Alex Palou wins pole for 2026 Indy 500: Starting lineup, qualifying results

May 17, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

Alex Palou has dominated the NTT IndyCar Series this decade winning four of the past five series championships. Last year, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver added his first win in IndyCar’s most iconic race when he triumphed at the 2025 Indianapolis 500.

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Now, Palou adds another notch to his already legendary auto racing career.

The 29-year-old Spanish driver won the pole for the 2026 Indy 500 on Sunday, May 17, becoming the first driver since four-time winner Helio Castroneves to win the pole one year after winning the race. Palou also won the Indy 500 pole in 2023 and went on to finish fourth.

Palou will line up alongside 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi, who qualified second, and David Malukas, who qualified third, on the front row for the 110th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 24. Felix Rosenqvist, starting fourth, Santino Ferrucci, starting fifth, and Pato O'Ward, starting sixth, will line up on Row No. 2 of the starting grid. All six drivers competed in the Firestone Fast Six, the final segment of qualifying today.

Row No. 4 (positions 10 through 12) features six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon, while Row No. 5 (positions 13 through 15) features a pair of Indy 500 winners with Castroneves and two-time winner Takuma Sato. Castroneves, who is tied with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears for most wins in Indy 500 history, is seeking to become the first driver to win the race five times.

Another two-time winner, Josef Newgarden, who won back-to-back in 2023 and 2024, struggled in Sunday’s qualifying and will start 24th on Row No. 8.

Katherine Legge took the first step toward her historic “Double” attempt – racing the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day – when she qualified 27th in the No. 11 car for AJ Foyt Racing. She will start on Row No. 9, alongside Romain Grosjean and Kyle Kirkwood.

The sons of two motor sports legends are lined up on Row No. 10 with Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher, starting 28th and veteran IndyCar driver Graham Rahal, the son of three-time CART champion and 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal, starting 30th.

See the full starting lineup by row for the 2026 Indianapolis 500 below: