IndyCar
109th Indianapolis 500 Preview
SPEEDWAY, IN (May 25, 2025) – There are always storylines heading into the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and this year is no exception along with a little added intrigue. Here’s what I think are the storylines to keep an eye on in ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’:
Alex Palou show in 2025: Chip Ganassi Racing’s Palou is off to the best start in INDYCAR in 60-years, winning four of the first five races and finishing second in the other. A.J. Foyt won the first five races in 1964. Palou and the No. 10 DHL Honda team hold a 97-point lead in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship standings. Palou however has never won on an oval. His best finish at Indianapolis is 2nd in 2021, when he followed Helio Castroneves across the yard of bricks.
Helio Castroneves chasing history: Castroneves won his fourth Indy 500 in 2021 with Meyer Shank Racing. Castroneves’ other wins, 2001, 2002 and 2009 were with Team Penske. Castroneves was 7th quickest in Carb Day on Friday posting a fast lap of 224.235, which was right behind teammate Felix Rosenqvist’s 224.416. Castroneves starts 22nd and if he can pull off the victory, he would be the oldest Indy 500 winner in history at 50-years-old. Al Unser Sr. became the oldest winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1987 at age 47 years, 360 days old.
Josef Newgarden going for 3-in-a-row: Newgarden could make history today if he were able to pull off his third victory in-a-row. Newgarden beat Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward last year in an epic battle over the final few laps. Newgarden won his first Baby Borg in 2023, a controversial win because it was the first time the series had a 2-lap shootout for the win. Newgarden will have his work cutout for him starting from the 32nd position after Team Penske was penalized after failing technical inspection prior to pole qualifying. O’Ward told me on Friday that Newgarden’s car is ‘a missile’.
Pato O’Ward seeking first 500 win: O’Ward, the series most popular driver, is looking for his first 500 victory after finishing 2nd in 2024, 2nd in 2022, 4th in 2021 and 6th in 2020. O’Ward has finished second twice this season (Thermal Club & Sonsio Grand Prix) and will roll off from the outside of the front run after qualifying third. O’Ward sits fourth in the Championship standings, 100-points behind Palou.
Takuma Sato looking for 3rd 500 win: Sato is starting from the 2nd position in the middle of the front row, with O’Ward on the outside and rookie Robert Shwartzman on the inside. Sato started in the Top 4 for his previous two wins, 2017 & 2020. This will be the only start of the season for Sato, who is not running for the Championship. Sato was 2nd in the final practice on Friday at 225.415, but suffered a mechanical failure late in the session.
Scott Dixon vying for 2nd 500 win: Dixon is this generations most successful driver winning six Championships and amassing 58-wins, both of which are second all-time to A.J. Foyt. Dixon won the 500 in 2008 but a second victory has been elusive considering he’s led 677 career laps, the all-time event record. Dixon is also second to Rick Mears in ‘500’ pole wins (6-to-5). Dixon and the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda finished third in Carb Day’s final practice, posting a fast lap of 225.200 mph.
Kyle Larson’s 2nd attempt at ‘The Double’: Larson, for the second straight year, is attempting to become the fifth driver to complete the Memorial Day “double” of racing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day, joining John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch. The last driver to complete the feat was Busch in 2014. Larson earned “500” Rookie of the Year honors last year after qualifying fifth and finishing 18th.
Rookie Robert Shwartzman on pole: Shartzman of PREMA Racing shocked the racing world by winning the pole last weekend. He is the is the first rookie to win the pole since Teo Fabi in 1983. Shwartzman, born in Tel-Aviv Israel is also the first Israel native to compete in the race. Just 10-rookie drivers have won in over a century with Alexander Rossi being the last in 2016.
NOTES & TIDBITS
- There are eight former Indianapolis 500 winners in the starting field: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021), Scott Dixon (2008), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016), Takuma Sato (2017, 2020), Will Power (2018), Marcus Ericsson (2022), Josef Newgarden (2023, 2024). Between them, they have 13 victories. The record for most former winners in the field is 10, in 1992. The fewest, other than the inaugural race in 1911, is zero in 1912, 1913, 1915 and 1916.
- The field average speed of 231.207 mph is the third fastest in history. The fastest is 232.184 in 2023, followed by 231.943 in 2024.
- The deepest starting position for a race winner is 28th, by Ray Harroun in 1911 and Louis Meyer in 1936.
- Casey Irsay Foyt, who represents the next generation of Indianapolis Colts’ ownership along with her sisters Carlie Irsay-Gordon and Kalen Jackson, will serve as honorary starter. Irsay’s father Jim passed away Wednesday May 21 at the age of 65.
- The field includes five past INDYCAR SERIES champions: Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Newgarden, two-time reigning champion Palou and Will Power.
Live Race Day coverage begins on FOX, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network at 10 a.m. (ET), with the green flag set for 12:45 p.m.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 2, 2026) – Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon is leaving Chip Ganassi Racing following the conclusion of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Season the team announced in a statement Thursday before the series races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex this weekend.
MADISON, IL (Sunday, June 7, 2026) – The king of World Wide Technology Raceway has returned to his throne.
Josef Newgarden won for the sixth time in 11 starts at the 1.25-mile oval just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, enduring two rain delays during the race Sunday night to win a feverish, fascinating Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline. The victory was Newgarden’s second this season, as he also won in March at the 1-mile Phoenix Raceway oval.
