How to watch Indy 500 pole qualifying this weekend on NBC and Peacock

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The pole position and other 14 more spots for the 107th Indy 500 will be set Sunday during five hours of TV qualifying coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Peacock and NBC.

Fast 12 qualifying will occur at 2 p.m. ET on Peacock with six cars advancing to the Fast Six round for the pole position.

Qualifying will move to NBC from 4-6 p.m. ET, starting with the Last Chance Qualifying with four cars bidding for the final three spots on the last row. That will be followed by pole qualifying. Sunday’s coverage will begin with practice at 11:30 a.m. on Peacock.

INDY 500 PRIMER: How to watch the month of May on NBC Sports

QUALIFYING FORMAT: Click here for a graphical representation of how the field is set

There are 34 cars on the entry list for the race, which means that at least one driver won’t qualify at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the May 28 race (11 a.m. ET, NBC and Peacock, with exclusive prerace coverage starting at 9 a.m.)

The field of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing will feature nine former winners: Four-time winner Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, ’21), two-time winners Juan Pablo Montoya (2000, 2015) and Takuma Sato (2017, 2020), plus winners Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013), Alexander Rossi (2016), Will Power (2018), Simon Pagenaud (2019) and Marcus Ericsson (2022).

NBC will have four hours of Indy 500 qualifying this weekend from 2:30-4:30 p.m. ET Saturday and 4-6 p.m. ET Sunday. Peacock exclusively will stream five hours of qualifying Saturday from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. ET and 4:30-6 p.m. ET as well as from 2-3 p.m. ET on Sunday.

With an increased 100 horsepower from an added turbo boost starting on the “Fast Friday” practice, qualifying speeds will be more than 230 mph across a four-lap average (10 miles around the 2.5-mile track). NBC Sports’ Tim Layden wrote an essay about the importance and uniqueness of Indy 500 qualifying that will air Saturday.

The pole position and first four rows of the starting grid will be decided Sunday during Top 12 and Fast Six qualifying. A Last Chance Qualifying session will determine the final three spots.

NBC Sports’ broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey and analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will call the weekend’s action. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Steve Letarte, Dillon Welch and Dave Burns will provide reports from the pits.

Here are some details about qualifying weekend for the 107th Indy 500:

DEFENDING POLE WINNER: Scott Dixon, who is trying to become the first driver to win three consecutive pole positions. With five career pole positions at the Indy 500, the six-time series champion can tie Rick Mears’ record of six.

QUALIFYING FORMAT: Drivers complete four laps around the 2.5-mile oval, and the best average speed wins the pole position

QUALIFYING RECORD, ONE LAP: Arie Luyendyk, 237.498 mph (37.895 seconds), May 12 1996

QUALIFYING RECORD, FOUR-LAP AVERAGE: Arie Luyendyk, 236.986 mph (2 minutes, 31.908 seconds

TURBO BOOST: Available only for the “Fast Friday” practice and qualifying Saturday and Sunday, IndyCar teams will have roughly 100 more horsepower at their disposal with the turbo boost increased for the Chevrolet and Honda engines. That will produce average speeds of around 235 mph across four laps.

POLE FAVORITES? The list still starts and ends with Chip Ganassi Racing, which claimed four of the top six starting spots last year.

“We feel strong,” defending race winner Marcus Ericsson said. “We feel better than last year, and last year we were pretty good. We worked hard in the winter already to improve on a strong package. Testing is testing, it’s hard to make conclusions. But of course, we feel we’re going to be fighting up front. From what we’ve seen so far, we should be up there.

“We don’t want to underestimate our competition because there’s a lot of good teams that work really hard to improve. We can’t underestimate that challenge going into this weekend and the next one.”

Here’s the full broadcast grid for the rest of Indy 500 qualifying practice and the May 28 race (all times are ET):

Date Event Platform(s) Time (ET)
Fri., May 19 Indy 500 Practice Peacock Noon-6 p.m.
Sat., May 20 Indy 500 Practice Peacock 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Indy 500 Full Field Qualifying Peacock 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Indy 500 Full Field Qualifying NBC, Peacock 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Indy 500 Full Field Qualifying Peacock 4:30-5:50 p.m.
Sun., May 21 Indy 500 Fast 12 Practice Peacock 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Indy 500 Fast 12 Qualifying Peacock 2-3 p.m.
Indy 500 Qualifying NBC, Peacock 4-6 p.m.
Mon., May 22 Indy 500 Practice Peacock 1-3 p.m.
Fri., May 26 Indy 500 Carb Day Final Practice Peacock 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Pit Stop Competition Peacock 2:30-4 p.m.
Sat., May 27 Indy 500 Parade Peacock Noon-2 p.m.
Sun., May 28 Indy 500 Pre-Race Peacock 9-11 a.m.
Indy 500 Pre-Race NBC, Peacock, Universo 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
107th Indianapolis 500 NBC, Peacock, Universo 12:30-4 p.m.
Mon., May 29 Indy 500 Victory Celebration Peacock 8-11 p.m.

Motocross 2023: Results and points after SuperMotocross Round 18 at Hangtown

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For the second consecutive week, Jett Lawrence had perfect results in the Pro Motocross round at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California with a pair of moto wins and the overall victory, only this time he didn’t have Chase Sexton, who sat out the round with a concussion, to keep him honest in the second race.

Jett Lawrence’s performance in the first two Motocross rounds has him thinking of a rookie championship. – Align Media

Lawrence led all 16 laps of both races after taking the holeshot in the second moto and grabbing the lead from Dylan Ferrandis in Turn 2 of Moto 1. Lawrence claimed a four-second lead in Moto 1 and five seconds in Moto 2, but as dominant as it seems on paper, there were some exciting moments during the weekend. In the second race, Lawrence wanted to build an advantage that would allow him to maintain his pace and he nearly high-sided a couple of times in heavy ruts.

