An exciting weekend of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 — including Bump Day and the Fast Nine shootout on Pole Day — is in the books, and now we’re about a week away from the race itself. Ed Carpenter has his Chevrolet on pole for the race, which is set for Sunday, May 27 at 12 p.m. ET.
Danica Patrick is, obviously, the one of the biggest names in racing and she managed to put her car ninth on the grid on the first day of qualifying, but jumped both Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon in the Fast Nine, meaning she’ll start seventh on the grid with an average lap speed of 228.090 mph.
Carpenter’s time was 229.618, and included him averaging over 230 mph for one of his laps. He starts ahead of Simon Pagenaud (228.761 mph) and Will Power (228.607) on the first row. For Carpenter, it’s the third time he’s been on the pole in six years. His 230 mph lap was unequaled by anybody else in the session, and he never even dropped below a 229 mph average.
Before the race actually gets underway on Sunday, there’s a whole slate of events for the week, though most of it pertains to those who can make it out to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Either way, it’s the biggest race of the series and among the most visible in the world, so there’s plenty going on.
Monday, May 21 will feature a practice session from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET.
On Friday, May 25, there will be a historic race car exhibition, the final Indy 500 practice (11 a.m. - 12 p.m. ET), the Indy Lights Freedom 100, the Tag Heuer Pit Stop Competition and then a concert featuring Journey to cap it all off.
Saturday, May 26 will feature a full field autograph session from 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. ET at Pagoda Plaza, a public drivers meeting from Tower Terrace from 10:30 a.m. ET and legends autograph sessions beginning at noon. Another concert will end the day before the race.
A full schedule and ticketing information can be found at the official Indianapolis Motor Speedway website.