What a day. 

Pato O'Ward, Alexander Rossi and Kyle Larson all participated in the Firestone Fast 12 today. And let us tell you, it was FAST.

Pato was the first out for his initial qualifying run, putting up an average of 232.584 mph that unfortunately did not allow him to transfer to the Firestone Fast Six. 

Kyle followed shortly and put up the now fastest single-lap speed for a rookie on his initial lap at 233.453 mph. Obviously transferring him to eh Fast Six where he finished the day P5. 

And Alexander put up BIG numbers in both his qualifying sessions. Most impressively being the only other car outside of the Penske’s to hit 234.00 mph. 

All cars will be back on track tomorrow for a short practice session at 1:00 pm e.t.

Now, read what the drivers and Team Principal Gavin Ward said after a fast day.

Date	Sunday, May 26
Round	5 of 17
Total Laps	200 laps
Total Race Distance	500 miles / 804.7 km
Length	2.5 miles / 4.0 km
Number of Turns	4

 

Indianapolis 500 Firestone Fast 12 Result	P4	233.071 mph
Indianapolis 500 Firestone Fast Six Result	P4	233.090 mph

"Arrow McLaren and Team Chevy have done an amazing job this month. Team Chevy locking up the Firestone Fast Six is incredible, so hats off to them. It's a little disappointing to accept the inevitable here, but the car's been good all month. The No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet's race trim is just as good, if not better, than our qualifying trim. We'll get back to work tomorrow."

Indianapolis 500 Firestone Fast 12 Result	P5	232.788 mph
Indianapolis 500 Firestone Fast Six Result	P5	232.846 mph

"This is just a great team, really. They prepared an awesome race car that's stuck to the racetrack, and also has speed. Qualifying went a lot better than I ever could have hoped or anticipated. I’m just proud of everybody at Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports that's been involved in this. Now, it’s time to switch the mindset over to the heavy stock car and try and go figure out North Wilkesboro."

Indianapolis 500 Firestone Fast 12 Result

P8

232.584 mph

"We’re starting eighth for the big show, so we got what we wanted – a good starting position. We were a bit disappointed that we didn't find the speed that the other cars have had all month, but it is what it is. We're going to make sure the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet is the best as it possibly can be and race our way to the front."

 

Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren, said:

"On one hand, I feel like we put our cars all in a position to fight for the win for next weekend. That's the most important thing. On the other hand, this isn't where we want to be as a team. We want to be the team walking out on the front row, but it's not an overnight process. Frankly, that's not realistic. We're up against some incredibly established teams with tons of resources and a huge amount of experience. We've got a laundry list that's a mile long of things to improve to become even more competitive. When we get that sorted out, we'll be right there. It was kind of a bittersweet day, but we can focus on the race from here because the big prize is still to come."

Monday, May 20	Indianapolis 500 Practice	1:00 - 3:00 PM ET	Peacock
Friday, May 24	Indianapolis 500 Practice	11:00 - 1:00 PM ET	Peacock
Sunday, May 26	Indianapolis 500 Tune In	11:00 AM ET	NBC, Peacock
Sunday, May 26	Indianapolis 500 Green Flag	12:45 PM ET	NBC, Peacock