RESULTS: Click here for full 450 Results; Click here for 250 Results

In his second race back from a concussion, Ferrandis finished in the runner-up spot with a second in Moto 1 and a third in Moto 2. While his finish of second overall goes into the record books, Pro Motocross points are rewarded for each individual race and that meant Ferrandis lost eight points in championship battle to Lawrence. With Sexton failing to mount up for the race, Ferrandis advanced to second in the standings with an 18-point gap to Lawrence. Equally important, Ferrandis gained ground in the SuperMotocross World Championship (WSX) points and now has a gap of 44 over 21st-place Justin Starling.

Cooper Webb is also in his second round since returning from a Supercross injury suffered in Nashville at the end of their season. Claiming results of fourth and second in the two races, Webb earned 40 SuperMotocross points at Hangtown and closed in on Sexton in the WSX battle. Sexton entered Hangtown with a large enough lead that he could not be overtaken, but he is now only 38 points up and could face a difficult decision next week at Thunder Valley in Lakewood, Colorado if he wants to hold onto his lead.

Moto 1 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Laps | Moto 2 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Laps | Consolation Race

Aaron Plessinger had an adventurous weekend in which he seemed to close on Lawrence in his second race before crashing and dropping to fourth. Coupled with a fifth-place finish in Moto 1, he earned 35 points and was credited with fourth overall.

Cashing in on confidence he gained in the final rounds of the Supercross season, Adam Cianciarulo earned his first top-five of the Pro Motocross championship after narrowly missing out last week with a sixth. He earned the distinction with consistent results of fifth in Moto 1 and fourth in Moto 2.

Click here for 450 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points


Hunter Lawrence showed his back to the competition at Hangtown, just as he did the week prior at Fox Raceway. – Align Media

The Lawrence brothers made history last week as the first siblings to win in two Pro Motocross divisions on the same day. Fans should get accustomed to seeing this happen with some regularity as Hunter Lawrence posted identical results in Hangtown to those he had at Fox Raceway in the season opener.

In both races, Lawrence got off to a slow start in Moto 1 and had to claw his way back to the podium. He dominated Moto 2 in both rounds to earn the overall victories.

Justin Cooper did not allow Lawrence to gain much of an advantage in the Motocross points’ standings, however. Finishing second in both motos, the earned only one point less than Lawrence. His modest showing in Round 1 of the outdoor season has him 12 points out of first in the championship standings.

Moto 1 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Laps | Moto 2 Results | Lap Chart | Fastest Segment Laps | Consolation Race

Haiden Deegan scored his first moto win in just his fourth start in the series. In the first race of the day, he had to withstand constant pressure from Cooper, but when his teammate closed in on him, Deegan reached down and found a little more speed. Now that he’s won one of these races, he has his sight set on challenging Lawrence for the title. Deegan is second in the Pro Motocross championship standings with a 10-point deficit to the leader.

Haiden Deegan scored podiums in both Motocross rounds of 2023. – Align Media

Tom Vialle tied his career-best finish of fourth overall with a seventh-place finish in Moto 1 and a third in Moto 2. Vialle was fourth last week in overall ranking and has one fourth-place finish in the Supercross series that came in the Triple Crown format at Arlington.

Click here for 250 Overall results | Rider Points | Manufacturer Points

RJ Hampshire rounded out the top five with a pair of fifth-place results and 32 points for the round. Even though the deficit is a whopping 61 points, Hampshire climbed to second in the SuperMotocross championship standings now that Jett Lawrence has moved to the big bikes.

Jalek Swoll struggled last week and finished 21st overall at Fox Raceway. This week, he finished on the cusp of 10th in both races with a ninth in Moto 1 and 11th in Moto 2. In the SuperMotocross standings, he has a lot of ground to make up. He currently sits 49th on the chart with a 70-point gap to Chance Hymas, who is on the bubble to earn a guaranteed position in the SMX Mains for the three playoff races that will be held on September.

2023 Motocross Results

Round 1: Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence win

2023 Supercross Results

Round 17: Chase Sexton, Jett Lawrence win
Round 16: Chase Sexton, RJ Hampshire win
Round 15: Chase Sexton, Hunter Lawrence win
Round 14: Justin Barcia, Max Anstie win
Round 13: Chase Sexton, Hunter Lawrence win
Round 12: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Round 11: Eli Tomac bounces back with sixth win
Round 10: Chace Sexton wins, penalized
Round 9: Ken Roczen wins
Round 8: Eli Tomac wins 7th Daytona
Round 7: Cooper Webb wins second race
Race 6: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Race 5: Webb, Hunter Lawrence win
Race 4: Eli Tomac, Hunter Lawrence win
Race 3: Chase Sexton, Levi Kitchen win
Race 2: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win
Round 1: Eli Tomac, Jett Lawrence win

2023 SuperMotocross Power Rankings

Week 18: Jett Lawrence rockets to the top
Week 16: Chase Sexton takes SX title
Week 15: Eli Tomac is back on top
Week 14: Justin Barcia, most of top 20, hold steady
Week 13: Barcia leapfrogs the Big Three
Week 12: Eli Tomac gains momentum
Week 11: Cooper Webb, Tomac overtake Chase Sexton
Week 10: Sexton leads with consistency
Week 8: Sexton unseats Tomac
Week 7: Jason Anderson narrowly trails Tomac
Week 6: Perfect Oakland night keeps Tomac first
Week 5: Webb, Sexton close gap
Week 4: Tomac retakes lead
Week 3: Ken Roczen takes the top spot
Week 2: Roczen moves up; Sexton falls
Week 1: Tomac tops 450s; Jett Lawrence 250s