CNN
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The Indy 500, one of the most prestigious and highly anticipated events on the motorsport calendar, is scheduled to get underway on Sunday afternoon after extreme weather forced organizers to cancel pre-race celebrations, evacuate fans from the stands and postpone the start of the race.
The race was originally scheduled to start at 12:45 pm ET, but race organizers announced they would delay the start “due to approaching lightning. After the rain stopped and work to dry the track was completed, organizers announced at X that the race was scheduled for a green flag start at approximately 4:44 pm ET.
This will be the 108th running of the Indy 500, known as “the greatest spectacle in racing.” As part of the IndyCar Series, 33 talented drivers will compete over 200 laps, or 500 miles, around the oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the ultimate test of speed and stamina.
For the drivers, it’s a big deal – a chance to make history and take part in iconic traditions like kissing the brick at the start/finish line and celebrating with a bottle of milk after winning a race.
“It’s the biggest sporting event in the world, you know,” British driver Catherine Legge told CNN Sport’s Don Liddell ahead of last year’s race. “The whole place has a unique atmosphere, a unique personality. When the place is full of fans, it’s just a pulsating, amazing feeling.”
This speedway was originally paved with bricks instead of asphalt, hence the nickname “Brickyard,” giving it a unique atmosphere.
“The thing about Indianapolis is the energy,” 2023 winner Josef Newgarden told NBC. “If you talk to anybody who’s been to the Indy 500 or knows what it’s like, there’s an energy there that can’t be replicated anywhere in the world.”
Mark J. Rebillas/USA Today Sports/Reuters
Newgarden will douse himself in milk after winning the Indy 500 in 2023.
The 108th Indy 500 race will be broadcast live on NBC and the streaming service Peacock.
International viewers can also follow the race, with a full list of broadcast stations available here. Those looking to watch the race in countries without IndyCar’s broadcast deal can do so on the series’ subscription streaming service, INDYCAR LIVE.
The race is not normally broadcast in central Indiana because television broadcasts are blacked out to encourage residents to buy tickets and travel to the track, but the blackout was lifted Sunday afternoon because of the storm. Posts from track people to X.
The Indy 500 regularly takes place on the same day as the famous Monaco Grand Prix, known as the “final showpiece” of the Formula One calendar. Early on Sunday morning, local hero Charles Leclerc won the race through the streets of Monte Carlo for the first time.
It was only the second time in the race’s history that one team had monopolized the front row.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin won the pole position for the race, recording the fastest four-lap average pole speed in Indy 500 history of 234.220 mph.
Australian driver and 2018 500-mile winner Will Power followed with an average speed of 233.917 mph, while two-time IndyCar champion Newgarden qualified third, giving Team Penske drivers a monopoly on the front row.
Team Penske was also the first team to achieve the feat in 1988 and holds the record for most Indy 500 pole positions with 19. The team is owned and chaired by Robert Penske, who also owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series itself.
For McLaughlin, this is his first pole position in a 500-mile race, following his best qualifying result of 14th place last year.
Darron Cummings/AP
McLaughlin celebrates after taking pole position.
“Welcome to the party,” the New Zealand driver told the race’s official website. “Pennzoil Chevrolet has been incredible. I’m proud to have achieved this. I’ve been working hard. Indy hasn’t been kind to me and a lot of that is my own fault. I need to work harder. This is just the first step. Thirsty Three, baby, here we come.”
Chevrolet-powered drivers placed in the top eight out of 33 cars.
Newgarden is trying to become just the sixth driver to win consecutive races at Indianapolis and the first to do so since Helio Castroneves in 2002, who qualified 20th for this year’s race.
NASCAR Cup points leader Kyle Larson will attempt to drive the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Despite rain delays, Larson remained on the track in Indianapolis during driver introductions.
The American is making his IndyCar racing debut this weekend, driving for Arrow McLaren, and after qualifying in an impressive fifth place, he has a chance to win the 500-mile race as a rookie.
After competing in the Indy 500, Larson will head to Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina to attempt the “Double.” The green flag for the NASCAR race at Charlotte is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Christopher Leduc/Icon Sportswire/AP
Larson is an experienced NASCAR driver but new to IndyCar.
Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, is seeking to become just the fifth driver to compete in both races. John Andretti first accomplished the feat in 1994, followed by Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart who accomplished the double five and two times, respectively, and most recently Kurt Busch in 2014.
The double is considered one of the toughest challenges in motorsport due to the mental and physical demands of driving 1,100 miles in a single day, overcoming the differences between open-wheel and stock cars and managing a gruelling travel schedule.
“I don’t just want to be known as the greatest NASCAR driver of all time or the greatest sprint car driver of all time, I want to be known as a guy who can get in every type of car and excel at each job,” Larson told NASCAR in 2021.
Castroneves, one of just four drivers to win the Indy 500 four times, is hoping to make history with his 24th victory at the Brickyard on Sunday.
If the Brazilian wins on Sunday he will become the only driver to have won the race five times, but starting from the seventh row will be an uphill task.
At 49, Castroneves is bidding to become the oldest 500-mile race winner in history and has no plans to retire from racing anytime soon.
Michael Conroy/AP
Castroneves is already a legend in Indianapolis.
“(Race at 50) has always been a goal of mine, but it wasn’t just about ‘I’m going to do it,'” he told IndyStar. “I feel like we’re still very competitive and that’s what I want to do, not just win, but get people excited here.”
“For now, I want to continue doing that because that’s what I know best. I’m sure that will change, but I don’t see that happening in the near future.”
