Saturday qualifying for the Indy 500 has been completely washed out due to persistent rainfall. Despite a few drier periods, conditions proved insufficient to fully dry the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As a result, the first qualifying segment originally scheduled for Saturday has been moved to Sunday.

The opening qualifying segment is now scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 12:00PM local time (ET), when all drivers will be allowed to make just one qualifying attempt. The qualifying order will remain the same as the order drawn following Friday’s Fast Friday practice session.

Ahead of qualifying, a practice session is scheduled for 9:30AM ET, giving drivers one final opportunity to fine-tune their cars for qualifying and help lay rubber down on the track.

This practice session is especially important for the drivers, as Sunday is expected to be significantly warmer than the previous practice days. While temperatures during practice rarely climbed above 64°F (18°C), temperatures as high as 82°F (28°C) are forecast for Sunday. A warmer track translates to less grip for the drivers, something they will need to take into account when setting up their cars.

The postponement of Saturday qualifying will directly impact the qualifying format. The Final 15 qualifying session has been canceled, meaning the opening qualifying segment will determine starting positions 13 through 33. The Top 12 qualifying session and the Firestone Fast Six will remain unchanged, although the schedule has been slightly adjusted: Top 12 qualifying will begin at 4:32PM ET, followed by the Firestone Fast Six at 6:04PM ET.

The storm system currently passing over Indianapolis is expected to have cleared the area early Sunday morning, which should give the Indianapolis Motor Speedway enough time to dry the track. After that, an especially exciting battle awaits, with a total of seven hours of qualifying attempts scheduled!