For the first time since Helio Castroneves in 2010, the defending winner of the Indy 500 returned to the Brickyard and secured pole position. Alex Palou turned a late qualifying draw at the start of the day into his second pole in IndyCar's crown jewel event.
This is Palou's second pole in the Indy 500, with the first coming in 2023. He will share the front row with 2016 Indy 500 Alexander Rossi and Penske's newest driver, David Malukas.
Along with setting the fastest single-lap of the entire week on Fast Friday, Rosenqvist was the quickest of all drivers in the first two rounds of qualifying on Sunday, but he was only fast enough for fourth in the Firestone Fast 6.
Katherine Legge will start 26th -- the best grid position of her Indy 500 career, as she prepares to attempt the Indy 500/Coke 600 Double next weekend.
2026 Indy 500 Full Starting Grid
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 2 | Alexander Rossi | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 3 | David Maluks | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian | Honda |
| 5 | Santino Ferrucci | AJ Foyt Racing | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Pato O'Ward | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 8 | Conor Daly | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 11 | Rinus VeeKay | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet |
| 12 | Takuma Sato | RLL Racing | Honda |
| 13 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 14 | Helio Castroneves | Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian | Honda |
| 15 | Christian Rasmussenen | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 16 | Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb Agajanian | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global | Honda |
| 18 | Christian Lundgaard | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 19 | Will Power | Andretti Global | Honda |
| 20 | Nolan Siegel | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 21 | Louis Foster | RLL Racing | Honda |
| 22 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 23 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 24 | Romain Grosjean | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda |
| 25 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global | Honda |
| 26 | Katherine Legge | HMD Motorsports w/ AJ Foyt Racing | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Mick Schumacher (R) | RLL Racing | Honda |
| 28 | Graham Rahal | RLL Racing | Honda |
| 29 | Dennis Hauger (R) | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda |
| 30 | Jacob Abel (R) | Abel Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Sting Ray Robb | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Caio Collet (R) | AJ Foyt Racing | Chevrolet |
| 33 | Jack Harvey | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Chevrolet |
