INDIANAPOLIS – After six hours of qualifying time and three qualifying attempts, Graham Rahal shot out of the priority lane at pit row as time expired. As soon as Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing shocked the field by moving into the Fast 12 with just seconds to spare, Rahal was on the oval track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

He was in the bottom four, staring the last chance qualifying round set for Sunday — the four slowest cars competing for three spots in the Indy 500 — in the face for the second year in a row. After the first lap of Rahal’s dramatic final attempt, he knew it wasn’t enough, expressing his frustration to his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crew over his headset.

“When the car just doesn’t want to pull, there’s nothing you can do,” Rahal told NBC Sports moments later.

Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 is a game of inches – or milliseconds. 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson stared blankly at the table in front of him in the DEX Imaging Media Center just moments after his fate was sealed. His frustration wasn’t with his No. 28 Honda, it was with himself.

Ericsson’s crash Thursday during practice destroyed his primary car, sending him into qualifying with a backup car.

“I can only blame myself,” Ericsson said. “… Our car, for some reason, it’s not really got the speed or the grip at the moment. We just kept trying things, I thought we made some progress, but not enough.”

Yet Ericsson, now representing Andretti Global, felt that he took a step back in improving his backup car after his first round of qualifying. Feeling good going into qualifying given the circumstances, Ericsson was confused about his first-round finish in the bottom of the pack.

“We went out today and we were a lot slower than yesterday,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to us. … It’s really hard to go from a car they worked on for 12 months to a car they had to build over 24 hours.”

Ericsson posted a 230.342 mile-per-hour average lap speed on his second qualifying attempt, slotting in 30th of 34 drivers before being bumped into the bottom four soon after, a hole he couldn’t escape despite multiple attempts after.

Nolan Siegel and Katherine Legge of Dale Coyne Racing finished with two of the bottom four qualifying times after the first round. The 19-year-old rookie was in the same situation as Ericsson, driving a backup car after his crash on Turn 2 during Fast Friday. Siegel’s average lap speed of 226.621 mph was the worst of the first round, and his 228.276 speed on his second was still the slowest of the group.

“(The car is) really difficult to drive right now,” Siegel said. “It’s partly my fault, but we’ll figure it out. … At 230 mph, every bit of friction and drag matters.”

Legge “kissed” the outside wall on Turn 4 during her final lap of the first round of qualifying, almost suffering the same fate as her teammate did the day before, however, she finished the lap and posted an average speed of 230.244 mph.

“When you get in the (inside curbing) it just sucks you in, but it was corner four so I did what any sensible person would do,” Legge said. “I was staying flat come hell or high water.”

The No. 51 Honda driver said her strategy did not need to change going into the second attempt later in the day but she was concerned about her car. She said she certainly didn’t help the Dale Coyne engineers any by causing some light damage during her Turn 4 bump, but Legge also said some of the issues under the hood are more than could be fixed in a day.

“We’re quite a bit off right now. If we knew why, we’d be two mph faster,” Legge said.

An average lap speed of 230.830 mph was Legge’s second qualifying attempt, but it was less than a fifth of a second behind Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Pietro Fittipaldi, who posted a 231.100 mph average lap speed in round one. She went out to try twice more to no avail.

It was Rahal who posted the third-lowest average speed of the first round. After being bumped out of qualification for the Indianapolis 500 last season, Rahal said his frustration from 2023 continued to build after a poor finish during round one. He knew he would have to return to the track for a second try at qualifying after finishing with a 230.233 mph average lap speed, but his second attempt wasn’t good enough either, posting a 230.388 mph average to stay in the bottom four.

“For me, it’s disappointing,” Rahal said. “We shouldn’t be in this situation.”

Rahal’s biggest source of frustration from his first attempt boiled down to an unexpected mechanical issue. Shaking his head while in the car on the track, Rahal didn’t hide his exasperation; a feeling that stuck with him the rest of the day.

“It should have pulled fifth gear without any issue and it just simply didn’t,” Rahal said. “… It certainly seems like we’re just slow.”

Ericsson, Rahal, Legge and Siegel make up the official bottom four heading into the final day of qualifying, where the final three positions in the upcoming 108th Indianapolis 500 will be determined during a last chance qualifying round from 4:15-5:15 p.m. Sunday, May 19.

“This place is tough, I think everyone can say that,” Ericsson said. “… It’s hard, but if it was easy anyone could do it. It’s gonna be high pressure tomorrow, but I’ve done this long enough to know how to deal with that.”

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or on X @KyleSmedley_.

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.

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

Day one of the third Nike EYBL session — hosted in Indianapolis — of the 2024 season is officially in the books, and KSR had boots on the ground for all of it.

Even though there were only four sets of games (a small amount compared to the rest of the weekend), there was still plenty for us to learn. College coaches were allowed to watch live and in person. Several of Kentucky’s top targets showed out for them, too. We’ve already dropped a couple of interviews from these performances with more on the way. LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony even made appearances at the Pacers Athletic Center. It was a big crowd with plenty of high-level basketball.

And it’s only going to get crazier on Saturday, with games beginning at 8:00 a.m. EST and ending at 6:30 p.m. EST. There’s a lot more basketball in store and we’ll be covering it all on the website and over on KSBoard. While you wait, dive into our top takeaways from Friday’s opening session.

Join the KSR Club! With a KSR membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.

