Indianapolis, IN

2024 Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Preview and Predictions

Published

2 years ago

May 18, 2024

2024 Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Preview and Predictions

Indianapolis 500 qualifying weekend is as much a stand alone event as the race itself. Teams vie for the 33 spots after a week of running almost a full 500 miles of practice laps in preparation. All to make the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The 108th Running of the Indy 500 qualifying weekend for the NTT IndyCar Series will feature 34 cars in a day-long struggle on Saturday (May 18) to determine if they make one of three different groups. First is the top 12, which will be for the fastest drivers who then return on Sunday to go for the pole. If the speed isn’t there, but it’s enough to get a car safe in the field, then that’s the 13 through 30 group, or what we will call locked-in here. Finally, the group no one wants to be a part of, but a regrettable four will find themselves there after Saturday is over – the last chance qualifiers. These four souls will need to pray to the racing gods that their machine will not be the slowest come Sunday and the Last Chance Qualifier round.

Now, where will everyone shake out? That’s the hard part about this year because rain has limited running and therefore it’s still quite a shot in the dark to know who has ‘brung’ it and who did not. But, Fast Friday’s speeds will be a big indicator for Saturday. And the luck of the draw, when it comes to picking the numbers for the qualifying order.

Here are Frontstretch’s predictions for qualifying for the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500.

AJ Foyt Enterprises

The 1999 Indy 500 winning team was the biggest standout last year during qualifying. Their more experienced driver Santino Ferrucci, who has an innate ability to get around IMS and finish well, started on the inside of row 2 while teammate Benjamin Pedersen had his best start of his career.

This year, the results may not repeat. Drivers and newcomer Sting Ray Robb are struggling with loose racecars and it doesn’t appear the Foyt cars are matching their efforts from last year. A ray of hope did shine though on Friday so they may have pushed their their turmoil onto a good path. Not sure there will be top 12-results, but at least one locked-in and other coming back Sunday.

Ferrucci – Locked-in

Robb – Last Chance

Andretti Global

Team owner Michael Andretti wasn’t satisfied with his team’s speed in 2023, and it’s pretty clear why. None of his cars were able to get out of the locked-in crowd, and the best starting spot was 15th by Kyle Kirkwood, but that was still only the fifth row.

A possible result of the team’s mid-pack running was downsizing to run four instead of five cars this year.

Kirkwood had a great draw on Friday for qualifying, going out first on Saturday. So expect that to be a godsend for the No. 27. Marcus Ericsson’s crash on Thursday will set him back in his first 500 with Andretti. Colton Herta will make the field with ease.

Marcus Ericsson has been involved in a frightening crash coming around Turn 4. Luckily he was able to walk away from the incident. Thankful for the INDYCAR Safety Team and the safety equipment within these cars. pic.twitter.com/AEnsoimdD3
— Andretti INDYCAR & INDY NXT (@AndrettiIndy) May 16, 2024

But there aren’t high expectations that the returning prodigal son Marco Andretti will be at the front. Since his one-off career started in 2021 he hasn’t started better than row 8.

Andretti – Locked-in

Ericsson – Locked-in

Herta – Locked-in

Kirkwood – Top 12

Arrow McLaren Racing

As a whole, the Arrow McLaren team was the best Chevrolet operation at Indianapolis in 2023. Can they be that again?

Looking at speed charts it feels like Team Penske has returned to snatch the fastest Chevy moniker from their rival’s hands. However that doesn’t mean the squad will be twittering their thumbs on Saturday.

Team leader Pato O’Ward has been in the top 12 the last two years. Expect him to continue that trend. The other two rides are a bit unknown. Alexander Rossi showed well last year but had a bad qualifying draw. He will be a dark horse to overcome the heat of the day to make top 12. As for the third full-time car, the back and forth nature of the ride jumping by Theo Pourchaire and Indy 500 driver Callum Ilott doesn’t make it a warm and fuzzy feeling that the No. 6 will be in the top 12.

Last but not least, Kyle Larson. The rookie, doing his first race in an IndyCar, has to divide his focus between the Greatest Spectacle in Racing and the NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600. Just get her in the field and worry about next weekend.

