"Indy is about running the car at 100% for 500 miles. Run at 98% and you'll get beat. Run at 102% and you'll break the car or hit the wall." Emerson Fittipaldi paraphrased as best I can remember it.

Fair play to Katherine Legge not lifting when she clipped the wall during qualy, glad she made the grid 🇬🇧

That glass of milk in the corner is a great attention to detail!

'Zed Zed' Top. The absolute height of British pedantry. Aidan, I heart you. haha

If anyone wants to know just how intense fast12/bump day is, just look at Katherine Legge being interviewed after her 1st run. This is a woman who's been doing wild shit in the fastest cars in the world for decades, and she got out of the car visibly emotional and shaken, and said "I hope I don't have to do that again". She's doing 240mph 4 wheel slides in a car that's so trimmed out its barely staying on the ground. And she was doing that just to make the field. She was nowhere near the top. On Saturday she hit the wall at 230mph... and kept her foot in. Indy qualifying is bat shit.

Thank you, Aidan, for giving the Indy 500 some justice. I am a fan of both F1 and IndyCar - I love them both for different reasons.

I remember Gil De Ferran (god rest his soul) doing 241mph at Fontana in 2000. Remarkably, that record still stands.

Regarding the "it looks easy", I think maybe the best way to frame how mental it is to the modern F1 fan is to mention that Max Verstappen, of all drivers, has gone on record saying he's not interested in running the 500 because it's 'too dangerous'

Thank you, Aiden. As an American, I appreciate all forms of motorsports. Many stick their nose in the air to the 500 with the “only turning left” state of mind. You’ve done it justice & I truly appreciate it. Sure, we don’t have Imola, Spa, Monaco, Monza, Silverstone, etc….but we do have some great tracks in the states & Indianapolis is sacred ground to me. The history, prestige, tragedy, glory, & (for lack of a better term) AWESOMENESS that it produces is absolutely uncanny to me.

I have to admit, MacLaughlin’s car in the vintage Rick Mears livery looks bloody good!

Monaco, Indy, then the NASCAR 600. My favorite day of the year.

The last row shootout, and bump day in the old days, is some of the best drama in racing. I only wish they had a few more entrants.

Indy’s bump day/pole day is the most dramatic day in motorsports each year. I can’t imagine what the Drive To Survive producers would do to it if they had an Indycar show

Related to Larson pulling double-duty: You mentioned at the beginning of the video that May 26th has two crown jewel events, but it's important to remember that the NASCAR race that day is the longest on their calendar and is held in Charlotte, the home track for most if not all of the major NASCAR teams, making it one of the most important races on the NASCAR schedule likewise. It's not Daytona (or, circling back to the video, Indy or Monaco), but it's nothing to scoff at either.

Aidan, I've always enjoyed your videos, but really appreciated this particular one because you've taken what most non-Americans view as a "niche" event and explained it to your primary audience clearly, while still manifesting your trademark wit. It's great to hear your obvious respect for the people who participate in the 500 and appreciation of the skills and technology needed here without overhyping it as some fans inevitably do. I do have one correction to offer to something you said that a lot of the media have been doing: McLaughlin's qualifying average speed of 234.220 mph is indeed the fastest ever achieved for the Indy 500 pole position. However, it is not the fastest average for any qualifier for the race. In 1996, Arie Luyendyk ran a record 4-lap 233.390 average (with best lap of 234.742, also a record) to take provisional pole. Scott Brayton, who had already qualified, forfeited his spot, switched to a back-up car and took pole with a new record 4-lap average of 233.718 (though Arie's 1-lap record was not beaten). But Luyendyk's car failed post-qualifying tech, being seven pounds underweight, so his run was disqualified, along with any records. Since the track was closed by this time, Luyendyk would have to requalify on Day 2 but was not eligible to try for pole. Sunday, with better conditions, Luyendyk went out again and ran four laps, each one faster than the previous and ALL breaking Saturday's records: 236.239 mph 236.948 mph 237.260 mph 237.498 mph 4-Lap Average: 236.986 mph These are still the all-time records for fastest 1- and 4-lap qualifying speeds, though since Arie's run wasn't for pole, Scott McLaughlin holds that record. Sadly, the Friday before the second weekend of qualifying, pole-sitter Scott Brayton suffered a deflated tire at speed while practicing in his back-up car and was killed in the ensuing accident. Rookie Tony Stewart inherited the pole as a result while Luyendyk would start 20th. By the way, Luyendyk and Stewart were the two fastest men all month, with both registering laps over 237 mph and Arie topping them all with laps of 238.493 and 239.260 (to date, still the fastest unofficial single lap ever of the Speedway).

