Qualifying Report: Indianapolis 500 - Round 1

INDIANAPOLIS (May 17, 2025) -- Windy conditions at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today made the qualifying sessions for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 very challenging for the teams and especially the drivers.

David Malukas was 16th in line to qualify in his No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet. Going out just ahead of him was Colton Herta who lost control of his car going through Turn 1 and he hit the wall and flipped over sliding upside down through the short chute. Herta was helped out of the car and was later cleared to drive.

Sitting in his car, Malukas watched Herta's accident on the big screen. And then he had to go out and hope the wind did not catch him off guard as it did Herta -- or Marcus Armstrong, who crashed heavily in the morning practice. Like Herta, Armstrong was also cleared to drive by the INDYCAR /IMS medical staff.

Malukas pulled off a smooth run with a four-lap average speed of 232.194mph which was fifth quickest at the time. After that run he addressed the track conditions, saying, “What a morning! With the timing of when we were going out, we were kind of on the crest of the wind picking up, and then we had the yellow and the delay [for Herta's crash], and obviously we didn't have the car set for those conditions. The wind picked up on that run. And I'm just gonna say that was the toughest, toughest four laps I've had to do here since I've driven here. I mean, it's been a short time. It's only my third year but, that was very, very difficult, that [Turn] one and two was treacherous but this team has built an incredible car. I mean, it all comes down to the cars at these speeds. These are the best drivers in the world so anybody can drive. And when it comes down to these qualifying days, a lot of it is on the team, and they've built an incredible car to withstand those tough conditions -- and we stayed flat. I think out of that run that we had to do, that is damn near the best.”

Next out was teammate Santino Ferrucci in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet. On his first of what would be three qualifying runs, he posted a four-lap average of 230.837mph for 10th on the grid. He hopped out of the car and knew he would be going out later in the day, saying of his run, "Lost the balance."

By the time all 34 drivers had made their first runs and several drivers made second runs, Ferrucci had slipped to 19th. He went out to make a second run and averaged 231.593mph which put him 13th, just missing the Fast Twelve. Once again, he knew he would be making another attempt to get into the Fast 12.

Meanwhile, Malukas, who had slipped to ninth, made a second run and improved his speed to 232.546mph which put him seventh overall.

".The guys did an incredible job getting the car where it needed to be," said the 23-year-old Chicagoan.

"I think a lot of drivers were struggling out there. Like I said earlier, these are the best of the best drivers in the world, and a lot of it comes down to [car] set-up at these speeds and comes down to the team. And they did an incredible job finding the car where it needs to be. We survived those first four laps, and I think we were already secured for a fast twelve through there. Later in the afternoon, track conditions got a little bit better (cooler), but a little bit more gusty. Had some scarier moments on lap three but we survived through it. The car's on rails so we did a completely different strategy when it came to the hybrid. Now we have two good four-lap runs where we're able to get a lot of information heading into Fast 12 tomorrow."

On Ferrucci's third attempt, his run was cut short when a gust of wind hit his car in Turn 2 and he lost the front end and the car nearly hit the wall. With that second lap in the 228mph range, the team knew it was now a lost cause and the run was aborted.

"Obviously we've been very behind all month," Ferrucci said. "Catching up on the car today, honestly, we're finding such a great balance on being able to enter in super strong, get the car to the apex, find confidence in my lines. And just to be honest with you, our luck has been so bad, I don't even know how to explain it. And I get it all the way down to the apex in two on lap one, and sticks. Get it down to the apex in lap two, and it takes off. I caught a gust of wind, and it just pushed the car off the line. There's literally nothing I can do. The car was good. It's just bad luck."

Ferrucci will now start 17th, in the middle of the sixth row.

Malukas is set to qualify for his final grid position tomorrow afternoon after a brief practice session. The qualifying order is set for the slowest car to go out first; the last driver to hit the track will be pacesetter Alex Palou, who clocked in at 233.043mph. The top six advance to the Firestone Fast Six which will determine the pole winner for the Indianapolis 500. FOX will broadcast the two sessions along with the always dramatic Last Chance qualifying round to determine the final three starters.

The 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will be broadcast by FOX on Sunday, May 25th starting with the pre-race show at 10 a.m. ET.  

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