Ilott – Locked-in

Larson – Top 12

O’Ward – Top 12

Rossi – Top 12

Chip Ganassi Racing

Not much has changed it seems as the defending pole-winning team comes into the weekend. Alex Palou is back where he was in 2023 after winning the Sonsio Grand Prix in the road to qualifications. Palou is the fastest pole sitter in the history of the race so he has one heck of a box to stand on as he lays it on the line this weekend.

The other drivers on Chip’s team haven’t appeared as fast as 2023. Six-time pole sitter Scott Dixon might be lurking and waiting but rookie teammate Marcus Armstrong is just trying to make his first Indy 500. Other rookie drivers Kyffin Simpson and Linus Lundqvist haven’t had a positive week with Lady Luck at Indy. Lundqvist was the first wreck this year and Simpson is struggling.

Armstrong – Locked-in

Dixon – Locked-in

Lundqvist – Locked-in

Palou – Top-12

Simpson – Last Chance

Dale Coyne Racing

It’s been a mixed bag for the Dale Coyne run team at Indianapolis. His two drivers, rookie Nolan Siegel and Katherine Legge, haven’t been doing well in practice runs. Siegel’s crash on Fast Friday didn’t help matters much. Considering Honda engines seem to be the lesser of the two powerplants, the team might want to hydrate until Sunday, because they could be sweating, a lot.

Legge – Last Chance

Siegel – Last Chance

Dreyer Reinbold Racing

The only Indy one-off team in the 108th running is always a great story in May. Owner Dennis Reinbold is returning each year, committing the money and resources to get his cars ready for a single IndyCar race. It harkens back to the days of old, when teams like Team Menard and King Racing did something similar.

With 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay returning with new teammate Conor Daly, the team will take their Chevy powered cars and make this race easily.

Daly – Locked-in

Hunter-Reay – Locked-in

Ed Carpenter Racing

Owner Ed Carpenter used to be a sure-fire front row start in years past. But in 2023, that wasn’t the case as he missed out on the top 12 while teammate Rinus VeeKay landed in the middle of row 1. With rookie Christian Rasmussen struggling in the early part of the season, just getting in the field and preparing for 500 miles is the focus. Perhaps Carpenter will hit on the magic he’s had previously and make that top 12.

Carpenter – Top 12

Rasmussen – Locked-in

VeeKay – Top 12

Juncos Hollinger Racing

Romain Grosjean hasn’t had the best time racing at Indianapolis, but he did put his car in the top 12 in his rookie run at the Speedway in 2022, better than all of his Andretti teammates at the time. His draw at the end of practice puts him in a good spot to take advantage of cooler temperatures to get into the top 12. Agustin Canapino is still figuring out this oval thing, so lets lock him in.

Canapino – Locked-in

Grosjean – Top 12

Meyer Shank Racing

If there is any team that will do much better over their last foray at IMS it will be the No. 60 of Felix Rosenqvist. He has clicked with his new team in qualifying, starting no worse than 10th, with a pole at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. With how Fast Friday went, it’s plausible he is the fastest Honda in the field come race day.

Teammate Tom Blomqvist is still learning, not just ovals but IndyCar as a whole. He will just take it easy and make the race.

Blomqvist – Locked-in

Rosenqvist – Top 12

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

It is time to erase the nightmare; hopefully. The 2023 Indianapolis 500 was the worst for the organization since team namesake Bobby Rahal suffered the same fate his son Graham Rahal experienced last year when the patriarch was bumped out of the 1993 field. However, the younger Rahal was later selected to serve as an injury replacement for Stefan Wilson.

All the RLLR cars have been above the Last Chance Qualifier mark throughout practice. And that’s all that matters in 2024. Two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato doesn’t need to be up front, just in the field to mix it up. Christian Lundgaard hasn’t been exceptional on ovals, so getting it in the show is best case scenario. Rahal and Pietro Fittipaldi will do like their namesakes and be in the field to try to add another Borg-Warner to their historic family legacies.

Fittipaldi – Locked-in

Lundgaard – Locked-in

Rahal – Locked-in

Sato – Locked-in

Team Penske

The Captain’s trio of Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden and Will Power are looking for revenge. Since taking pole in 2019, the highest the 19-time Indy 500 winning team has qualified is 11th by Power in 2022. During Fast Friday, the Chevy squad owned the top three spots for most of the day in the four-day qualifying simulations. Expect all of them to be looking for the pole as much as they are looking for the win next weekend.

