The provisional starting grid for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge was set Sunday during PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying.

Alex Palou will lead the field to green Sunday, May 24 after earning the NTT P1 Award on a hot and humid Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Conditions were the warmest teams have faced since Opening Day practice Tuesday, with temperatures climbing into the mid-80s. Combined with qualifying boost levels -- which added roughly 100 horsepower to the engines beginning “Fast Friday” -- drivers battled changing track conditions and increasingly difficult handling race cars on the 2.5-mile oval.

With only one guaranteed qualifying attempt in the opening round, strategy varied throughout the field. Some teams opted for conservative setups focused on delivering four consistent laps to advance into the Top 12, while others chased maximum speed with more aggressive trims that risked sliding the Firestone Firehawk tires through the corners.

Here’s a look at why drivers will start where they do for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

  1. Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

Palou, as the 31st qualifier among 33 in the opening round, was conservative enough to make it to the Top 12. The Chip Ganassi Racing crew used the time between rounds to improve the car to his liking to capitalize on similar conditions for all 12 cars. The crew did again before the Firestone Fast Six to earn the pole. He became the first reigning “500” winner to claim the pole since Helio Castroneves in 2010.

  1. Alexander Rossi (No. 20 Java House Chevrolet)

Rossi described his qualifying run as challenging, with conditions the warmest the field had faced all week outside of Tuesday’s opening practice. He admitted, like Palou, the team made changes between each round for the California native to earn an Indy 500 career-best second place start.

  1. David Malukas (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet)

Malukas said the team intentionally took a conservative approach, prioritizing a spot in the Fast 12 while giving him a comfortable and manageable car to drive. They took more downforce from the car the rest of the way, but Malukas didn’t have enough handling to keep the speed for the pole.

  1. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda)

Rosenqvist said his initial run became more difficult than expected as the rear of the car started to feel loose. After working the in-car tools over the final laps, he managed to stabilize the balance and called it an incredible opening qualifying effort to lead the opening round. He also led the Top 12. But in his final run, the car lacked overall speed, prompting him to start fourth.

  1. Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet)

Took a conservative approach to qualifying setup in the opening round, but the car kept gaining speed with each adjustment. Another adjustment helped in the Top 12, but he ran out of steam in the Fast Six, earning his second-best “500” start.

  1. Pato O'Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

O’Ward, citing hotter track temperatures and a car that was sliding excessively, lacked the competitive speed to challenge for the pole. The adjustments made between the first two sessions didn’t work for what he called a messy run chasing the balance.

  1. Kyffin Simpson (No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

Simpson said there likely wasn’t much more speed left in the car but still considered it a strong qualifying effort for the team. The run secured his best Indianapolis 500 starting position in three career attempts.

  1. Conor Daly (No. 23 DRR Kingspan ARCO Chevrolet)

Daly called his first attempt the hardest qualifying run of his career, saying the car felt unstable immediately entering Turn 1 on the opening lap. He had to rely on trust in the car while making adjustments in every corner on every lap just to get through. In the second run, it remained loose, and he didn’t have enough grip to advance to the final round. This marks Daly’s best Indianapolis 500 starting position in 14 attempts.

  1. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet)

McLaughlin was over 231 mph on the first two laps of his Top 12 run before falling into the 229-mph range over the final two laps. He said the team simply missed the balance for the Top 12 session, but he said he thinks he can win from the ninth starting spot.

  1. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

As the first driver to qualify Sunday, Dixon capitalized on cooler conditions to advance into the Top 12. But despite using a similar setup to teammate Palou in the second round, the 2008 Indy 500 winner said the car struggled to carry speed down the straights, especially with track temperatures 23 degrees warmer than his opening run.

Rinus VeeKay

  1. Rinus VeeKay (No. 76 WedBush – JHR – DRR Chevrolet)

VeeKay (photo, above) called his first run one of the boldest qualifying attempts he’s ever made at Indianapolis. Despite the car sliding through the corners, he believed there was still more speed to find, but it never materialized on the second run. VeeKay added downforce between rounds, opening with the fastest lap of the session at 232.138 mph before falling to 228.617 mph on Lap 3 and 227.229 mph on the final lap.

  1. Takuma Sato (No. 75 Amada Honda)

Sato noted a noticeable drop-off from Lap 1 (231.901) to Lap 2 (230.672) before the run stabilized with two straight 230-mph laps, adding that the car still felt draggy throughout the attempt.

