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Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid - 1951
| Position | Car Num. | Driver | Car Name/Entrant* | Make/Model | Qual Speed |
| 1 | 18 | Duke Nalon | Novi Purelube | Kurtis/Novi | 136.490 |
| 2 | 99 | Lee Wallard | Belanger Motors | Kurtis/Offy | 135.030 |
| 3 | 9 | Jack McGrath | Hinkle | KK3000/Offy | 134.300 |
| 4 | 27 | Duane Carter | Mobilgas | Deidt/Offy | 133.740 |
| 5 | 16 | Mauri Rose (W) | Pennzoil | Deidt/Offy | 133.420 |
| 6 | 98 | Troy Ruttman | Agajanian Featherweight | KK2000/Offy | 132.310 |
| 7 | 83 | Mike Nazaruk (R) | Jim Robbins | Kurtis/Offy | 132.180 |
| 8 | 3 | Johnnie Parsons (W) | Wynn's Friction Proofing | KK3000/Offy | 132.150 |
| 9 | 5 | Tony Bettenhausen | Mobiloil | Deidt/Offy | 131.950 |
| 10 | 4 | Cecil Green | John Zink | KK3000/Offy | 131.890 |
| 11 | 59 | Fred Agabashian | Granatelli-Bardahl | KK3000/Offy | 135.020 |
| 12 | 25 | Sam Hanks | Schmidt | KK3000/Offy | 132.990 |
| 13 | 44 | Walt Brown | Federal Engineering | KK3000/Offy | 131.900 |
| 14 | 2 | Walt Faulkner | Agajanian Grant Piston Ring | Kuzma/Offy | 136.870 |
| 15 | 73 | Carl Scarborough (R) | McNamara | KK2000/Offy | 135.610 |
| 16 | 10 | Bill Schindler | Chapman | KK2000/Offy | 134.030 |
| 17 | 1 | Henry Banks | Blue Crown Spark Plug | Moore/Offy | 133.890 |
| 18 | 23 | Cliff Griffith (R) | Morris | KK2000/Offy | 133.830 |
| 19 | 8 | Chuck Stevenson (R) | Bardahl | Marchese/Offy | 133.760 |
| 20 | 81 | Bill Vukovich (R) | Central Excavating | Trevis/Offy | 133.720 |
| 21 | 22 | George Connor | Blue Crown Spark Plug | Lesovsky/Offy | 133.350 |
| 22 | 69 | Gene Force (R) | Brown Motor Co. | KK2000/Offy | 133.100 |
| 23 | 19 | Mack Hellings | Tuffanelli-Derrico | Deidt/Offy | 123.920 |
| 24 | 68 | Carl Forberg (R) | Automobile Shippers | KK3000/Offy | 132.890 |
| 25 | 48 | Rodger Ward (R) | Deck Manufacturing Co. | Bromme/Offy | 134.860 |
| 26 | 12 | Johnny McDowell | W & J | Maserati/Offy | 132.470 |
| 27 | 76 | Jimmy Davies | Parks | Silnes-Pawl/Offy | 133.510 |
| 28 | 32 | Chet Miller | Novi Purelube | Kurtis/Novi | 135.790 |
| 29 | 52 | Bobby Ball (R) | Blakely Oil | Schroeder/Offy | 134.090 |
| 30 | 26 | Joe James (R) | Bob Estes Lincoln-Mercury | Watson/Offy | 134.090 |
| 31 | 57 | Andy Linden (R) | Leitenberger | Silnes-Sherman/Offy | 132.220 |
| 32 | 6 | Duke Dinsmore | Brown Motors Co. | Schroeder/Offy | 131.970 |
| 33 | 71 | Bill Mackey (R) | Karl Hall | Stevens/Offy | 131.470 |
