By Kirby Arnold, Special Contributor
INDIANAPOLIS – The track drying crew turned the only laps Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where rain washed out the scheduled opening day of qualifying for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Rain began early in the morning, prompting the NTT IndyCar Series to cancel the morning practice but hope for a dry weather window that would allow each of the 33 entries to get one four-lap qualifying run.
Didn’t happen.
Heavy rain returned about 10 a.m. and swamped the 2.5-mile oval, but a convoy consisting of the Air Titan, jet dryers and safety trucks had the track nearly dry in less than two hours.
However, another squall hit the speedway just before noon, followed by teaser showers the rest of the afternoon that ended hope for getting race cars on track.
It’s the first time the opening day of qualifying has been rained out since 2005 and first time that any qualifying day has been weather impacted since 2008 when the second day of qualifying was wiped out.
The Sunday format will remain relatively the same, the only changes being that each of the entries will get one four-lap attempt (rather than unlimited attempts had Saturday been dry). That will determine the fastest 12 (instead of 15) that will continue through to the knockout rounds to decide the pole winner and those who line up in the first four rows. Those who qualified 13-33 won’t run again on Sunday and will line up in those positions for the May 24 race.
Practice on Sunday will start at 9:30 a.m. (ET) and qualifying at noon. The round of 12 will start at 4:30 p.m., with the fastest six to run for the pole position at 6.
The forecast is for sunny skies and a high temperature of 84 degrees.
With weather predicted to warm considerably, the qualifying draw held on Friday may become a bigger factor than it would have been on Saturday when the temperature was more consistent through the day. Typically on a hot day, those who draw lower numbers and qualify earlier benefit from a cool track that would become more difficult for those running later on a warmer racing surface.
That could significantly impact defending race winner Alex Palou, who will be the 31st to qualify.
Scott Dixon, Christian Lundgaard, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ed Carpenter, Rinus VeeKay, Scott McLaughlin, Nolan Siegel, Graham Rahal, Josef Newgarden and Will Power will be the first 10 to qualify.
Besides Palou, among those deepest in the qualifying line are four-time winner Helio Castroneves (25th) and two-time winner Takuma Sato (26th).
In Friday’s final practice, when cars ran with extra qualifying turbo boost, McLaughlin’s 232.674 mph was the day’s fastest speed without an aerodynamic tow from a car ahead of him. Next were Palou (232.532), Rinus VeeKay (232.417) and Alexander Rossi (232.416). Felix Rosenqvist, who said he got a momentary tow on the final lap of his qualifying simulation, had the best overall speed at 233.372, fastest of the four practices this week.
Rosenqvist will be the 11th out Sunday with Rossi 20th.
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