SEE: Race Results
The two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion has captured 15 of his 34 career victories on ovals shorter than 1.5 miles. This win came as he was still recovering from a lower leg injury suffered two weeks ago in the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
“Great job to the group,” Newgarden said. “Just a methodical night. We had a good car to start. It wasn’t perfect, but it really came to us just when we needed it. It was a track position day.”
Newgarden, who started eighth, drove his No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by .6613 of a second over the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of fellow Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, who still managed a season-best finish. Christian Rasmussen finished a season-best third in the No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet of ECR.
Rinus VeeKay continued the trend of season-best finishes by ending up fourth in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, with Scott McLaughlin rounding out the top five in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet that featured a throwback livery honoring the 2009 Indianapolis 500-winning car driven by Helio Castroneves.
Newgarden took the lead for good on Lap 221 after a spirited duel with Rasmussen that began almost immediately after a restart on Lap 212. Rasmussen dove under Newgarden in Turn 1 for the lead on Lap 215, but Newgarden drove past Rasmussen in Turn 3 for the top spot on Lap 219.
One lap later, Rasmussen again drove under Newgarden for the lead in Turn 1, one of his race-high 38 on-track passes. But Newgarden countered again in Turn 3 one lap later for a lead he would not surrender. It was the most decisive of an event-record 268 passes for position in this frantic race.
Ericsson sped under Rasmussen for second in Turn 3 on Lap 225 and set his sights on Newgarden. But one lap later, a plume of smoke trailed from the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet fielded by A.J. Foyt Enterprises for Caio Collet, who was enjoying the best race of his rookie season by leading seven laps and running consistently in the top five in the second half of the race.
That triggered the last of four caution periods, with another wrinkle to concern Newgarden and the lead pack. A host of trailing cars entered the pits for fresh Firestone Firehawk tires, while the top eight cars stayed out.
McLaughlin made a spirited charge toward the front on the restart on Lap 234, climbing from ninth to fifth in just four laps. But the Kiwi and the other cars that pitted for tires didn’t have enough traction from the fresher rubber or speed to challenge the top four down the stretch.
Meanwhile, Newgarden maintained a gap of around one-half of a second over Ericsson over the closing 10 laps and never was threatened.
“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Marcus,” Newgarden said. “I thought he was incredibly strong. I don’t really think there was much between us, so it was a matter of who was going to get position on each other, and that was going to seal the deal. He drove a great race.”
Said Ericsson, seeking his first win since March 2023 at St. Petersburg: “I’m very proud of our performance, but at the same time it’s tough to lead that many laps … I thought we had it at some points, but Josef is the best in the business on these short ovals.”
Two red-flag periods totaling 50 minutes kept strategists’ heads spinning on the pit wall as various permutations and fuel options were considered.
Chip Ganassi Racing rolled the dice earlier in the race by calling NTT P1 Award winner Alex Palou and his teammate Scott Dixon to the pits to top off fuel as soon as the pits opened after the first red flag period, which lasted 38 minutes. The hope was to get enough caution to need one fewer fuel stop than rivals or be out front when a race-ending rain shower arrived.
But neither happened, and Palou paid the price dearly.
The four-time series champion entered the pits on Lap 203, two laps after Dixon had to enter a closed pit for emergency service as his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was running out of fuel. Palou’s No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda sputtered when it entered the pit lane and ran out of fuel, and he was forced to coast to his pit box for a stop made even longer when his engine wouldn’t refire.
Palou’s car restarted, and he returned to the track to finish 17th. The two short oval races this season have been Palou’s Achilles’ heel. He finished 24th after contact in March at Phoenix, and that result and tonight’s disappointing showing are his only finishes outside of the top seven all season.
Reigning series champion Palou’s lead in the standings was trimmed to 49 points over Kyle Kirkwood, who finished sixth in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, June 21 at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
MADISON, IL (June 6, 2026) – Alex Palou and the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing team are continuing to lay down fast laps when it counts with Palou earning the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The pole position is Palou’s fourth straight NTT P1 Pole award.
“It was incredible and so much fun, especially that first lap,” said Palou, who turned a two-lap average speed of 174.353 mph in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “The #10 Honda Honda had so much speed. The team I have around me is incredible. My car was on rails today; it was incredible.”
David Malukas starts second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet after a two-lap average of 173.244 mph. Malukas could only look on in disbelief as Palou knocked him off the pole.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood starts third in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda following a two-lap average of 173.206 mph.
“ It was a good run for us,” said Kirkwood, the 2025 WWWT Raceway winner. “P3 is a really good starting spot and we can definitely do some great things from there. Last year we won from 10th, so it’s nice to be able to be at the front.”
2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Felix Rosenqvist starts fourth in the No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin will start 5th in the No. 3 Dex Imaging Chevrolet.
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon starts 7th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda and CGR’s Kyffin Simpson will start 14th in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda.
Television coverage of Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 begins at 8 PM CT / 9 PM ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
Say it ain’t so Scott – Dixon leaving Chip Ganassi Racing
Macri Romps At Hagerstown
Dietz and Shultz Get Dramatic Wins at Port Royal
Macri and Pauch Get Grandview Glory
Dietz Doubles Down Speedweek Style; Adam Edkin Scores First Career Sportsman Win
Alex Palou wins fourth straight pole position at World Wide Technology Raceway
Rough day for Wright at Michigan
Denny Hamlin grabs the NASCAR Cup pole at Pocono Raceway
Heim holds off Honeycutt to win Truck race at Michigan
