Indy 500 Qualifying 2015: Dates, Start Times and Format Rules for Pole Battle

The 2015 Indianapolis 500 will mark the 99th running of the historic race. It remains the most high-profile stop on the IndyCar schedule and is the one victory drivers desperately want on their resume when their careers come to a close.

All eyes will be on Ed Carpenter during this year's qualifying sessions. The American will try to become the first driver to win the pole three straight times. Rick Mears holds the record for the most overall appearances on the pole with six.

Let's check out all of the important details for the two-day process for determining the running order for this year's race. It's followed by a closer look at the qualifying format.

Qualifying Information

Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana

Start Times: Saturday, May 16, 11 a.m. ET; Sunday, May 17, 10:15 a.m. ET

Watch: ABC and ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Format and Rules

Saturday

IndyCar will utilize the same format it introduced last year for qualifying.

Every team hoping to qualify for the final field will take to the track on Day 1. It's a single-car system with the opportunity to take another chance if the driver isn't satisfied with the car's speed and there's still time before the window closes at 5:50 p.m. ET.

Two lines will form on pit lane throughout the day—one with cars that still need to take their first qualifying run and another for those hoping to receive another lap. Those who still need to establish a time take precedence.

Shortly before 6 p.m. the numbers become locked. At that point, the top nine finishers from Saturday's action will advance to the "Fast 9" portion of Sunday's schedule with a chance to win the pole. The other cars that made the top 33 have separate sessions on Sunday.

One other thing to keep an eye on is the weather. Doug Schneider of Racecast Weather provided a glance at the shaky weekend outlook:

The process could be pushed back should the sessions get washed out.

Sunday

After the groups and the Day 2 order become established, the Day 1 times are wiped away.

Sunday's action will feature two sets of cars from outside the top nine to start the day. They each receive one qualifying run to post their best time and are then ranked in the field from 10 through 33 based solely on that effort.

That's followed by the "Fast 9" competition. Once again, each team gets a single chance to post their best time with the order determined by reverse of Saturday's times, so the top finisher on Day 1 will know what they need to do to win the pole.

Those speeds will complete the starting grid and determine the pole-sitter.

As mentioned, Carpenter is trying to win his third straight pole. He's making his first start of the season after working as an owner. Amanda Maynard of WISH passed along comments from him about making the switch back behind the wheel.

"To be honest, it's a lot more simple when it's time to drive," Carpenter said. "I just get to focus on one thing and turn the rest of it off and rely on the team and other owners to pick up the slack when I'm doing this."

Whether he can make a smooth transition back to the driver's seat will determine if he can set the new standard for consecutive poles. He's sure to receive stiff competition from Helio Castroneves and defending race champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, among others.