McLaughlin – Top 12

Newgarden – Top 12

Power – Top 12

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Indianapolis, IN

How IMPD Chief Chris Bailey will center public safety as Hogsett’s new chief of staff

Published

8 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

How IMPD Chief Chris Bailey will center public safety as Hogsett’s new chief of staff

After more than two decades in law enforcement, IMPD Chief Chris Bailey will move into one of the city’s top civilian roles.
In a sit-down interview, Bailey discussed how public safety is the start of good governance, Statehouse politics and his future political aspirations.
Bailey also discussed what he wants to see in the next Indianapolis police chief.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Chris Bailey says he didn’t see his new job coming.

He expected to remain police chief through the rest of Mayor Joe Hogsett’s third term, digging into IMPD’s core issues as part of a new five-year strategic plan that he oversaw. But after two years leading the police department, Bailey will become Hogsett’s chief of staff Feb. 2, moving from one of the city’s top law enforcement jobs to one of its most influential civilian roles.

The job, also known as chief deputy mayor, has been the source of controversy and repeated turnover. Bailey will be Hogsett’s fourth chief of staff in a decade as mayor.

Former Department of Public Works Director Dan Parker stepped down from the role Dec. 31, halfway through Hogsett’s third term, after more than three years as the mayor’s right-hand man.

The mayor’s first chief of staff, Thomas Cook, quietly resigned in late 2020 after Hogsett discovered Cook’s prohibited sexual relationship with a subordinate. In a 2024 IndyStar article, Lauren Roberts, Caroline Ellert and a third anonymous woman accused Cook of sexual misconduct; Ellert also accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2019. A Marion County grand jury is now investigating city development deals involving Cook, as well as allegations of “unlawful touching.”

In a sit-down interview with IndyStar Jan. 9, Bailey said none of that fraught history gave him pause as he considered the new job. “I’m focused on service and governing,” he said.

To that end, Bailey’s more than two decades of law enforcement experience — starting as an IMPD patrol officer in 1999 and rising through the ranks to become chief in February 2024 — taught him something that he plans to keep top of mind: Good governance starts with public safety.

Bailey also discussed how he will navigate tensions over violent crime between the Democrat-led capital city and the Republican-dominated state legislature, what the city needs in its next police chief and whether he plans to run for political office someday.

Read the full Q&A with Bailey below:

IndyStar’s full Q&A with incoming Chief of Staff Chris Bailey

This conversation has been edited for length, brevity and clarity.

Question: In late December, you told an IndyStar colleague the following: “The average tenure for a police chief is about three years. My goal while I’m here is to do the right thing, and to leave this organization better than I got it.” So you’ve been chief for two years. Was the offer to become chief of staff a surprise? Why leave IMPD now?

Answer: Yeah, it’s a surprise. It wasn’t on my bingo card to be the chief of staff for a major metropolitan city mayor.

But as I contemplated the offer, I think everything in my career, in my life, has set me up for this opportunity, and it’s always been an interest of mine to govern. I did that as a police chief. I wasn’t really a police officer, as a police chief — I was an administrator. I managed a $350 million budget, 1,800 employees responsible for the safety of millions of people that either live or visit and come and go in our city every single day.

My intention when I said ‘yes’ to the mayor to take the police chief’s job was to finish this term as the police chief, and then walk away. But as fate has it, the opportunity came. And after careful reflection and discussions with my family, I thought it would be a great opportunity to help continue my service to the city.

And it will be a different way of serving. How will the ways you try to influence the city’s direction as chief of staff differ from how you did so as police chief?

I think that leadership generally is about people and relationships. And I think I’ve done a good job, from my time as deputy chief of investigations through assistant chief and chief, of building relationships across the political spectrum, across our city, across our state and across our country. [Through] my work with the Major Cities Chiefs Association, I have friendships with chiefs all over the country, and that allows me to have great perspectives and understand things that are happening in whatever city, things that may come here eventually.

A lot of people [make this transition], and I didn’t realize that until one of my close advisers sent me a bunch of articles about all these police chiefs that transfer to city manager, to public safety director, and some even to mayor — which, by the way, I have no interest in. So I’ll just answer that question for you now.

