Qualifying Changes Intended to Add Drama at Indy 500

Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, which had been scaled back to three days for the last several years, will return to a four-day format next spring -- and there may be bumping every day of qualifying. In another significant change, bumped cars will be allowed opportunities to requalify for the race.

Those variations, and a change in the race’s starting time, were announced Tuesday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race has traditionally started at 11 a.m. local time. The 89th running May 29 will start at noon.

Under the new rules, 11 cars will be allowed to qualify each of the first three days: Saturday, May 14, pole day; Sunday, May 15; and Saturday, May 21. Once 11 cars have qualified on each of those days, unqualified cars may try to bump slower cars from the field by posting faster speeds.

In theory -- bad weather, car problems or a short entry list could throw things out of whack -- a full field of 33 cars will be qualified after the third day, setting up more bumping on “bump day,” Sunday, May 22.

Previously, once a car was bumped it was out of the race, and if the driver wanted to make the field, he had to do it in another car. Now, each car will have three chances to qualify on each of the four qualifying days, allowing for the extreme possibility of a car qualifying -- and being bumped -- a dozen times.

“We think this new qualifying format is exciting for everyone involved with ‘the Greatest Spectacle in Racing,’ ” said Tony George, speedway president. “It will provide even more drama and competition on each day.”

That assumes enough cars will be entered to provide some bumping. The high cost of racing -- and a lingering split between George’s Indy Racing League and the rival Champ Car World Series -- has reduced the 500’s entry list in recent years. This year, for instance, the first two days of qualifying produced 26 qualifiers. Then on the final day, bump day, seven more cars qualified, filling the field, and no bumping was attempted.

Despite the changes, the premium will remain on early qualifying. Pole-day qualifiers will line up, according to speed, ahead of second-, third- and fourth-day qualifiers, and cars that have bumped their way into the field will fill in at the back each day.

Thus, if 11 cars are qualified on pole day, and the slowest is then bumped that day, the bumping car will fill the 11th spot, even if it qualified faster than some of the other qualified cars.

Second-day qualifiers -- and now bumping cars -- will fill in behind first-day qualifiers, as usual, and third-day behind second-day. The slowest qualified car will be on the bubble for bumping, whichever day bumping occurs. Bumped cars then can get back in the qualifying line and try to bump their way back into the race.

The change in the starting time is seen as an attempt to boost sagging TV ratings.

In other changes, daily practice sessions were shortened an hour and will run from noon to 6 p.m. when the track opens May 10, and carburetion day, the final day of practice before the race, was moved from Thursday to Friday, two days before race day.