Kyle Larson Makes Indianapolis 500 Fast 12 On Dramatic First Day Of Qualifying

It's no secret that 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson is one hell of a race car driver in several different disciplines, and he's taking to IndyCar like he's been doing it for years.

Larson finished the first day of Indianapolis 500 qualifying in P6 which means he will be part of the Fast 12 on Sunday afternoon with a shot at landing on the front row for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing next weekend.

But it wasn't exactly smooth sailing…

Kyle Larson had an impressive showing on Saturday, despite an issue on his first qualifying run.  (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Everyone knows that the Indianapolis 500 is one of the greatest races on the planet, but if you're not hip to the insanity that is Indianapolis 500 qualifying, then you need to be. The way it works is each driver does four laps around the 2.5-mile track and the average speed of those laps is calculated. Once everyone goes once, drivers can go again as many times as they can in the allotted time to see if they can improve their time and even have the option of throwing their time out to skip the line.

The top 12 — Fast 12 — race for the front row while  P13 through P30 are locked in. Drivers who finished P31 through P34 will qualify again on Sunday with one driver failing to make the grid for the race.

It's about six hours of non-stop drama, and Larson learned that on his first attempt.

The Chevrolet engine in the back of his Arrow McLaren had a hiccup that Larson believed to be a major issue. It turned out that it wasn't and quite a few other drivers had similar issues which involved sudden decreases in power, and while those ruined that run, it wasn't a catastrophic issue.

Larson could've continued that run, but aborting left him without a time on the board. 

Once everyone had completed their initial runs, Larson laid down a fantastic run which stuck him just inside the top 6 for good.

Not bad for an IndyCar debut. 

Ed Carpenter Racing driver Rinus VeeKay crashes on his initial qualifying run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (© Matt Ruddick / USA TODAY NETWORK)

VeeKay Keeps Streak Alive On Incredible Final Run After Early Crash

There was plenty more drama, but some of the most jaw-dropping came courtesy of Rinus VeeKay. The Dutchman has never started outside the first two rows in the Indy 500 but crashed on his initial qualifying run. 

And it was a big one.

However, the team at Ed Carpenter Racing got the car put back together and he managed to stick time on the board.

However, he gambled by throwing out his time and taking the second last run of the day, and made it into the Fast 12, meaning he still had a shot at the front row.

Just unreal action all day long, and it continues on Sunday with the Fast 12 and Last Chance qualifying runs.