Larson survives scare to secure Indy 500 place as Ericsson at risk

Kyle Larson is locked into the Indianapolis 500 and will fight for pole position on Day 2 of qualifying, as former Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson is at risk of being bumped. 

On an high-octane day 1 of qualifying for next weekend's race at IMS, NASCAR Cup champion Larson was forced to abort his guaranteed qualifying attempt due to a car problem, returning to the pits.

The #17 McLaren driver would later return to the 2.5-mile oval and record a four-lap average of 232.563mph to jump into sixth place and secure his place in the Fast 12 session tomorrow. 

Penske led a 1-2-3 at the head of the times with Will Power recording a best of 233.758 to top Day 1, ahead of Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden in third, with speeds of 233.332mph and 233.293mph, respectively. 

Former Caterham and Sauber F1 racer, and 2022 Indy 500 winner, Ericsson endured a tricky day after problems through practice including a crash and placed outside the top 30 runners who are automatically locked into the race.

The #28 Andretti machine will be joined in the last chance saloon by rookie Nolan Siegel, Graham Rahal and the lone female entry in the 34 car field, Katherine Legge. 

Only 33 cars are allowed to take to the start of the 500, meaning one of Ericsson, Siegel, Rahal or Legge will be bumped from the field on Sunday. 

Elsewhere, Scott Dixon will not be challenging for pole as he will start 20th, with 2023 pole-winner Alex Palou missing out on a Fast 12 berth having not been permitted to make another run.

Palou was sat in Lane 2 hoping to make another run, but Legge and Rinus Veekay went into the priority Lane 1 to get out on track. Palou simply ran out of time to try and secure a Fast 12 slot, as Veekay, who suffered a big crash earlier in the day roared to a 232.419 average to capture 11th place and shuffle Colton Herta out of the Fast 12 at the death.