  1. Ed Carpenter (No. 33 SlimFast Special Chevrolet)

Carpenter opened with two laps above 231 mph before the run unraveled slightly late. A slide in Turn 2 on the final lap, triggered by a gust of wind, scrubbed speed and forced him uncomfortably close to the wall.

Helio Castroneves

  1. Helio Castroneves (No. 06 Cleveland Cliffs Honda)

Castroneves (photo, above) said the team expected the result after running 231.5 mph in practice earlier in the morning. While he felt the conditions were tricky, he was happy with the effort despite lacking the outright speed of his teammate Rosenqvist.

  1. Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet)

Rasmussen had a noticeable wiggle on Lap 1, sparking the Dane to adjust the in-car tools to improve the handling. Despite his best Indy 500 starting spot, the frustration came from missing the setup in the key moments when it mattered most.

  1. Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 Acura Honda)

Armstrong was pleased with the execution of the run and said the balance felt solid but admitted the team still needs to find more outright speed.

  1. Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Phoenix Investors Honda)

Ericsson described the run as difficult, saying the team struggled in high-boost conditions since Fast Friday. The car was a handful, forcing him to constantly adjust tools throughout the run.

  1. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

Lundgaard, as the second qualifier of the day, thought the track had become greasier by the time of his run, while increasing wind conditions cost him valuable speed throughout the four laps.

Will Power

  1. Will Power (No. 26 TWG AI Honda)

Power (photo, above) thought the run exceeded expectations, given the changing conditions and anticipation the car would slot somewhere in the 20s on the starting grid. He noted the hotter track conditions made the effort better than he initially expected.

  1. Nolan Siegel (No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

Siegel labeled the attempt a “terrible run,” saying he felt the car was going to go straight into the Turn 1 wall on the opening lap. It wouldn’t turn, sparking a 229-mph first lap. The remaining laps stayed in the low 230-mph range in what he described as a very weak effort.

  1. Louis Foster (No. 45 Droplight Honda)

Foster opened with a 231-mph lap before dropping to 229.8 mph on Lap 2, falling from inside the Top 12 to outside the cutoff before rebounding into the 230s on Lap 3. He said the team trimmed too much downforce from the car before the run, with a tailwind into Turn 3 creating the biggest challenge.

  1. Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 31 Prize Picks Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

Hunter-Reay said the car was trimmed out more aggressively than his teammates’ entries, but it still lacked outright speed to compete for a Top 12 spot. He also battled increasing understeer during the run, making the speed deficit even more frustrating.

  1. Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet)

Newgarden offered little concern after the run, saying that’s all the car had and his focus remains on being ready to charge forward on Race Day.

  1. Romain Grosjean (No. 18 Bmax.IO Honda)

Grosjean said the balance caught him by surprise as the car felt loose and lost speed during the run, though he remains confident in the team’s race pace.

  1. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda)

Kirkwood was satisfied with the run but said the team lacked outright speed. He added the car feels strong in race trim, though like Ericsson, he lost pace once the high-boost setup was introduced.

  1. Katherine Legge (No. 11 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet)

Said the effort was a testament to the team’s quality and determination, adding there were still areas where they could have found more speed but she kept her foot in it throughout the run.

  1. Mick Schumacher (No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda)

Schumacher felt more comfortable after setup changes based on issues found on teammate Graham Rahal’s car following his qualifying run but was still left searching for where the speed went.

  1. Graham Rahal (No. 15 United Rentals Honda)

Rahal was puzzled by the lack of speed after the team increased engine power from the morning practice setup. Despite the boost, the car was slower, beginning with a flat 229-mph opening lap.

Dennis Hauger

  1. Dennis Hauger (No. 19 Only Bulls Honda)

Hauger (photo, above) called the experience “pretty crazy” and admitted disappointment he wasn’t quicker but indicated that was all the speed the car had.

  1. Jacob Abel (No. 51 Abel Construction Company Chevrolet)

He said the car was completely different than expected, leaving him frustrated after feeling the team had something to prove but failed to show its potential.

  1. Sting Ray Robb (No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet)

Robb said the car had the worst balance he’s experienced in qualifying trim at Indianapolis, calling the effort a disaster and admitting the team simply got it wrong.

  1. Caio Collet (No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet)

Collet was the fastest rookie qualifier, 10th on the grid. But he was moved to the rear of the field after technical violations were found on his car after qualifying.

  1. Jack Harvey (No. 24 DRR Invst Chevrolet)

Harvey also was moved to the back of the grid after technical violations were found in post-qualifying inspection. He originally earned the 29th starting spot.