As the last day of school quickly approaches, so too does the greatest spectacle in racing. Over the last week, 34 of the best drivers in the world have been preparing for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. Over the weekend, a qualifying round took place to set the field of 33 for the 500 mile, 200 lap race. Drivers Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward, Helio Castroneves and Kyle Larson look to have the best shot to win the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indianapolis 500.
2x Indy 500 Winner and 2x INDYCAR Series Champion Josef Newgarden
Josef Newgarden will be the one to beat on race day as he has won the last two Indianapolis 500’s. He is the sixth driver to have ever won the 500 back-to-back along with Helio Castroneves, Al Unser Sr., Bill Vukovich, Mauri Rose and Wilbur Shaw. If Newgarden wins on race day, he will be the first driver in Indianapolis 500 history to win the race three times in a row and would be the seventh driver to have won the race three times. So far in the month of May, Newgarden has had four strong days of practice, sitting in the top 10 in all sessions. After qualifying for the Fast 12 on May 17th, Newgarden was found to have made a technical breach of the INDYCAR rules, which forced him to sit 11th and not qualify. Newgarden was then officially moved to position 32 on Monday. Going into the Indy 500, Newgarden has a long way to climb, but his team, personal experience, and history with the race makes many feel confident that he can pull it off.
3x INDYCAR Series Champion Alex Palou
Since starting at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021, Alex Palou has become a strong contender for an Indy 500 win, especially considering that this year he will be going into the 500 having won the first four of five races in this year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Palou will be making his fifth start in the Indianapolis 500 and his fourth for Chip Ganassi Racing. In his five starts, Palou has had four top ten finishes, holding his first pole at the 500 with the fastest pole speed in history at a four lap average speed of 234.217 miles per hour. After qualifying for the Fast 6 on May 18th, Palou went on to have a four lap average speed of 231.378 miles per hour, putting his official placement for the Indy 500 on the outside of the second row. If his team can pull off some clean pit stops and Palou manages to steer clear of trouble, it’s very likely that the 28 year old Spanish driver can race to victory.
2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion and 2024 Brickyard 400 Winner Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson will be making his second Indy 500 start and will get another attempt at the 1100 mile double where he will race at Indy in the afternoon and will then go to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Coca-Cola 600. Larson didn’t get to complete the double last year when rain delayed the Indy 500 for four hours and he made the call to stay for the 500 instead of leaving for the 600 in Charlotte. Larson left after he finished in the 500 and he tried to get into the race but rain then shortened the race just after he got there and he didn’t get the chance to get into his number five Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. In this year’s race he will again be driving for McLaren with a partnership with Hendrick Motorsports. Although he had a pit lane speeding penalty in the indy 500 which put him out of contention, he did get to win on the oval in his cup car later in the year in the 30th running of the Brickyard 400. This year Larson had a crash on a second day of testing back in April and in the four days of practice he and his other McLaren teammates did have some struggle and qualified 21st on saturday but with both Will Power and Newgarden being sent to the back he would get bumped up to 19th. He will have to stay out of trouble if he wants a shot to complete the 1100 miles, let alone win the race. However he has won in almost any car he’s raced and has a strong team to back him up.
4x Indy 500 Winner Helio Castroneves
This wouldn’t be a top five without speaking of the Drive for Five. Helio Castroneves, 50 year old driver and four time Indy 500 Champion, will be making his fourth attempt at winning his fifth Indy 500 after winning the Indy 500 for the fourth time in 2021. Castroneves is represented by Meyer Shank Racing, whom he joined in 2021 after splitting from Team Penske. Castroneves won the Indy 500 back-to-back in the 2001 and 2002 seasons, winning his third in May of 2009. However, Castroneves would not achieve victory again until 2021, where he emerged victorious after making a pass around the outside on Alex Palou with two laps to go. This year, in his fifth start with MSR, Castroneves has had a strong four days of practice which has landed him the 22nd seat. On Sunday, Castroneves will need a strong start and to avoid trouble ahead of him in order to work his way to the front.
Pato O’Ward
Pato O’Ward has been a strong front runner in the 500 since he joined McLaren in 2020. In his history with the Indy 500, O’Ward has finished second twice. In 2022, on a restart with two laps to go, O’Ward was in second behind Marcus Erricson. He would go on to follow Erricson, searching for a route to pass in turn one, but would ultimately decide not to risk an accident and finsihed the race in 2nd place. Last year, O’Ward made a pass on Newgarden going into turn one on the final lap, and he would go to jump down to the inside off of turn two to break the draft but would lose momentum and Newgarden would make a spectacular pass into turn three going around the outside of O’Ward. This year, O’Ward has had a very up and down four days of practice, with multiple days below 20th and one day where he cracked the top 10. He will roll off on the outside of row one in third with a four lap average quali speed of a 232.098. If he pulls off a spectacle similar to his performance in 2024, O’Ward could very easily pull off a win this coming Memorial Day weekend.