Thank you, AM! This year will be my 23rd Indy 500 and for those of us that love the event, we appreciate anyone who gets it. On that note, @indycar needs to pay attention to the superb work you're doing. Hope you can make it over here sometime to experience it, perhaps the series can find a way to make it happen.

I had the opportunity to set in a late 1980s IndyCar at a historic event. Sitting in that tiny cockpit with those two large slicks in front of you..... thinking of doing 225 mph towards a wall. It's absolutely terrifying to think about. In the 1989 IndyCar I sat in the driver was so exposed it was mind numbing. These guys and gals are extraordinary..

That line about Mclaughlin being the most underrated driver of our generation is straight-up facts. Ive watched him from Supercars even in his championship times but I was surprised when he was in an indycar. The best part is how fast he has adapted to these cars.

All of us, Gen. X's and boomers over in the United States.Who love indy car really appreciate your videos and the attention you bring to the sport thank you

For the rookie orientation test, it's worth explaining how it works: it is broken into multiple sections and gradually increases while while being watched by veteran drivers who are assessing the rookies. I'm not 100% sure what the pass/fail criteria is. Also that equation is giving me Year 9 maths class flashbacks, thank thank you so much for this one.

This week will feel like it will take forever. Since this will be my first Indy 500.

To the “it’s just going left” crew: That would be the equivalent of calling F1 “60+ quali laps”. If F1 is all about hitting your marks, IndyCar & NASCAR are all about running the best line you can surrounded by dozens of other cars.

A US friend of mine years ago went to the Indy 500 event, got a front row seat. This was quite a long time ago, so there was literally 6 feet between him and the track side of the wall. He swore that there was nothing so life affirming as having all those cars come screaming past at an appreciable % of the speed of sound, full chat, less than a coffin's length away.

The thing that baffles me about the Carb Day concert this year, is that Jay Penske is the head of Penske Media Corp. Their acquisition of Dick Clark Productions means they now put on some of the biggest concerts and award shows in the US. They could easily book a Taylor Swift or BTS, but it seems like they're comfortable raiding the state fair circuit, the way Tony George used to.

Thank you for the excellent and respectful video on the Indy 500. In your quest to persuade F1 snobs to watch, please remind them that at Indy, cars actually pass each other on the track. Also, driving 220 mph for 3 hours (twice as long as an F1 race) with the high G forces and no power steering!

Just as a clarification, Scott Mclaughlin's record is fastest 4 lap average for the pole. Arie Luyendyk still holds the 4 lap record at 236.9 mph in 1996 but it was a day 2 time due to getting DQed on pole day.

"Zed Zed Top" left me rofling...

I feel like Larson doing the Indy/Charlotte “Double” could be worth of a video of yours 🧐

The idea that 33 people are all going to be doing wheel to wheel/wing to wing racing at hypercar top speeds for a few hours is the kind of thing you'd scoff and say "Yeah right" to, yet it's been American tradition just as long as John Moses Browning's most popular gun has. Fuckin. Nuts.

10:02 thank you for explaining this as that was something I had to look for during quali. The only thing is you got the lane order reversed. Lane 1 was priority while lane 2 was safe.

A qualifying run is 16 individual turns and your car setup has to change for each one.

Embarrassing to confess that I was prepared to hear the Indianapolis 500 given 'a bit of stick'. Thank you for proving me wrong. Delightful video.

