Chevrolet swept nine of the top eleven spots during qualifying, and finished 1st-2nd, Chevy's first Indy victory since 2015, and tenth overall.

However, despite entering the month as prohibitive favorites to dominate the race, Chevy managed to place only two other cars in the top ten.

On a restart on lap 194, Oriol Servià, Stefan Wilson, and Jack Harvey were all attempting to stretch their fuel to the finish, gambling on a late caution, and a possible surprise victory.

Carb Day—the traditional final day of practice, as well as the annual Pit Stop Challenge and Indy Lights Freedom 100, were held Friday May 25.

The 2017 race was the third and final year contested with the Chevrolet and Honda aero kits outfitted to the Dallara DW12 chassis.

Offseason changes included Chip Ganassi Racing, which dropped down to two cars only (Scott Dixon and Ed Jones).

[21] * Includes days where trackactivity was significantly limited due to rain On July 25, 2017 the first official test for the universal bodywork kit was conducted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

Following the conclusion of the 2017 IndyCar Series season, each manufacturer was allocated five days of aero kit testing through December 17.

Hélio Castroneves set the fastest speed of the day with a four-lap average of 228.919 mph, besting Ed Carpenter and Simon Pagenaud.

Completing the Fast Nine were Will Power, Sébastien Bourdais, Spencer Pigot, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, and Danica Patrick.

The most shocking story of day, however, was 2016 pole sitter, and three-time front row starter, James Hinchcliffe, who was bumped from the field.

The team quickly got the car into the qualifying line, and Hinchcliffe pulled away for his second attempt with less than fifteen minutes left in the day.

[38] After his crash during practice on Friday, and after his crew worked late into the night to make repairs, James Davison ended the day on the bubble.

The opening session determined positions 10-33 on the starting grid, with drivers taking to the track in reverse order of their ranking from their Bump Day runs.

Several favorites struggled to find speed during the day, including 2016 winner Alexander Rossi, who slipped to 32nd after fighting an ill-handling car during his run.

"Fast Nine" qualifications began at 5:00 p.m., with drivers who qualified in the top nine the previous day taking to the track in reverse order in their bid to win pole position.

For the third time in his career, Ed Carpenter secured pole position for the race, posting a four-lap average at 229.618 mph.

Because of rules that qualification included pit stop performance during the season, James Hinchcliffe of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports was part of the event although he did not qualify for the race.

5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 race, the pit crew was assigned to the No.

From there, the field began to spread out; the new aero kit and high heat removed much of the slingshot drafting that defined the last several 500s, thus allowing Carpenter to pull out a roughly two second advantage by the time the first pit stops came.

The green flag period was short lived, though, as, on lap 58, Ed Jones lost control of his car in turn 2, spun around, and impacted the outside wall.

Up front, Power held a commanding 4.7 second lead of Carpenter, but the gap would close back down to just over a second when Stefan Wilson managed to un-lap himself on lap 121.

On lap 138, the fourth caution period of the day came, when Sébastien Bourdais lost control of his car coming off of turn 3 while running close behind Alexander Rossi.

With the field bunched back up again and drivers off-sequence pitting during the yellow, the running order ran Power, Carpenter, Pagenaud, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Castroneves.

Green flag conditions lasted for less than a lap, as coming off of turn 4, Castroneves spun, slid across the track and impacted the inside wall before sliding to a halt on the pit lane.

Power retained his advantage over Carpenter, but now six off-sequence cars were ahead of him, with Servià leading the way over Wilson, Harvey and Dixon.

NBC Sports announced in March 2018 that it had acquired the broadcast television rights to the IndyCar Series beginning in 2019 under a three-year deal (complementing the current cable rightsholder NBCSN), with a package of races on NBC (including the 500) replacing the existing package of races on ABC.

[48] Carb Day, the final practice session, along with the Pit Stop Challenge and Freedom 100, were carried on NBCSN.

Jerry Baker, who had been stationed in turn one dating back to 1986, was absent from the crew entirely, and did not take a substitute booth role as he did in 2010, 2012 and 2013.

1070 The Fan broadcast nightly beginning May 7 with Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, followed by Donald Davidson's The Talk of Gasoline Alley.