Saturday’s Indy 500 qualifying was all about locking in the middle half of the field, guaranteeing them a spot in the famous race.
While the slowest four drivers from the first day of qualifying will be back on track Sunday to fight for a spot on the last row, they will not include any of those that are part of a single-race program.
When the field swells for the Indianapolis 500 each year, it is often those drivers and teams that are only on track for the one event that are left near the back of the pack.
A smaller budget and less resources make it difficult to compete against the full race teams that have a proven model in place.
This year, six of the 34 entries that arrived at the track were single race efforts. And, remarkably, all six of them locked themselves into the race with their performances on Saturday.
Tony Kanaan was the highest placed driver on the list, putting his Arrow McLaren Chevy into the Top 12 alongside his three team-mates.
His performance was all but expected, given the experience for both the team and driver, but the combination is still a technically a single race entry, and anything can happen when you get to the track.
Ryan Hunter-Reay also locked himself into the show, putting his Dreyer and Reinbold Chevy 18th on the grid in his first race in 18 months.
Marco Andretti put his #98 entry into the 24th position. Even though he was disappointed with his performance, the 36-year-old still guaranteed a spot in the race, and saved his team from the disappointment of missing the cut.
Just behind in the standings was Stefan Wilson, who locked his combined Dreyer and Reinbold / Cusick entry into the field.
This year is Wilson’s fifth time competing in the Indy 500 as a single race entry, and he is experienced in the trials of getting a small program up to speed.
RC Enerson qualified for his first Indy 500 by putting his Abel Motorsports Chevy into the 29th grid slot with Saturday’s drive.
This year is also the first time Abel has fielded an entry, putting together a late deal to step up from their Indy NXT program into the biggest race event in the world.
Katherine Legge guaranteed herself a spot in the race as well, locking in the 30th and final position that was finalized on Saturday.
It had been 10 years since Legge was behind the wheel in IndyCar, but she put her skills on display with a qualifying performance that bested all three of her team-mates.
That leaves four drivers at the back of the field, only three of which will be able to make it into the race, which are all full time participants in the 2023 season.
Three Rahal Letterman Lanigan drivers and one Dale Coyne Racing rookie, Sting Ray Robb, who will fight for the final positions on Sunday. The only thing that’s guaranteed among the group is that one will be sent home before the race even begins.