Great video. You failed to mention that while driving at average speeds F1 doesn't hit for a second, the drivers are very busy adjusting weight jackers and the roll bars. I've been lucky enough to attend once, in 2017 when Alonso did his first race. The speed is truly remarkable. TV doesn't do justice to the sheer insanity of it all, nor does it does justice to the amazing buzz of the crowd of 400,000 people. Attending should be on every race fans bucket list! Can't wait to go again.

Let me tell you as a kid who grew up short track driving it’s not turning left. Today I do more sim and road corse driving but man this, this is the top of the 4 wheeled spectacle of racing. F1 today can’t match it with cars racing for the lead within a second every single lap, more often then not there’s 4-5 cars within a couple seconds each year that really have the best chance at taking the race. Iv only seen one race there live the 08 Indy 500 and I was 10 years old, I barely remember it…

The 500 is the most mental race on 4 wheels and I love it. The drama of qualifying weekend has been outstanding as of late. With the back to back years of Graham Rahal in the LCQ, to the insane speeds of the fast 6, it is the most incredible "race" to make the race. Also, Aidan forgot to mention that IndyCar tells Chevy and Honda to turn up the boost for an additional 100hp just for this race only. Key phrase of this past Saturday: "PLENUM FIRE"

As far as I know double duty is about completing every lap in the indy 500 and coca-cola 600 on the lead lap on the same day, Tony Stewart is the only driver to complete it in 2001 finishing 6th at Indy and 3rd at Charlotte. The whole story behind his attempt is pretty cool because Indy was rain delayed and due to arriving at Charlotte at the last second he had to start in last and even spun out in the beginning of the race but still finished 3rd.

An underrated part of winning Indy is that to win you have to finish and finishing isn’t easy as there is usually a high attrition rate. You can take Jimmy Clark’s Indy career as an example. He raced at Indy for five years, had one of the best cars each time, was the best driver with a world championship team, but still won only once. Twice his car broke. Twice he finished second, primarily because of bad luck in races he should have won. Everything has to go right over 500 miles, and that’s tough to pull off. Even Jim Clark only did it once.

to answer the question in the description, 240mph in metric is 386kph.

Katherine Legge's interview during bump day (waiting to see if she'd have to run again) is the most honest statement of what Indy qualifying is about. She was terrified, and rightly so. Car was not handling, but she wasn't lifting in the corners.

Not sure if I’m the only one who’s noticed, but 234 isn’t actually the record. In 1996 Arie Luyendyk ran a second qualifying attempt at almost 3mph quicker. Because his original attempt was disqualified for being under weight he didn’t get to start on the pole, but it’s still the all time record. Pretty insane to run one of those cars that fast. No soft walls, very little in the way of crush zones. Those cars were so dangerous that less than a week later the pole sitter would die in a practice crash.

I used to read Autoweek magazine many years ago and the publisher/editor once said, “The Brits have royalty, we have Indy.” My boyhood hero’s have long since retired (Foyt, Andretti, Gurney, etc) so I’m not as passionate about the current state as I once was, but Indy still gives me chills. I love it so much!

Watching The indy 500 on TV is great but being there in real time is amazing. I was lucky enough to sit in the infield for the 2001 Indy 500. If you ever get the chance to go don't hesitate and go

The closest thing in my life that I've ever had to a 'religious experience' is driving through the tunnel entrance that leads to the inside of the track at Indy. It wasn't even a race day, or practice day. It was in the middle of February, and I was in the city of Indianapolis for a non-racing related business meeting. After the meeting was over, I was like, "Eh, what the hell, I'm a race fan, and it might be a few years before I ever get back to this town, or see the 500 in person, so I'll just pop by the track, go through the museum real quick, and hit the gift shop." Stepping out of my car next to the museum's parking lot, in the centerish of the infield, I was just suddenly awe struck by the sheer enormity of the place, and overwhelmed by the sense and presence of all the racing history that had been made there. The feeling just completely, and powerfully, washed over me. "Wow. This _is_ the _place_ where it all happened." A totally Field Of Dreams, "Build it and he will come" moment for me.

