INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The first day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying was rained out, race organizers announced Saturday.
It's the first time since 2008 a full day of qualifying was lost because of weather. The decision prompted some significant schedule changes for Sunday.
A short practice, held in two groups, will begin at 9:30 a.m. local time for each driver trying to make the traditional 33-car starting grid. The four-lap qualifying runs will begin at noon.
But the plan to hold a series of elimination rounds between the 15 fastest cars has been scrapped and organizers will now revert back to the 12-car format used in recent years, starting at 4 p.m. The top six cars advance to the final round, which determines the pole winner for the May 24 race.
That will likely force teams to continue holding strategy sessions overnight, something that almost undoubtedly began during a nearly six-hour wait to see if they could get cars onto the Brickyard's 2.5-mile oval.
The fastest drivers in this week's practices have been 2024 Indy pole winner Scott McLaughlin and his Team Penske teammates — two-time Indy winner Josef Newgarden and last year’s 500 runner-up David Malukas; defending race winner Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing; Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing, who hopes to join Palou as a two-time pole winner this season; 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi, who drives for owner-driver Ed Carpenter, a three-time Indy pole winner; and Conor Daly, the stepson of speedway president Doug Boles who is making his IndyCar season debut with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
Rosenqvist posted the fastest lap, 233.372 mph, and the fastest four-lap average, 232.828 mph, in practice Friday when series officials gave each car a power boost of about 100 horsepower. McLaughlin turned the fastest no-tow lap, 232.674 mph, and had the second-fastest four-lap average, 232.572 mph.
But with no clear favorite to win the pole, Sunday's weather could change the equation dramatically.
Temperatures are expected to climb into the mid-80s, potentially increasing the track temperature to 120 degrees or more in the afternoon, vastly different from this week's more ideal cooler conditions.
Plus, the heavy rain that moved in Saturday morning and again in the afternoon has washed much of the built-up rubber on the track away, creating less grip. The short practice session should help add some grip to the track.
Palou, the Spaniard who has won four series titles and is the points leader again this season, is the defending Indianapolis 500 champion and is trying to become the seventh back-to-back winner in race history. Helio Castroneves, the Brazilian with Meyer Shank, is one of four four-time race winners and is again attempting to become the first five-time winner.
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FILE - Scott McLaughlin, of New Zealand, prepares to practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race in Indianapolis, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
FILE - Felix Rosenqvist, of Sweden, waits for his turn during qualification for the Indianapolis 500 auto race in Indianapolis, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched airstrikes early Wednesday against Iran after blaming Tehran for the crash of an American attack helicopter, and Iran fired back at countries in the region — another escalation that threatened to derail efforts to end the war.
Hours after Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan came under Iranian fire, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on his his Truth Social platform that Iran was taking “too long to negotiate a deal” and that “now they will have to pay the price.”
It wasn’t clear what exactly that would mean, but the back-and-forth strikes Wednesday again raised the question of how much pressure the deal can take before it cracks. The exchange of fire was the second time this week that such strikes have tested the ceasefire after Iran and Israel targeted each other on Monday.
Trump has repeatedly vacillated between expressing optimism over the talks and warning that he was ready to return to all-out war. Iran, meanwhile, has proved resilient despite having faced weeks of heavy bombing, betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for the world’s oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.
Both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win at home. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing much more difficult goals: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. That will make compromise much harder.
Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world, and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Brent crude oil, the international standard, was at more than $91 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war.
In the latest strikes, U.S. fighter jets targeted “air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites,” the military’s Central Command said. Iran acknowledged strikes around Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island, but gave no details on the damage.
“The operation was a proportional response to recent attacks on U.S. forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters,” Central Command said.
Iran’s top diplomat vowed that there would be a response, and Tehran later claimed attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
Jordan said it shot down five incoming missiles, which Iran said targeted the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. The base has hosted American F-35 fighter jets and other aircraft.
Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency carried a military statement saying there were no injuries and that explosives experts examined the debris from the interceptions.
Bahrain and Kuwait said they intercepted incoming fire, without elaborating.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the American attacks as a violation of Iranian sovereignty in calls with his counterparts from Turkey and Saudi Arabia “and emphasized the inherent right of self-defense, including reciprocal action,” according to a post on his office's Telegram channel.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said in televised comments Wednesday that in light of the new attacks, Iran would review its stance on negotiations to end the war.
The exchanges of fire came a day after a U.S. Army attack helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz after colliding with an Iranian drone, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. It wasn’t clear whether the collision was intentional.
A drone boat rescued both of the helicopter’s aviators, and Trump said they were uninjured.
Guards aboard a cargo ship off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden exchanged fire with gunmen in a small boat and repelled their attack, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have said they will resume their attacks against Israel-affiliated ships in the Red Sea. Somali pirates have also become more active in the region.
The UKMTO later reported a fire in the engine room of a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, saying one person had been hurt and two others aboard were missing. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire.
Before he accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran, but didn’t say why there was reason for hope.
While Trump, wary of high gas prices and upcoming congressional elections in November, seems to be looking for a quick win, he is also making demands that will be tough for Iran to swallow.
The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, that uranium is a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.
Iran is refusing to give up the uranium and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.
It's not clear how those differences can be bridged — and Trump has repeatedly threatened to walk away from the talks. On his Truth Social platform overnight he seemed to be warning again that he was ready to return to all-out war, posting a clip from the American TV series “The West Wing” with actor Martin Sheen as president bellowing: “We don’t come back with a proportional response, we come back with total disaster!”
Meanwhile, Iran has continued to insist that any deal to end the war must also end fighting between its ally Hezbollah and Israel. Instead, Israel has intensified its military campaign against the militant group.
Israel's military said on Wednesday it launched multiple strikes in southern Lebanon over the past day, targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.
An airstrike on a village east of Tyre killed at least six people, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported.
Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Michelle L. Price in New York; and Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
People take shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missiles in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A projectile streaks through the sky over central Israel during an Iranian missile attack, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A cleric checks his cell phone on stage in front of a screen displaying portraits of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a pro-government gathering in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. aircraft carrier under missile attack in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
