Jacob Abel fails to qualify for Indy 500 in teammate battle over last spot

Four drivers faced off in a tense battle for the final three spots on the grid for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. They were Andretti Global's Marco Andretti, Meyer Shank Racing's Marcus Armstrong, as well as the Dale Coyne Racing duo of Rinus Veekay and Jacob Abel.

Armstrong was the first of the four Honda drivers to go out, reaching 229.091mph in his four-lap run. Andretti eclipsed him with a 229.741mph. Alarm bells began to ring for Abel and DCR, as his first run only reached 227.112mph. VeeKay ran a 227.740, putting teammate Abel on the hot seat.

Abel returned to the track with 20 minutes left, but only for a slow installation lap. As the time clicked away, VeeKay made the bold decision to throw away his first run and move into the fast lane. He went out on track, but actually ran slower. Panic began to set in as he now nervously held a 226.913mph run.

Finally, it was Abel's turn to decide his Indy 500 fate. Luckily for Veekay, he was not able to do any better, only reaching 226.394mph over the course of his run.

One teammate out, the other in

Rinus Veekay, Dale Coyne Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

"I feel relief, but not real happiness," said VeeKay. "We were just very slow. Both Jacob and I ... it was one of the two that was gonna go out. Jacob is not just a teammate. He's a really good friend. I feel bad for him. This was going to be his first, (and) this will be my sixth. Of course, it feels good to make the field but it is very much the definition of bittersweet."

As for the decision to pull his time, VeeKay explained: "I did not have any hybrid power on my first run. I wasn't sure if it was gonna be better but I did not want to leave anything to chance. It was a very slow run so I was very afraid. I thought that was it."

As for Abel, his first Indy 500 will have to wait until at least next year.

"Unfortunately, starting yesterday, kind of been preparing for this a little bit," Abel told IndyCar on FOX. "Super, super weird situation. We were happy all week long. The car was fast. We were very conservative with everything and we were ready to trim it out. It seems like something just happened overnight, Friday to Saturday, and we just immediately lost speed and it's just been getting slower and slower every run.

"I thought we had a chance there at the end because our teammate went slower. It's not how you want to do it, obviously. I don't need to tell you guys how good Rinus VeeKay is around here. I think we're struggling a little bit. It sucks. I thought this was going to be my first indy 500 but yeah, hopefully that day will come sooner rather than later."