Cars on a closed square oval circuit at 1/3 the the speed of sound, awesome.

I learned most of what I know about Indycar from this video. I'm looking forward to the race!

I love the small detail of you having a glass of milk on your desk. It's the definition of a inside joke, people who know about the Indy 500 and it's treditions will get it, in the another hand people that don't know about the Indy's 500 treditions will not.

Your glass of milk! Lol, CHEERS!

While Scott McLaughlin has the fastest Pole Speed in history at 234.2. He does not hold the track record that was set by Arie Luyendyk in 1996 at 236.986 for the 10 mile run with the one lap record being 237.498. He started in 25th due to being a second day qualifier after his front row run was disallowed for the car being too light. The unofficial record is 239 and change set by Arie in practice that year. 1996 Indy 500 qualifying especially pole day would be a great story time. What Scott Brayton did that year was absolutely incredible.

Minor correction: yesterday's pole speed was the fastest 4 lap average for a pole sitter of all time, but the fastest qualifying run overall was Arie Luyendyk in 1996, who did a 236.986 on his Saturday run. McLaughlin's pole run yesterday is number 2 overall, behind that one Additionally, Larson yesterday set the fastest single lap by a rookie as well as the fastest 4 lap average by a rookie

The milk was a classy touch. That's why you're one of the best.🏁🏁🏁

Sitting in Turn 1 during 500 qualifying is one of the wildest experiences you can have as a racing fan. Watching a car come directly at you at 240 miles an hour is unreal

Like I say every year. Thank you for showing the rest of the world the insanity that is Indy Qualifying.

6:10 *Slaps table* THANK YOU

Obviously the birthday is the most important, Happy Birthday!!!

Well said !!!! I will also shout out to Rinus. What a lap to get into the fast 12 after shunting it early in the day. Ryan Hunter, too, because he is only on one of the teams. That lap by scott my god that was something else. Rossi hit 242mph into turn one too.

Thank you for this, I dearly love IndyCar as a series and the 500 is the best month of the year, long live IndyCar

Thanks for the excellent explanation of The Indianapolis 500 and the qualifying process. As both an Indy car fan and an F1 fan what usually ensues when these two series end up in a comparison is the F1 Fans believe if you had any brains you wouldn’t even bother with these crude Indy cars . My wife ( a Kiwi )and I watch all the F1 and Indycar Races and do attend the Indianapolis 500 , in person. Thank you very much for your work on this and we wish you the best.

Last year I watched the Indy 500 after Monaco by sheer curiosity, it turned out to be one the most intense and exciting races I've ever seen ! I wish there were more ovals (specifically more super speedways) in the Indycar calendar, because that's what attracted me to the series.

180mph, GSXR 1000 on the m25 ! yep it was scary so add another 50mph to that and pfft...... mucho respect to these chaps

My Dad did Stock Cars, and that was, maybe not so much in Canada, but how one worked their way up to USAC and into Indy So, the -Bardol- Indy cars are what I grew up with. With few exceptions is was Offenhauser Inline Fours and rear drive. It was like an American post-war, war movie, all loud, death-defying drama. I loved it. Road Racing of any kind-especialy motorcycles is my fav, but the speed of the Indy cars still has a sireen call to me. Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

This was my first ever Indy race (sort of) excited to see the actual race

Hold on, two crown jewels Did the Coke 600 move back a day or something? I'm just so used to it being three events on the same day. Though given all the hand wringing from the NASCAR fans about that race moving solely to streaming... EDIT: I'm a traditionalist. Gimme the full Month of May. None of this maybe there's gonna be charters crap. I hated the 25/8 rule as a kid, I hate the idea of teams not running the risk of being bumped out, to me 1995 is the classic example of anyone can get bumped out at any time if they are too slow. Fun bit of trivia: Post WW2 and the Speedeway falling into disrepair due to an Austrian man sending his friends on a road trip to Poland that started a global disagreement, there were plans to sell the land for housing. Tony Hulman stepped in and it's weird to think that in an alternate timeline, the land has houses on it instead of the speedwayto

