Helio Castroneves – Indianapolis 500 Practice – Photo by James Black

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

As a four-time Indianapolis 500 champion, Helio Castroneves certainly knows how to successfully navigate 200 laps/500-miles around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Helio Castroneves and Pato O’Ward – Indianapolis 500 Practice – (Photo by James Black | IMS Photo)

However, INDYCAR’s updated qualifying procedure for the 110th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is another matter. A field of 33 drivers and cars have been practicing at IMS since Tuesday _ enough entries to keep the traditional car-count intact. However, that also means the drama associated with “Bump Day” during Sunday’s final session of time trials will once again not take place.

Enter the revised format announced Monday by the sanctioning body. It has the feel of a not-so-subtle attempt by series partner FOX Sports _ a 30 percent owner of Penske Entertainment Corp. _ to generate additional made-for-TV drama. For instance, some entrants could run up to four times over the two days of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying.

Helio Castroneves – Indianapolis 500 Practice – Photo by Doug Mathews

That fact triggered a light-hearted exchange Thursday between Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward and Castroneves of Meyer Shank Racing during their end of day press conference. O’Ward, a 27-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas, shot to the top of the speed chart early during Day 3 of practice via his lap of 39.5939-seconds/227.308 mph in traffic. That lap in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet was recorded with the benefit of an aerodynamic tow during the first 35 minutes of a six-hour session.

Castroneves was second-fast at 226.977 mph in the No. 06 Cleveland Cliffs Honda of Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian. Specifically questioned about the format, the 51-year-old Brazilian deadpanned, “I’m still trying to understand the qualifying, to be honest.”

NTT INDYCAR Series officials will add an additional round on Sunday during qualifying for the pole position. The Top 12 Round will add another layer of intense competition for the drivers who are attempting to race in this year’s Indianapolis 500. (Photo courtesy of the NTT IndyCar Series)

So, here goes. It is scheduled to begin with Day One of qualifying Saturday from 11 a.m.-5:50 p.m. (EDT), which will determine positions 16-33 via traditional four-lap/10-mile attempts. The fastest nine cars from Day One also will be locked into the Top 12 qualifying session on Sunday’s Day Two earning the opportunity to advance to the Firestone Fast Six and a spot to compete for the coveted NTT P1 Award and start from pole position on Race Day.

Cars ranked 10-15 on Day One will advance to the Final 15 round on Day Two and will have the opportunity to compete for the three spots remaining to fill the Top 12 round. Starting in reverse order of qualifying speeds based on Day One (15, 14, 13, 12, 11 and 10), each of the six cars will have one attempt to post a traditional four-lap/10-mile qualifying time starting at 4 p.m. The fastest three will advance to the Top 12 qualifying round.

Pato O’Ward – Indianapolis 500 Practice – Photo by Josh Hernandez

At approximately 5 p.m., Top 12 Qualifying will begin with the three advancing cars from Final 15 _ slowest to fastest _ followed by the cars, from ninth to first, that advanced to the round based on speeds from Day One. Like in previous years, the fastest six will advance to the Firestone Fast Six to determine positions one through six and compete for the NTT P1 Award for pole. Those finishing seventh through 12th will fill out starting positions seven through 12 according to their time and speed.

In the Firestone Fast Six at approximately 6:35 p.m., each entrant will again be given one attempt and will qualify in reverse order based on their Top 12 qualifying results. The fastest driver earns pole position and the accompanying $100,000 prize, while the remaining five drivers complete the first two rows of the starting grid.

Unless, of course, the session is rained-out.

Got it, Pato? How about you, Helio?

HELIO CASTRONEVES: “It’s raising from 16 to 33, right?”

PATO O’WARD: “Is there a limit of attempts now?”

THE MODERATOR: “No. Well, on Sunday there are. Sunday you get one shot.”

PATO O’WARD: “One shot at each?”

THE MODERATOR: “Yes, but Saturday is the same.”