But [there are] skills that you learn in those positions, managing people, navigating obstacles, working through interdepartmental issues. An issue for [the Department of Public Works] is an issue for the police. An issue for [the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services] is an issue for the police. [Working] through those issues has prepared me for this role, and for Mayor Hogsett to see that is truly an honor for me.

On that note, after more than two decades in policing, what perspective will you bring to the mayor’s office about how public policy decided up here on the 25th floor of the City-County Building affects what’s happening on the ground in neighborhoods?

Everything that we do as a government revolves around public safety to start. If you don’t feel safe in your neighborhood, if you don’t feel like a city is safe, then you don’t come here. You don’t visit here. You don’t live here. You don’t raise your family here. You don’t invest your money here.

I think having that perspective helps lead everything else among the priorities that the mayor has: better roads, investments in parks, ending chronic homelessness, removing the barriers for housing, making the price of housing more affordable so people can have a home and then create some generational wealth that comes along with being a homeowner. All those things play a part, with public safety being at the top of that.

As chief of staff, how will you handle the often contentious relationship between the mayor’s office and the state legislature, whose members frequently are talking about intervention in local law enforcement after episodes of violent crime?

I really am going to lean into the example that was set by [former Chief of Staff] Dan Parker. Dan Parker has a great relationship with people at the state on both sides of the aisle, and I think that our shared interests are to make sure that Indianapolis is great.

Same thing with me: I’ve spent a lot of time being apolitical and being focused on doing what’s right and what’s best for the people of this city and working with both sides of the [Indianapolis City-County] Council, with both sides of the General Assembly, to pass bills like the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force bill or to work with the council on a bipartisan effort to help us combat issues related to street takeovers and street racing.

I think when the focus is on governing, which is mine — I am not an elected person — and so my obligation is to every single person who lives, works and visits Indianapolis. Politics play a part in everyday life. I play politics at home with my kids. You can’t escape it. But I’m here to govern and work with people to make Indianapolis better tomorrow than it is today.

Obviously, there’s been some turnover in the chief of staff role. Currently, development contracts involving Hogsett’s first chief of staff, Thomas Cook, are being looked at by a Marion County grand jury. There’s been a lot of strife over the last year and a half regarding Cook’s impact in this role. Did any of that give you pause when you considered taking the role as chief of staff?

No, because my focus is on the city. Everything I have in my life is because of this city. I’m focused on service and governing.

There’s challenges in every single administration and every single agency within any giant enterprise. There’s been steps taken to mitigate issues related to those things, but what I’m focused on now is continuing to push Mayor Hogsett’s agenda forward for the next two years and making sure that the people of Indianapolis have what they need to live in the greatest city in the country, in my opinion.

Moving to your current department: Now IMPD will be without a chief. What do you want to see from the next police chief, and are there any specific people you’ll vouch for to the mayor?

Between myself and [former IMPD Chief Randal Taylor], and my time as assistant chief and now as chief, we’ve spent a really large amount of time creating a deep bench and a leadership legacy within the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. And I’m proud of our team. Any successes that we’ve had in my tenure as a chief … you can give [my team] credit for them, and our officers, our professional staff, and our partnerships in the community and other city enterprises.

So I think we all want someone who is visible, who is supportive, who will listen, who is accessible in the community, who is service-oriented, who understands what our mission is, who understands what the goals are that we’ve worked together on in the last two years. … And there’s someone within our existing team that I think fits that bill. Multiple people.

So the mayor’s choice is going to be very hard. I’ll provide input in all that, and whoever he decides on will be a much better chief than I could ever have imagined.

Do you think it’s important that someone from the current rank and file is promoted from within?

I think at this time, where we are right now, the best candidate to be police chief comes from right here within our department.

During your time as chief, IMPD dealt with some controversies related to outbursts of downtown violence, a number of officers being charged with sex crimes. Are there regrets from your time as police chief that you want the next chief to focus on improving?  

Yeah, those are challenges. Any time you’re dealing with human beings, you’re going to have people that unfortunately step out from under their oath. And those things have to be dealt with. I think what you saw from us is that those things were dealt with, they were dealt with quickly and in the right way. It’s super unfortunate that it happened.