That Larson kid from Cali looks pretty fast doesn't he? I see you're wearing his shirt. Another tradition that is lesser known is the party that's held on Georgetown & 16th street the Saturday night before the race. Lots of people come to town just for that and have no intention of buying race tickets. It's a mix of Hoosiers, the drunk and sober, Race fans, people from all over the world, some who speak no English along with Food Trucks, T-Shirt sales that are set up across the street from the track, a couple of street preachers, a random bagpipe or Sax player and 5 wide lanes of traffic (no cars) and sidewalks on both sides essentially walking the length of the front stretch and back for as many laps as you desire, Oh the Humanity!

I miss bump day from the 70s to the 90s. That was so exciting to see who made the race. At least that last hour

Great video!

Everything you said is spot on. To put an exclamation point on it, visit the track (they have tours) and stand at the yard of bricks and look at turn one. Imagine the speed they are traveling and you realize that it is literally like threading a needle with gloves on. It really does appear to be that impossible.

Other thought…. I used to think “but they’re just turning left” until I tried to do it in Gran Turismo and how wrong I was. The mistakes are magnified in that you get off the throttle too early and the entire lap is screwed…. And maybe the next one. Plus pack racing? Next to a concrete wall? You’re trying to do 200 perfect laps and avoid whatever the fates and the facing gods have up their sleeves.

Great vid. No doubt that the tension and drama surrounding 500 qualifying is where it's at. More intense than the race sometimes

I went to the 500 in person last year. Tv does the speed no justice, it was absolutely mental. If you ever get the chance go, it's worth the trip.

Great content dude ,,You deserve more 'scribers

Currently the number of cars that can enter the event is limited by the number of engine contracts that Chevy and Honda will support. This year it was 17 each. IndyCar really needs a 3rd engine supplier.

I lived about 15 mins from the track for a few years. I also got to do an intership in the sports dept of a local TV station . My first day was opening day at the track. I have never seen anything move as fast as an indy car going full out from turn 4 down the straight to turn 1 . the track has stadium seating on both sides. Its literally a" Cathedral of speed" on race day there are over 250000 people at the track in the stands or in the infield. there is no place spectator can sit where you can see the whole track and these cars are lapping the oval in under 40 seconds. Its truely a experience every motorsport fan needs to treat themselves to.

this was so well done

i dont know if anyone else mentioned it, but for the Fast 12 and Fast 6, each driver only gets a single run Bump Day everyone gets a guaranteed a run, then depending how long of the hour session allotted is left, they can run again if they wish, just without the lanes you see on Day 1

awesome video

it was another brilliant Q yesterday! very happy for Scottie! tbh i'm actually watching right now, they're just having just another training sesh. i love indy.

It is a Carburetion Day. Not Carburetor Day. Carburetion as a process of mixing of hydro carbons (CHx) , a.k.a.fuel, with oxygen/air. Back in the day done by carburetors, now by fuel injection. Still an engine carburetion. Love your videos, keep them coming.

To address your Carb Day concert criticism: take a look at the Snake Pit on race day 🔥🔥

Zed Zed Top! Nice one Aidan!

The best primer on this I’ve ever seen and it’s from across the pond!

I love racing in general, I have since I was a kid (63 years old now, and still love it). All forms of racing are dangerous, both Indy cars and F1 have lost their fair share of great drivers in some horrific incidences over the years. But greats, like Jackie Steward, came along to talk about making things safer for the drivers, which has affected both Indy and F1 over the years. The Indianapolis 500 is called the greatest spectacle on earth, yet La Mans is one of F1's Crown Jewels over in Europe for racing. Neither can be compared to the other, but stand on their own greatness and time honored traditions. Both are to be respected for the people who will strap themselves into a high-performance machine, and with their skills, to see who will come out the winner at the end of the race.

THREE big races on Sunday. The Coke 600 isn't just "some NASCAR event", it's possibly the 2nd most prestigious race of the year after Daytona. It's like calling the FA Cup final "some football match" because it isn't the World Cup final. NB FA Cup final this Saturday. Big weekend for sport.

