Via IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com
April 14, 2014

INDYCAR announced today an addition to the practice schedule and further definition of the qualification format for next month’s 98th Running of the Indianapolis 500. The schedule change features an extra day of on-track activity with the addition of a Verizon IndyCar Series practice session on Monday, May 19.

In March, INDYCAR announced an enhanced qualification format to increase the excitement level and on-track action during qualifications. The weekend will culminate on Sunday, May 18th with the Fast Nine Shootout, which will determine the coveted Indianapolis 500 pole position and the recipient of the Verizon P1 Award.

The practice session on May 19th will be held from 12-5p.m. (EST) and the extra day of on-track action will be open to the public like any other practice day during May. Tickets for practice are available at just $15.

“On Sunday teams will be completely focused on qualifying, so we added another practice session to give them a sufficient amount of time to test their race setups,” said Derrick Walker, INDYCAR President of Competition and Operations. “Previously a majority of teams have utilized most of Sunday for full-tank running, so it was important for us to continue to give them that opportunity after qualifications are complete.”

“The addition of a post-qualifying practice will be beneficial to the teams as they prepare for the Indianapolis 500, and will also be an exciting, action-packed afternoon of track activity for fans,” said Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles. “We are also thankful to the many staff, businesses and the local law enforcement community for the cooperation in adding another new element to the Indianapolis 500 activities.”

INDYCAR also confirmed an update to the qualification format that allows a competitor that suffers a hardship in qualifying at the conclusion of Saturday, May 17th an opportunity to make the starting field during Sunday qualifications. This revision would also permit teams that want to bring new entries forward after qualifying on Saturday an opportunity to compete for a position in the race. In both cases, these teams would be restricted to the last row of the field.

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2013 IndyCar Indy 500 Race

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