13th Little 500 Qualifying Results
Sun Valley Speedway
Saturday, May 27, 1961
Fast Qualifier: Clare Lawicki – 55.790 seconds
| POS | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | ENTRANT | TIME | MARGIN |
| 1 | 37 | Clare Lawicki | Madison Heights, MI | Hoy Stevens | 55.790 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 1 | Dick Carter | Breckenridge, MI | Ruben Snelenberger | 56.180 | 0.390 |
| 3 | 20 | Dick Pratt | Union City, IN | Woodberry Welding | 56.290 | 0.500 |
| 4 | 35 | Red Renner | Woodburn, IN | Ollie Kneppper | 56.420 | 0.630 |
| 5 | 71 | Jim McElreath | Arlington, TX | E.M. Wilson | 57.610 | 1.820 |
| 6 | 91 | Danny Cravens | Louisville, KY | Davis Johnson | 57.570 | 1.780 |
| 7 | 33 | Woody Huntington | Milroy, IN | Garett Butler | 57.990 | 2.200 |
| 8 | 65 | Calvin Gilstrap | Salem, IN | Ivan Wenning | 58.040 | 2.250 |
| 9 | 87 | Bill Kimmel | Louisville, KY | Roger Coke | 58.410 | 2.620 |
| 10 | 70 | Leroy Neumeyer | Los Angeles, CA | E.M. Wilson | 58.210 | 2.420 |
| 11 | 39 | Serg Tesolin | Windsor, ONT | Oliver Fayot | 58.550 | 2.760 |
| 12 | 25 | Leon Wieske | St. Clair Shores, MI | Leon Wieske | 58.860 | 3.070 |
| 13 | 23 | Jim McCune | Toledo, OH | Miller Brothers | 58.910 | 3.120 |
| 14 | 52 | Bob Pratt | Union City, IN | Wayne Pettjohn | 59.050 | 3.260 |
| 15 | 26 | Jim Murphy | South Haven, MI | Nora Murphy | 60.390 | 4.600 |
| 16 | 28 | Johnny Noble | New Castle, IN | Bill Earl | 61.340 | 5.550 |
| 17 | 5 | Hark Arnoldi | Detroit, MI | Hank Arnoldi | 61.350 | 5.560 |
| 18 | 27 | Dick Kuenstler | Chicago, IL | Dick Kuenstler | 62.810 | 7.020 |
| 19 | 40 | Paul Montigue Jr. | Hamilton, OH | Paul Montigue Sr. | 62.990 | 7.200 |
| 20 | 66 | Norm Rust | Novi, MI | Jack Layton | 55.300 | -0.490 |
| 21 | 73 | Bud Sterrett | Hollywood, CA | E.M. Wilson | 56.570 | 0.780 |
| 22 | 0 | Rollie Beale | Toledo, OH | Bill Foster | 56.680 | 0.890 |
| 23 | 7 | Don Friend | East Detroit, MI | Joe White | 56.820 | 1.030 |
| 24 | 53 | Al Beale | Toledo, OH | Harold Butler | 57.110 | 1.320 |
| 25 | 80 | Hugh Randall | Louisville, KY | Charles Fetters | 57.250 | 1.460 |
| 26 | 3 | Cy Fairchild | Muskegon, MI | Larry LeBeau | 58.970 | 3.180 |
| 27 | 4 | Bob King | Muncie, IN | George McIntyre | 59.920 | 4.130 |
| 28 | 6 | Frank Toth | Richmond, IN | Frank Toth | 61.920 | 6.130 |
| 29 | 47 | Hank Stickney | Detroit, MI | Bill Painter | 62.900 | 7.110 |
| 30 | 22 | Don Bunch | Fort Wayne, IN | Frank Wright | 64.780 | 8.990 |
| 31 | 29 | Harold Stonerock | Winchester, IN | Bill Gamester | 64.800 | 9.010 |
| 32 | 16 | Allen Barr | Columbus, IN | Andy Toth | 65.150 | 9.360 |
| 33 | 92 | Ray Duckworth | Anderson, IN | Ray Duckworth | N/A | N/A |
