The Starting Grid for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500

After Saturday’s round of qualifications was canceled due to weather, Sunday made for a jam-packed single-day qualifying event that typically runs over the course of two days. This year’s qualifications was the first year since 2022 that no bumping took place, as there were approximately 33 entries.

The reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Alex Palou captured his second career Indy 500 pole position on Sunday, continuing his dominant run after another strong start to the 2026 INDYCAR season.

Drama unfolded when two drivers received post-qualifying penalties after failing technical inspection. Caio Collet and Jack Harvey were both penalized for unapproved modifications to the Dallara-supplied Energy Management System (EMS). As a result, Collet moved from his originally qualified spot of 10th to 32nd and Harvey moved from 29th to 33rd.
This month also brought its share of adversity when an incident during Monday’s practice left the 2016 Indy 500 winner, Alexander Rossi, with minor injuries that briefly put his race status into question before he was medically cleared to compete.

The month of May is always filled with eventful and historic storylines, but on Sunday, a new book will be written and a new champion will kiss the bricks at The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Here’s an insider’s look at the starting grid for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500:

1st - Alex Palou

• Hometown: Sant Antoni de Calonge, Spain
• No. 10 Honda
• Team: Chip Ganassi Racing
• Fun Fact: The defending Indianapolis 500 winner and Four-Time INDYCAR Series Champion (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025) attempts to become a two-time Indy 500 winner.
  

2nd - Alexander Rossi

• Hometown: Nevada City, California, USA
• No. 20 Chevrolet
• Team: Ed Carpenter Racing
• Fun Fact: Rossi won the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie in 2016 and will attempt to win his second Indy 500 after sustaining minor injuries to his left hand and right ankle in Monday’s practice session.

3rd - David Malukas

• Hometown: Chicago, Illinois, USA
• No. 12 Chevrolet
• Team: Team Penske
• Fun Fact: The fan-favorite finished 2nd in last year’s Indy 500 and now makes his Indy 500 debut with Team Penske.
  

4th - Felix Rosenqvist

• Hometown: Värnamo, Sweden
• No. 60 Honda
• Team: Meyer Shank Racing
• Fun Fact: Rosenqvist made his INDYCAR Series debut in 2019 after spending two years in Formula E. He has won one INDYCAR race at Road America in 2020.

5th - Santino Ferrucci

Hometown: Boyertown, Pennsylvania, USA
No. 14 Chevrolet
Team: AJ Foyt Racing
Fun Fact: Ferrucci has never finished outside the top 10 in any Indy 500 out of his seven starts.

6th - Pato O’Ward

• Hometown: Monterrey, Mexico
• No. 5 Chevrolet
• Team: Arrow McLaren
• Fun Fact: A two-time runner up (2022, 2024) in the Indianapolis 500 is a favorite to win his first Indy 500 this weekend.

7th - Kyffin Simpson

• Hometown: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
• No. 8 Honda
• Team: Chip Ganassi Racing
• Fun Fact: The 21-year-old driver is the youngest driver in the 2026 Indianapolis 500 field.

8th - Conor Daly

• Hometown: Noblesville, Indiana, USA
• No. 23 Chevrolet
• Team: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
• Fun Fact: A hometown favorite comes from a racing family. His father, Derek Daly, raced in INDYCAR in the 1980s and his step-father, Doug Boles, is the president of INDYCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

9th - Scott McLaughlin

• Hometown: Christchurch, New Zealand
• No. 3 Chevrolet
• Team: Team Penske
• Fun Fact: Three-Time Supercar Championship Winner (2018, 2019, 2020), 7-Time INDYCAR Series Race-Winner and winner of the 2024 Indianapolis 500 pole position.

10th - Scott Dixon

• Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
  No. 9 Honda
  Team: Chip Ganassi Racing
  Fun Fact: The six-time INDYCAR Series champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner is chasing a second victory at Indianapolis.

11th - Rinus VeeKay

• Hometown: Hoofddorp, Netherlands
• No. 76 Chevrolet
• Team: Juncos Hollinger Racing
• Fun Fact: 2020 INDYCAR Series Rookie of the Year and winner of the 2021 GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

12th - Takuma Sato

• Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
• No. 75 Honda
• Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
• Fun Fact: The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner returns in a one-off effort aiming for a historic third Indy 500 victory.

13th - Ed Carpenter

• Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
• No. 33 Chevrolet
• Team: Ed Carpenter Racing
• Fun Fact: Carpenter is a three-time Indy 500 pole winner and owner of Ed Carpenter Racing.

14th - Helio Castroneves

• Hometown: São Paulo, Brazil
• No. 06 Honda
• Team: Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian
• Fun Fact: Castroneves is attempting to become the first five-time winner in Indianapolis 500 history.

