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Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid and Start Time

Check out the full starting grid for IndyCar's 100th Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kaitlin Tucci|
The Borg Warner trophy sits outside of the pagoda Thursday, May 14, 2026, during practice for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Borg Warner trophy sits outside of the pagoda Thursday, May 14, 2026, during practice for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

According to 4four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, "the Speedway chooses her winner" even before the day starts. After a qualifying weekend that was anything but traditional, the only question remains: who will the Speedway choose this year?

Alex Palou, four-time IndyCar Champion and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, willstart the race from pole after his team pulled out stunning laps in the Fast 6. He will be joined on the front row by Penske's newest driver, David Malukas, and former Indianapolis 500 winner, Alexander Rossi.

Rossi isn't just starting in 2nd, though. After a high-speed crash out of Turn 2 during the Monday Practice Session, Rossi was left with an injured foot and hand. He underwent emergent procedures at a local hospital after the crash and was only cleared to drive late Thursday evening with a non-weight-bearing injury to his foot.

Alexander Rossi with Injured Ankle
Ed Carpenter Racing driver Alexander Rossi (20) waves to the crowd Saturday, May 23, 2026, during a drivers meeting ahead of the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Naturally, although Rossi is 'okay' after his crash, the car is not. Both his #20 ECR and the number five of Pato O'Ward, starting sixth, were not salvageable, and backup cars will have to be used for the 500. This could have a significant impact on speed on Sunday.

The other notable story post-qualifying was the news of two disqualifications, moving drivers to the back of the grid. First, Dreyer Reinbold's Jack Harvey, who qualified 29th, was moved back to 33rd. More notably, though, the rookie from AJ Foyt, Caio Collet, who qualified 10th, was moved back to 32nd.

Both of these disqualifications were due to their cars failing post-technical inspection, with both cars being caught not using the Dallara-supplied hardware to mount their Energy Management System.

The final notable 'discrepancies' to the grid fall with former Indianapolis 500 winner, Josef Newgarden in 23rd and all three Andretti cars facing severe pace issues. Marcus Ericsson (former winner), Will Power (former winner), and Kyle Kirkwood will start from 17th, 19th, and 25th, respectively.

Indianapolis 500 starting grid

Row

Position

Number/ Driver/ Team

1

1

#10 Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi

1

2

#20 Alexander Rossi, ECR

1

3

#12 David Malukas, Penske

2

4

#60 Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank

2

5

#14 Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt

2

6

#5 Pato O'Ward, McLaren

3

7

#8 Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi

3

8

#23 Conor Daly, Dreyer & Reinbold

3

9

#3 Scott McLaughlin, Penske

4

10

#9 Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi

4

11

#76 Rinus Veekay, Juncos Hollinger

4

12

#75 Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

5

13

#33 Ed Carpenter, ECR

5

14

#6, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank

5

15

#21 Christian Rasmussen, ECR

6

16

#66 Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank

6

17

#28 Marcus Ericsson, Andretti

6

18

#7 Christian Lundgaard, McLaren

7

19

#26 Will Power, Andretti

7

20

#6 Nolan Siegel, McLaren

7

21

#45 Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

8

22

#31 Ryan Hunter-Reay, McLaren

8

23

#2 Josef Newgarden, Penske

8

24

#18 Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne

9

25

#27 Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti

9

26

#11 Katherine Legge, HMD w/ AJ Foyt

9

27

#47 Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

10

28

#15 Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

10

29

#19 Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne

10

30

#51 Jacob Abel, Abel

11

31

#77 Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger

11

32

#4 Caio Collet, AJ Foyt

11

33

#24 Jack Harvey, Dreyer & Reinbold

There are plenty of questions that remain with this final grid: Can Palou two-peat? Will Josef Newgarden, a two-time winner, be able to make up places from back in 23rd? Can Rossi overcome his injury and a backup car to win? Or will a new driver kiss the bricks and drink the milk this afternoon?

Josef Newgarden Win
Josef Newgarden drinks milk in victory lane after winning the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 26, 2024. | Grace Hollars / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indy 500 start time

The green flag drops for the Indianapolis 500 at 12:45 p.m. ET, Sunday, May 24, 2026, with live coverage beginning on FOX Sports at 10 AM ET.

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Kaitlin Tucci
KAITLIN TUCCI

Kaitlin Tucci has been a fan of motorsport for close to a decade. Before joining On SI in 2025, she contributed heavily to the marketing and media efforts at FanAmp, a motorsports startup for which she was the Head of Marketing. She has contributed to a number of publications covering series such as Formula 1, IndyCar, IMSA, and more... Kaitlin graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with both a degree in Business/Marketing and Political Science. She works full time as a marketer at high-growth tech startups while spending her weekends immersed in the world of racing. Kaitlin was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, but has lived in New York City for the past 5 years with her 'giant chihuahua' Willow. You'll often catch Willow watching races alongside Kaitlin, but unfortunately she doesn't have enough airline miles to join her at the track just yet.

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