Around The Corner: Indianapolis 500 Pole Day

The storylines for the final day of qualifying for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge are rich, and they start and end with both ends of determining the 33-car field.

SEE: Qualifying Procedure

The action begins at 3 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network), when three Team Penske drivers are the favorites to win the NTT P1 Award for team and track owner Roger Penske. If the top position goes to Will Power, Scott McLaughlin or reigning "500" champion Josef Newgarden, Penske will have a record-extending 19th pole for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

Team Penske seeks to win its first pole for the "500" since Simon Pagenaud won the 2019 race from the top spot. If Power is the driver collecting the prize, it will extend his NTT INDYCAR SERIES record to 71 poles, but it will be the first for this event. Neither McLaughlin nor Newgarden has occupied the lead position for the "500."

The process for determining the pole winner begins at 3:05 p.m. with Top 12 Qualifying. Each of the 12 drivers who were fastest in Saturday's session is guaranteed one chance to advance to the Firestone Fast Six later in the day. From there, the top six starting positions will be determined.

A pole today would be a first at IMS for any of the 12 drivers. Five drivers who have been in the top spot here - Helio Castroneves, Ed Carpenter, Scott Dixon, Marco Andretti and Alex Palou - did not advance from Saturday's qualifications.

In order of qualifying, the drivers in the Top 12 Qualifying session will be 2014 "500" winner Ryan Hunter-Reay of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing, Pato O'Ward of Arrow McLaren, 2017 and 2020 "500" winner Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Santino Ferrucci of AJ Foyt Racing, Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing, rookie Kyle Larson of Arrow McLaren, Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Global, 2016 "500" winner Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren, Newgarden, McLaughlin and Power.

Among the 12 are nine powered by Chevrolet, three by Honda.

At the other end of the qualifying spectrum is the Last Chance Qualifying session at 4:15 p.m. The four drivers - Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 2022 "500" winner Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global and Dale Coyne Racing drivers Katherine Legge and rookie Nolan Siegel - will compete for the final three starting positions for the race Sunday, May 26. It's a one-hour session with multiple qualifying attempts allowed.

The Firestone Fast Six round featuring the six four-lap runs is set for 5:25 p.m. While the starting position is valued by competitors, it doesn't guarantee anything for Race Day. Since 2009, Pagenaud is the only driver to win the "500" from the pole.

All 33 starters will participate in Monday's practice from 1-3 p.m.

Miller Lite Carb Day is set for Friday, May 24, with the final practice from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. followed by the Indianapolis 500 Pit Stop Challenge at 2:30 p.m.