Mark Pope was in the building

And he wasn’t the only one. When KSR traveled to the first Nike EYBL session last month in Memphis, there were no college coaches. Due to NCAA rules, they are only allowed to attend AAU events during certain days throughout the spring/summer. This weekend in Indy marks the first stretch of days that coaches can sit baseline and watch their top targets in person.

Joining Mark Pope in Indy was assistant Jason Hart. We arrived just in time for the start of Friday’s games and we quickly spotted Pope and Hart roaming the crowds. Pope was — as you might have guessed — constantly being stopped by his fellow coaches and plenty of fans (not limited to Kentucky ones, either). But he was front and center to check out the likes of Caleb Wilson, Jasper Johnson, AJ Dybantsa, Jerry Easter, and more. Hart also made the rounds, sometimes joining Pope and sometimes going off on his own to watch other prospects.

Admittedly, having Pope and Hart to follow around made life much easier for us — we had a clearer idea of who the Kentucky staff was focusing on. But it was also quite strange to see some of the coaches across the country now representing different colors. We saw Orlando Antigua in an Illinois hat, Kenny Payne and Chin Coleman rocking Arkansas gear, and Eric Musselman in a red shirt with a giant USC logo on the front.

It was… weird (No, John Calipari did not make the trip). But it does make for a more exciting atmosphere. Not to say the players didn’t take the games as seriously in the first two sessions, but there is certainly an added sense of competition with the likes of Kentucky, Kansas, and North Carolina watching the action unfold.

— Zack Geoghegan

Will Riley dropped FORTY-TWO points

In what might have been the most impressive individual performance I’ve ever seen on the AAU circuit, Kentucky target Will Riley exploded during his first game in Indy. I had the chance to watch him impress in Memphis a few weeks ago, but this was another level of elite shot-making.

Riley, a 6-foot-8 wing ranked No. 9 overall in the 2025 class by On3, dropped 42 points in a dominant 100-60 win for UPlay over Team Durant. He missed just one shot, going 15-16 from the field. The lone look he missed came with roughly two minutes left in the game and the outcome already decided. Riley canned all five of his three-point attempts and went a perfect 7-7 from the line. He also chipped in five assists and two rebounds with just one turnover.

It didn’t matter how he got his points either. Whether it was spinning his way into the lane, pulling up from deep, or finishing tough shots at the rim, Riley was giving out buckets to the rotation of defenders that Team Durant unsuccessfully tossed his way. He dared the opposition to bite on his pump fakes (which he sometimes pulled from near-halfcourt — that’s how hot he was) and then left them in the dust when he darted into the paint.

I’m really not sure how else to describe his performance. My vocabulary doesn’t contain the words that would do it justice. Kentucky is high on his list and a visit to Lexington will happen at some point. A reclass to 2024 remains on the table, too. He’s a name to keep a close eye on.

— Zack Geoghegan

Jasper Johnson caught fire and refused to cool off

The five-star guard has found himself at a unique intersection of blue-chip status and local legacy standout as a Lexington native and son of a former Kentucky football star. That’s a beautiful situation for Mark Pope, who has made it clear he is looking to keep the best high school talent in the state while also recruiting Burger Boys capable of playing anywhere. Jasper Johnson is both — or will be when the selection committee names him a McDonald’s All-American next cycle, rather.

He proved that yet again in Indianapolis, exploding for 20 points while adding three rebounds, one assist and one block in 31 minutes to open the event. It was among the best performances for Johnson in recent memory, knocking down tough, pro-level shots over and over again at all three levels and doing so with ridiculous efficiency. He caught fire and refused to cool off, looking the part as the No. 10 overall prospect and No. 1 combo guard in the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking.

Pope can’t take the best player in Kentucky every single year just because — the scholarship numbers add up quickly, certainly after a few seasons. Johnson doesn’t fit that token in-state category, though, but rather the “one-and-done, Burger Boy” category Pope said he’d continue to recruit at his introductory press conference. He’s a top priority in the rising senior class, and for good reason.

— Jack Pilgrim

AJ Dybantsa and Tyran Stokes combine for 52

The Oakland Soldiers have formed a juggernaut on the EYBL circuit, the No. 1 prospects in both 2025 and 2026 teaming up to create the most dominant two-man duo in the country, a continuation of their time together at Prolific Prep this past season in high school.

AJ Dybantsa is the top rising senior in the nation, a long, athletic and skilled wing with generational upside. Between his shot-making, control, pace and feel beyond his otherwordly physical tools, there’s really not much more you could ever want in a recruit. He went for an impressive 21 points on 6-9 shooting, 1-3 from three and 8-10 at the line while adding four assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block in 26 minutes in a blowout win.

Yet somehow, he wasn’t even the most impressive player on the floor. That honor goes to Louisville native Tyran Stokes, a physically imposing forward with guard skills. He went for an absurd 31 points on 12-17 shooting and 4-4 from three while adding eight rebounds, five assists, one steal and zero turnovers in 27 minutes. It was about as close to a perfect performance you could draw up, the 6-7, 225-pound forward bulldozing his way to the rack with ease while knocking down shots from deep. He’s got a combination of size and raw skill you just don’t come across often, making him a walking mismatch for poor souls hoping to slow him down.

Pope and Jason Hart were in attendance oohing and ahhing each play the duo made on the floor together, drooling over the idea of having the five-stars go back-to-back with each other in Lexington.

— Jack Pilgrim