PATO O’WARD: “Yeah, obviously you want to get into the Fast 15, right? Fastest 15. But if you’re in the bubble, you’ll probably see what…”

HELIO CASTRONEVES: “It’s nine. You want to be in the Fastest 9.”

PATO O’WARD: “No, 15 on Sunday.”000000000000

HELIO CASTRONEVES: “Well, but the Top 9…”

THE MODERATOR: “Are into the Top 12 the next day. The Top 9 on Saturday are locked into the Top 12 on Sunday.”

PATO O’WARD: “So the Fastest 15 on Saturday move on to Sunday in a Q1, Q2, Q3 format basically.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES: “Then you have the second one…”

PATO O’WARD: “So all 15 go first and then…”

THE MODERATOR: “No. Six battle for the final three spots in the Top 12.”

PATO O’WARD: “So the front guys don’t have to do that again?”

THE MODERATOR: “You’re locked in.”

PATO O’WARD: “How many attempts…if you’re in the Fastest 10, how many attempts do you have, two?”

THE MODERATOR: “Two. You get a Top 12 and then Fast 6. We’ll go have dinner. I’ll explain it to you.”

PATO O’WARD: “Honestly, if I’m…just…yeah, just keep going. Just keep going as fast as you can, see where you can go.”

That is excellent advice. In any case, Castroneves is among nine past Indy 500 winners and five NTT IndyCar Series champions chasing victory on Sunday, May 24.

Alex Palou – Indianapolis 500 Practice – Photo by Joe Skibinski

Alex Palou of Spain earned the first oval race victory of his career in the 2025 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, completing a sweep of the Month of May after winning the Sonsio Grand Prix on the 2.439-mile/14-turn IMS Road-Course.

Palou, of Chip Ganassi Racing, went on to win his fourth NTT IndyCar Series championship and third in a row in 2025, becoming the first driver since Dario Franchitti of Scotland and CGR in 2010 to win the 500 and the series title in the same season.

Castroneves _ the Indy 500 champ in 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2021 _ leads the impressive list of past winners including two-time champions Takuma Sato of Japan (2017, 2020) and Josef Newgarden (2023, 2024), as well as single winners Scott Dixon of New Zealand (2008), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016), Will Power of Australia (2018) and Marcus Ericsson of Sweden (2022). The record for winners in one field is 10, set in 1992.

Helio Castroneves – Indianapolis 500 Practice – Photo by Chris Jones

Castroneves earned a spot alongside A.J. Foyt Jr., Al Unser and Rick Mears in the most prestigious club in motorsports _ four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500 _ with his emotional victory in 2021 for Meyer Shank Racing. A record-breaking fifth would place Castroneves alone on the famed Borg Warner Trophy. Castroneves turned 51 on Tuesday, and a victory also would make him the oldest winner in 500 history, a record held by “Big Al” Unser, who won the 1987 edition just five days shy of his 48th birthday.

The field includes five past INDYCAR champions _ Dixon, Hunter-Reay, Newgarden, Palou and Power.

Katherine Legge of Great Britain is the sole woman entrant this year, competing for the first time since 2024.

Four drivers are vying for Rookie of the Year honors in 2026: Jacob Abel (who was bumped from the field last year), Caio Collet of Brazil, Dennis Hauger of Norway and Mick Schumacher of Switzerland.

Live Race Day coverage is scheduled to begin on FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls at 10 a.m. (EDT), with the green flag set for 12:45 p.m.

2026 ENTRY BREAKDOWN

Winners (9) _ Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato.

Rookies (4) _ Jacob Abel, Caio Collet, Dennis Hauger, Mick Schumacher.

U.S. drivers (12) _ Jacob Abel, Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, Santino Ferrucci, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Sting Ray Robb, Alexander Rossi and Nolan Siegel.

International drivers (21 from 14 countries) _ Marcus Armstrong, Helio Castroneves, Caio Collet, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Louis Foster, Romain Grosjean, Jack Harvey, Dennis Hauger, Katherine Legge, Christian Lundgaard, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Alex Palou, Will Power, Christian Rasmussen, Felix Rosenqvist, Takuma Sato, Mick Schumacher, Kyffin Simpson and Rinus VeeKay.

