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iam90sbaby

103rd running of the Indianapolis 500

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Anyone watching qualifying is on right now. 

2019 Indianapolis 500 qualifying, explained

How many drivers are there in the Indy 500?

This might be the most important thing to remember about qualifying this weekend. There are still 33 available spots in the 2019 Indy 500, but there are 36 entries, which means that three cars will participate in qualifying but won’t advance to the main event next week.

There aren’t always more entries than available spots, so sometimes it’s not an issue. However, at qualifying for the 2018 Indy 500, drivers and fans were reminded just how devastating it can be to get left behind on what was known as Bump Day — when you literally got bumped because your time wasn’t fast enough.

Last year, James Hinchcliffe and Pippa Mann were bumped, and Hinchcliffe’s situation speficially sparked a heated debate over whether full-time IndyCar Series drivers should automatically get a spot in the big race.

What happens during Indy 500 qualifying Saturday?

The top-30 starting positions will be determined Saturday — sort of. The drivers with the 30 best times will be guaranteed starting spots — based on their fastest four-lap attempts – but not all their exact positions will be determined until Sunday.

Basically, positions 10 through 30 are up for grabs Saturday, meaning those who finish in that range after Saturday’s qualifying will have their official starting spots. The top-9 drivers will compete in another qualifying session Sunday to determine their order, and same goes for those in bottom six.

The order in which cars will qualify is determined based on a draw Friday.

So what happens at Indy 500 qualifying on Sunday?

Bump Day used to be on Saturday and Pole Day — where the Fast Nine Shootout would determine the starting lineup’s front rows — was always on Sunday. Now, those two most impactful qualifying competitions have been combined and will both be on Sunday.

The Fast Nine Shootout will still determine the pole winner and the starting order of the top-8. But it will now be accompanied by what they’re calling the Last Row Shootout, which functions like Bump Day did as the bottom-6 cars will compete for the final three Indy 500 spots.

What time does Indy 500 qualifying Saturday start?

Qualifying practice is scheduled from 8 to 9:30 a.m. ET, and qualifying is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET. But don’t worry if you don’t start watching right away because unless you’re looking to catch a specific driver, qualifying is schedule to last until 5:50 p.m. to determine positions 10 through 30.

What time does Indy 500 qualifying Sunday start?

Here’s a look at the full schedule for Sunday’s newfound drama. Everything is in Eastern Time.

Fast Nine Shootout practice: 10:15-10:45 a.m.

Last Row Shootout practice: 10:45-11:15 a.m.

Last Row Shootout qualifying (order based on original draw, one attempt per car): 12:15-1:15 p.m.

Fast Nine Shootout qualifying (order based on Saturday times, slowest to fastest, one attempt per car): 1:15-2:15 p.m.

Open practice, all 33 qualified cars: 3:15-6 p.m.

How to watch Indy 500 qualifying

Here is a complete schedule for the 2019 Indy 500 qualifying. Everything is still in Eastern Time.

May 18, 8-9:30 a.m.: Indy 500 practice, NBC Sports Gold

May 18, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.: Indy 500 qualifying, NBC Sports Gold

May 18, 5-6 p.m.: Indy 500 qualifying, NBCSN/NBC Sports Gold

May 19, 12-3 p.m.: Indy500 qualifying/practice, NBC

May 19, 3-6 p.m.: Indy 500 practice, NBCSN

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I'd be inclined to watch the race if someone was pulling Double Duty. 

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10 minutes ago, bostonlager said:

I'd be inclined to watch the race if someone was pulling Double Duty. 

Definitely makes it more interesting, but no one was able to get the deal done. Kyle Busch may do it next year since there’s no clause in his contract anymore that doesn’t allow him to do it. But there are still no shortage of Americans to be pulling for. My favorite IndyCar driver is Josef Newgarden and he has a good chance to win.

Another interesting story line is McLaren/Alonso missing the field and not even making the race. I love it because Euros always say ovals are easy and McLaren has won F1 championships in the past. IndyCar hopefully will now get the credit it deserves as those idiots didn’t even make the race. Really put a nasty mark on both of their legacies. 

What makes it even funnier is Pippa Mann, a woman, in an underfunded team made the field. 

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Indy car racing used to be the main racing sport I followed when I was younger, but really lost interest during the split during the 90s.  Really would get excited on bump day, the last hour, watching the small teams try to make the field.   

But they, like Nascar, need to get it through their heads that no matter what they do, qualifying is only a super die-hard attraction and no matter what they do, it's not going to get eyeballs on it like the old days when there were only 3 to 5 channels to watch(and one of them was showing Three's Company and Andy Griffin reruns).   Look at all that contrived nonsense for determining the positions, and it doesn't matter cause it's not the 1980/90's anymore..people aren't tuning in for qualifying.

 

 

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Miss the days of Rick Mears, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Tom Sneva, Bobby Rahal, etc...  Basically until the mid 90s when it became crap...

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turn left young man

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Yeah, but I still like a piece of puzzy once in a while. Ain't nothin like a piece of puzzy. Except maybe the Indy 500. 

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Is that insufferable actress still front and center to this?

It made the race utterly unwatchable.  Then when the italian dude won, she was doing the fake "count how many times he has won on your hand, then act surprised at the number".  :rolleyes:

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4 hours ago, posty said:

Miss the days of Rick Mears, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Tom Sneva, Bobby Rahal, etc...  Basically until the mid 90s when it became crap...

It’s good again. The drivers are extremely talented again, they are going back to their roots a bit. But I know what you mean. 

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1 hour ago, Drizzay said:

Is that insufferable actress still front and center to this?

It made the race utterly unwatchable.  Then when the italian dude won, she was doing the fake "count how many times he has won on your hand, then act surprised at the number".  :rolleyes:

No she’s gone. I hated her too. 

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They had a short film made to play before the Indy back in the mid 1980's. They had cars appear to be driven at 30 miles per hour while a Porsche maneuvered thru them at what looked like Indy speeds. I dove a VW bus in that film. At one point they had the street cars do the go-fast bit. I guess it was pretty funny. I had people saying they saw my f'n bus. 

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When I was at the Indy museum in the early '90s, they had a bus go around the oval...  That was pretty cool feeling the slope and pull of the gravity...  I think we were only going about 55 mph as well...

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Good race.  Love the agility of an Indy car.  Now on to the NASCAR race.  Great day for auto racing.

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Just now, Bier Meister said:

:doublethumbsup: Formula 1 in Monaco :doublethumbsup:

Watching that now.  Well scheduled races today for sure.  :headbanger:

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11 minutes ago, Strike said:

Watching that now.  Well scheduled races today for sure.  :headbanger:

Used to like the Denver Grand Prix. hit a couple of them.

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1 hour ago, Bier Meister said:

:doublethumbsup: Formula 1 in Monaco :doublethumbsup:

Hamilton lead the entire race flag to flag was so boring 

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1 hour ago, Strike said:

Good race.  Love the agility of an Indy car.  Now on to the NASCAR race.  Great day for auto racing.

Was really good. Few passed for the lead in the closing laps 

 

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3 minutes ago, iam90sbaby said:

Hamilton lead the entire race flag to flag was so boring 

tough to pass on the narrow course.

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Incredible day of racing today.

Indy was fun to watch again (especially Rossi)

F1 was...well..somewhat boring given the track (Also, I hate Mercedes)

NASCAR was one hell of a great race. Congrats Truex Jr on some great moves to retake the lead in the final few laps. 
You may be the third best driver out there, (behind Kyle Bush and Harvick) but you did very well today. :thumbsup:

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