I think I could have done a better job at fixing our recruitment and retention issues. This is a national issue, no doubt. The issues of 2020 and George Floyd and the racial reckoning, and all the things that occurred over the last five years in policing, definitely have impacted people who want to be police not just in Indianapolis, but across the country. There were tremendous investments made by Mayor Hogsett in starting pay in this last labor agreement to push our pay up significantly. And this is a great job if you have a mind for service.

So I want the next chief to really — and it was going to be part of our strategic plan — to dive deeper into hiring practices. The whole process, from start to finish, which includes recruiting and all those things. We had just gotten started in doing some of those things and I have no doubt the next chief will continue those efforts to improve that area.

You said you won’t run for mayor. That’s not in the works. Does this new job mean that you’re thinking of a future in elected office?

I didn’t expect this job, and so I don’t know what the future holds. I may have my fill of governing in the next two years and just want to escape to some deserted island and stare at a palm tree. I don’t know.

I don’t want to box myself into anything, but at this point, I have no desire to run for political office.

Email Indianapolis City Hall Reporter Jordan Smith at JTSmith@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X @jordantsmith09 and Bluesky @jordanaccidentally.bsky.social.

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Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis Colts highest and lowest PFF grades on offense in 2025

Published

20 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Indianapolis Colts highest and lowest PFF grades on offense in 2025

These Colts’ players on offense received the highest and lowest PFF grades over the 2025 NFL season.

With the Indianapolis Colts’ season now behind us, let’s take a look at which players on offense received the highest and lowest grades from Pro Football Focus.

Below is a look at PFF’s grading system for some context. While this metric is very helpful when it comes to quantifying a player’s performance, PFF’s grading system isn’t the be-all and end-all either. It is one metric out of many that are out there.

90.0+: Elite
80-89.9: High quality
70-79.9: Good
60-69.9: Above average
50-59.9: Average
40-49.9: Below average
39.9 or less: Poor

Now, here are the Colts’ five highest graded players on offense from the 2025 NFL season.

Colts’ five highest graded players for 2025 season

LG Quenton Nelson: 84.5
C Tanor Bortolini: 82.6
LT Bernhard Raimann: 82.0
WR Alec Pierce: 79.3
RB Jonathan Taylor

In both pass-blocking efficiency and run-blocking grade, Nelson was one of the highest-rated guards in all of football by PFF’s metrics. Bortolini wasn’t credited with allowing any sacks, but what really boosted his overall grade was his performance as a run-blocker.

Raimann was steady across the board, grading out very well as both a run blocker and pass blocker.

Pierce led the Colts in receiving, totaling over 1,000 yards, and he also led the NFL in yards per catch. Taylor was the NFL’s second-leading rusher this season.

Colts’ three lowest graded players in 2025

OL Dalton Tucker: 39.3
QB Phillip Rivers: 51.0
WR Anthony Gould: 52.0

Tucker’s pass-blocking grade is what brought down his overall grade. He allowed eight pressures and two sacks in just 86 pass-blocking snaps.

Remember at the beginning of this I said take these grades with a grain of salt? Rivers’ grade is an example of that. Overall, he provided the Colts’ with stability at quarterback and kept them in games. However, the late interceptions and lack of explosive plays brought his grade down.

Gould has a very small sample size to pull from, but of his two receptions, he generated just six yards of offense.

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Indianapolis, IN

Best available 2026 NFL free agents on defense for Indianapolis Colts

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Best available 2026 NFL free agents on defense for Indianapolis Colts

According to a few different rankings, here are the best available NFL free agent defenders for the Indianapolis Colts.

As the Indianapolis Colts attempt to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, free agency will have to be a big part of that equation.

The Colts will have money to spend this offseason. According to Over the Cap, the Colts have $45.77 million in available cap space. Compared to the rest of the NFL, this is the ninth-most in football currently.

As GM Chris Ballard said on Thursday, salary cap-wise, the Colts are in “good shape.”

The Colts also have the ability to create more cap room if needed.

Last offseason, we saw Ballard take a much more aggressive approach in free agency. From the sounds of it, he will “continue down that path” this offseason.

There are always reasons to address just about every position group over the course of an offseason, but two specific areas Ballard mentioned on Thursday were the defensive front and getting faster on defense as a whole.

So, with a focus on the defense, specifically the front seven, here are the top available free agents this offseason at those positions.