he's ever had as a driver. Do you stick with what you know, or do you add some downforce knowing that you've got maybe a speed advantage and just try to calm things down for your driver?

[00:39:03]He recently became a father for the first time, baby Stella born just a few days ago.

[00:39:10]We as outsiders asked the question, when you become a father for the first time, does it make your foot waiver?

[00:39:16]Does it make you pull out of the big decisions? When he said that was the sketchiest run he'd ever done in Indianapolis, does he now think twice about running that car the same way again?

[00:39:25]>> I don't think so. I think that run we saw earlier is indicative of a new father who feels the obligation to do it for his baby girl at home. This guy was up in the seat in a big way.

[00:39:36]Taking every inspiration from Morgan Wallen who saw rides on the side of his car. Those two have been a good combination this month. He's just got to be ahead of Kiffin Simpson at the end of this one to get into that final part of qualifying when you have to go for broke and have to go for pole position.

[00:39:54]His first lap on his first run was the quickest we've seen out of anybody today. It was a 232.9.

[00:40:02]Can he get anywhere close to matching that? That did not look too comfortable in turn one though for Felix Rosenqvist.

[00:40:09]A little bit high there, a little bit twitchy. Let's see if he can settle things down here with the tailwind.

[00:40:14]Again, so far of the 11 drivers that have run, only Palou's gone quicker than he than they did in that first round of qualifying.

[00:40:25]And you can see him now, comfortably ahead of Kiffin Simpson.

[00:40:30]And right now, that's all that matters to Felix Rosenqvist. He doesn't have to beat Palou, but that first lap of a 232.3.

[00:40:38]That is the fastest first lap we've seen in this top 12 shootout. Still got it.

[00:40:45]Red three, red three.

[00:40:49]My word.

[00:40:51]Remember what happened though to Rinus VeeKay. He threw up a 232-mph lap one, and then it absolutely fell off the cliff. So, Rosenqvist needs to manage those tires. He's halfway home.

[00:41:03]>> Remember what happened to VeeKay.

[00:41:05]Remember what happened to Rosenqvist though on his four laps. The consistency matched the pace. Does he have it? It's 232.1.

[00:41:14]My goodness. He is in inspired form today. The Swedish fans in the stands love what they are seeing here.

[00:41:22]Felix Rosenqvist, a lap and a half away.

[00:41:25]>> That thing looks nervous though off turn two.

[00:41:28]And remember, if this goes well, he's still got to go do it one more time, and that's the time that actually matters for the coveted pole position here for next week's race. What preparation though.

[00:41:39]What a confidence builder this will be.

[00:41:44]White flag for number you're deployed.

[00:41:46]Where's his third lap? 232.3, 232.1, 231.7.

[00:41:52]This is a demolition.

[00:41:55]And he still has the hybrid. He's still got a full pack that he can deploy in the second half of this lap. We've seen that really help on lap four.

[00:42:03]>> Oh, what a nice job he did. Lap four at turn two, really stable through there.

[00:42:08]None of the nervousness that he showed in the previous three laps.

[00:42:15]Into the short chute into four.

[00:42:21]You'll rarely see eight laps completed more phenomenally than this.

[00:42:27]Rosenqvist over the line. 232 AGAIN.

[00:42:32]That's an average.

[00:42:35]>> [cheering] >> Witherspoon and these are the guys the six that have advanced that'll be battling for the pole in the 110th Indy 500.