Engines (33) _ Chevrolet 18, Honda 15 (all cars use Dallara chassis and Firestone Firehawk tires).

Official NTT IndyCar Series entry list for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 24, with car number in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car name with engine supplier and team entrant:

1. (2) Josef Newgarden-(W), Nashville, Tenn., Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet/Team Penske
2. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Christchurch, New Zealand, Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet/Team Penske
3. (4) Caio Collet-(R), Sao Paulo, Brazil, Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet/A.J. Foyt Enterprises
4. (5) Pato O’Ward, Monterrey, Mexico, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet/Arrow McLaren
5. (06) Helio Castroneves-(W), Sao Paulo, Brazil, Cleveland-Cliffs Honda/Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian
6. (6) Nolan Siegel, Palo Alto, Calif., NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet/Arrow McLaren
7. (7) Christian Lundgaard, Hedensted, Denmark, VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet/Arrow McLaren
8. (8) Kyffin Simpson, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Chip Ganassi Racing
9. (9) Scott Dixon-(W), Auckland, New Zealand, PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Chip Ganassi Racing
10. (10) Alex Palou-(W), Barcelona, Spain, DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Chip Ganassi Racing
11. (11) Katherine Legge, Guildford, England, e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet, HMD Motorsports/with A.J. Foyt Enterprises
12. (12) David Malukas, Chicago, Ill., Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet/Team Penske
13. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Woodbury, Conn., Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet/A.J. Foyt Enterprises
14. (15) Graham Rahal, New Albany, Ohio, United Rentals Honda/Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
15. (18) Romain Grosjean, Geneva, Switzerland, Bmax.IO Honda/Dale Coyne Racing
16. (19) Dennis Hauger-(R), Aurskog, Norway, Only Bulls Honda/Dale Coyne Racing
17. (20) Alexander Rossi-(W), Nevada City, Calif., Java House Chevrolet/Ed Carpenter Racing
18. (21) Christian Rasmussen, Copenhagen, Denmark, Splenda Chevrolet/Ed Carpenter Racing
19. (23) Conor Daly, Noblesville, Ind., DRR Kingspan Chevrolet/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
20. (24) Jack Harvey, Bassingham, England, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Invest Chevrolet/DRR
21. (26) Will Power-(W), Toowoomba, Australia, TWG AI Honda/Andretti Global
22. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Jupiter, Fla., Sam’s Club Honda/Andretti Global
23. (28) Marcus Ericsson-(W), Kumla, Sweden, Phoenix Investors Honda/Andretti Global
24. (31) Ryan Hunter-Reay-(W), Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Prize Picks Arrow McLaren Chevrolet/Arrow McLaren
25. (33) Ed Carpenter, Indianapolis, Ind., SlimFast Special Chevrolet/Ed Carpenter Racing
26. (45) Louis Foster, Odiham, England, Droplight Honda/Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
27. (47) Mick Schumacher-(R), Gland, Switzerland, ENVE Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
28. (51) Jacob Abel-(R), Louisville, Ken., Texas Roadhouse Cheverolet/Abel Motorsports
29. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Varnamo, Sweden, SiriusXM Honda/Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian
30. (66) Marcus Armstrong, Christchurch, New Zealand, Acura Honda/Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian
31. (75) Takuma Sato-(W), Tokyo, Japan, AMADA Honda/Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
32. (76) Rinus VeeKay, Hoofddorp, The Netherlands, WedBush/JHR/DRR Chevrolet/Juncos Hollinger Racing
33. (77) Sting Ray Robb, Payette, Idaho, Juncos Hollinger/Goodheart Chevrolet/Juncos Hollinger Racing

Note _ All cars use the fourth generation NTT IndyCar Series chassis (Dallara IR-12) with universal IR-18 aerodynamic bodywork, Chevrolet or Honda twin-turbocharged V-6 engines and Firestone Firehawk tires.

(W) _Denotes Indianapolis 500 winner

(R) _ Denotes Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year candidate