Nicely done Aidan.

You ought to do a video on the 1968 USAC National Championship Trail. Probably the most complete test of car build and driver skill ever. 28 races including super speedways, short ovals, dirt tracks, road courses, and even a hill climb.

It's actually a very interesting race to watch, which I never expected to say. And can I also just mention the brilliance of "Zed Zed Top" 🤣

The Indy 500 is like taking Eau Rouge flat...every 20sec...400 times in a row.

Great explanation re Indy .Go Scott, Scott and Marcos …

As a canadian i appreciate the canada is big reference and the zed zed top. Lol. I drove Nova Scotia to the Yukon this winter. 7000kms. Was still in Canada.

I think that having the luck of driving your qualifying run at Indy500 at perfect weather conditions is more important than in other qualifyings because the margins are so close and having just the ideal track temperature can swing results in your favor

This weekend is my brothers birthday, its also my 25th wedding anniversary and 2 great races. Well, 3 races, but I'm only going to watch bits of the Coca-Cola 600.

Three big races Aidan! Three big races. Best day in motorsport

Aidan , I want to clarify some things as an American racing fan. 1 In I dy 500 Qualyfing lane 1 is the priority lane, lane 2 is the normal lane. 2 Nobody who has dond the double I dy 500 and NASCAT Coke 600 has won either race. 3 There are 3 big races that day not 2. The Coke 600 id NASCARS 2nd biggest race. Only the Dsytona is bigger. 4 In America we have the triple crown that is a little different. The Indy 500, Dqytona 500 and the @4 hours of Daytona. A.J. Foyt has won all three. He is the first to wim the Indy 500 4 times. Only 4 men have done that. Also A.J. Foyt won the indy 500 and 24 hours of LeMans in the same year 1967. I cosider A.J. Foyt the best racer of all time. He won racea is everything he raced in. The only thing he did not race in was F1. He tjinks F1 is a bunch of snobby rich boys that he has no use for.He has been my hero since the 1960s. You should check him out and do a thing on him. You will be very impressed.

Hey bro great stuff from rome

This is the best explanation for these events!! Aidan M. Freaking rules!!!!!!!

Qualifying is better in person. I've been to Pole Day since 2016. My heart rate was pretty high during the Fast 6 qualifying, and the crowd absolute goes insane whenever someone progressively becomes the temporary Pole sitter. The Penske's run was absolutely insane. Newgarden throwing up big lap 1, and then going faster than the previous lap after completing lap 2. Scotty Mac's Pole run was also insane. And of course, Jack Harvey last year going faster on lap 3 on the last ditch effort to bump Rahal out was another mind blowing run. Also, it's super impressive whenever a driver goes faster on laps 3 or 4. With the way the cars degrade after lap 1, it's harder to go faster later in the run. For the Penske's this year, basically whoever went last was going to get Pole, which was Scotty Mac. Since Will was first out of the Penske's, he was the most conservative on setup. Then Newgarden took more wing out, and then Scotty Mac took more wing out than Newgarden to go faster than Newgarden. Power mentioned that they used a new pushrod part last year that caused them to be 0.5 mph slowly. This year, more competitors were using that new part. Since Penske already knew what to expect with that part, having the technical alliance with Foyt (thus getting setup tips from Michael Canon, one of the best Indy setup engineers), and strategically choosing their 1 downshift due to the Chevy plenum issues, they were able to put almost a full mph on the next row.

I love the fact you typed out Zed Zed Top to trigger the yanks :)

As an aussie, watching Indy is the only I wish I was a kiwi with SM and SD However my man WP will be on his tail

I really wish Indy was easier to watch in Australia. Such a cool event. I guess I'll have to make do with the iRacing Indy 500.

Woot woot. Got my first clean iRacing finish at Indy this morning. Hungry for more. Oval racing is a simple as cricket. Indy500 is The Ashes.

Indy 500 qualifying is the gutsiest thing in car motorsports.