As It Always Does, Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Brought Surprises And Drama

There's really nothing like Indianapolis 500 qualifying because it always brings some stunners and some serious drama as the clock ticks down to zero.

If you're unfamiliar, the way it works is each driver gets a four-lap run and the drivers with the 12 highest average speeds compete Sunday to set pole position as well as the first four rows of the grid.

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Positions 13 through 30 are set Saturday, while the drivers whose times place them 31st, 32nd, 33rd, and 34th have to get back in the car for last chance qualifying on Sunday, with the slowest driver of those four getting bumped from the field. 

After everyone runs, two lanes open up on the pit lane: one for drivers wanting another run, and the other for drivers who want another run and are willing to throw out their previous run to skip the line.

Add in an intense track and less-than-ideal hot and windy conditions, and you've got a recipe for some drama.

So, no pressure, right?

The first round of runs came with some shockers. Colton Herta had a massive crash that left him sliding along the track on his roof. Indianapolis native Conor Daly found his first run deleted after he failed inspection, and certain drivers with solid track records at Indy struggled.

But not all the surprises were bad; in fact, what was, for my money, the surprise of the day came courtesy of Prema.

The Italian team is the newest one on the IndyCar grid, and while they've got decades of success to their credit in Europe, this year's Indy 500 is the team's first race on oval. 

It's also the first race on an oval for rookie driver Robert Shwartzman.

Considering Prema had trouble getting both of their cars ready to go this week, limiting the amount of crucial track time their driver could get, I would be willing to bet that some teams thought that one or even both of the team's drivers would need to go through Last Chance Qualifying on Sunday to make the field.

Wrong.

Robert Shwartzman and Prema were some of the stars of Day 1 of qualifying.  (Photo by Phillip G. Abbott/Lumen via Getty Images)

Shwartzman was one of the first drivers of the day and dropped a run with an average speed of 232.584 mph, which stood all day and led to a 6th-place finish, guaranteeing a start in the first four rows of the grid.

Just stellar work by Shwartzman and the team. Drive of the day, in my opinion.

However, not everyone was as pleased with how their day was going. As I mentioned, Juncos Hollinger Racing's Conor Daly had his first run wiped for a tech infringement, and his second run left him out of the top 12.

Conor Daly of Juncos Hollinger Racing came just short of a late run into the Fast 12.  (Photo by Michael L. Levitt/Lumen via Getty Images)

So, he took a gamble and joined the fast lane, betting it all on his final run. But this meant that Marco Andretti, who was behind Daly in the fast lane, didn't get a final run to try to get himself out of the bottom four.

Daly's first two laps were well above the speed needed to jump McLaren's Christian Lundgaard for the final spot in the Fast 12.

However, he lost some pace on the final lap and finished just outside the top 12 and will start the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in 13th.

As for who made the Fast 12, it's a mix of some of the usual suspects with a few surprises thrown into the mix, with championship leader Alex Palou topping the speed charts.

As for the bottom four battling not to get bumped on Sunday? That will consist of Marco Andretti, Jacob Abel, Rinus Veekay, and Marcus Armstrong.

Be sure to catch Day 2 of qualifying Sunday at 4 pm ET on Fox.