15th - Christian Rasmussen

• Hometown: Copenhagen, Denmark
• No. 21 Chevrolet
• Team: Ed Carpenter Racing
• Fun Fact: Rasmussen won his first career INDYCAR race at the 2025 Milwaukee Mile 250.

16th - Marcus Armstrong

• Hometown: Nelson, New Zealand
• No. 66 Chevrolet
• Team: Meyer Shank Racing
• Fun Fact: Armstrong was the 2023 INDYCAR Series Rookie of the Year.

17th - Marcus Ericsson

• Hometown: Kumla, Sweden
• No. 28 Honda
• Team: Andretti Global
• Fun Fact: Ericsson won the Indianapolis 500 in 2022 after previously competing in Formula 1.

18th - Christian Lundgaard

• Hometown: Hedensted, Denmark
• No. 7 Chevrolet
• Team: Arrow McLaren
• Fun Fact: Lundgaard kicked off the month of May by winning this year’s Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

19th - Will Power

• Hometown: Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
• No. 26 Honda
• Team: Andretti Global
• Fun Fact: The 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner is also a two-time INDYCAR Series champion and makes his Indy 500 debut with Andretti Global this year.

20th - Nolan Siegel

• Hometown: Palo Alto, California, USA
• No. 6 Chevrolet
• Team: Arrow McLaren
• Fun Fact: Siegal has his pilot's license and is making his second Indy 500 start.

21st - Louis Foster (Rookie)

• Hometown: Basingstoke, United Kingdom
• No. 45 Honda
• Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
• Fun Fact: Foster was the 2024 Indy NXT champion and makes his second Indy 500 start.

22nd - Ryan Hunter-Reay

• Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
• No. 31 Chevrolet
• Team: Arrow McLaren
• Fun Fact: The 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner returns once again for his debut with Arrow McLaren.

23rd - Josef Newgarden

• Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee, USA
• No. 2 Chevrolet
• Team: Team Penske
• Fun Fact: Newgarden is attempting to join ten others on a list of three-time Indy 500 winners, adding to his wins from 2024 and 2025.

24th - Romain Grosjean

• Hometown: Geneva, Switzerland
• No. 18 Honda
• Team: Dale Coyne Racing
• Fun Fact: Grosjean previously spent nearly a decade competing in Formula 1 before moving to INDYCAR.

25th - Kyle Kirkwood

• Hometown: Jupiter, Florida, USA
• No. 27 Honda
• Team: Andretti Global
• Fun Fact: A six-time INDYCAR series race winner and currently in 2nd place for the 2026 INDYCAR series championship point standings.

26th - Katherine Legge

• Hometown: Guildford, United Kingdom
• No. 11 Chevrolet
• Team: HMD Motorsports w/ AJ Foyt Racing
• Fun Fact: Legge returns to the Indianapolis 500 while also attempting “The Double” with NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600.

27th - Mick Schumacher (Rookie)

• Hometown: Vufflens-le-Château, Switzerland
• No. 47 Honda
• Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
• Fun Fact: The son of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher makes his Indianapolis 500 debut.

28th - Graham Rahal

• Hometown: New Albany, Ohio, USA
• No. 15 Honda
• Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
• Fun Fact: Rahal hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indy 500 winner.

29th - Dennis Hauger (Rookie)

• Hometown: Aurskog-Høland, Norway
• No. 19 Honda
• Team: Dale Coyne Racing
• Fun Fact: Hauger arrives in INDYCAR after winning multiple junior open-wheel championships in Europe.

30th - Jacob Abel (Rookie)

• Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky, USA
• No. 51 Chevrolet
• Team: Abel Motorsports
• Fun Fact: Abel makes his first Indianapolis 500 start driving for his family-owned team.

31st - Sting Ray Robb

• Hometown: Payette, Idaho, USA
• No. 77 Chevrolet
• Team: Juncos Hollinger Racing
• Fun Fact: His parents are huge Chevrolet enthusiasts and named him after the iconic Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.

32nd - Caio Collet (Rookie)

• Hometown: São Paulo, Brazil
• No. 4 Chevrolet
• Team: AJ Foyt Racing
• Fun Fact: Collet started driving a quad bike at age three or four and frequently attended rally events with his dad, but his mother put a stop to it because she felt it was too dangerous.

33rd - Jack Harvey

• Hometown: Bassingham, United Kingdom
• No. 24 Chevrolet
• Team: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
• Fun Fact: When Harvey isn’t racing in the Indy 500, you can find him as a pit reporter and analyst for Fox Sports covering the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.