The 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is on May 24, 2026. There are a number of unique and exciting story lines heading into the race which include nine former winners entered, an opportunity for chance to be the only five-time winner (Helio Castroneves), doing the double (Indy 500 and Coca Cola 600 NASCAR race for Katherine Legge being the first-ever female to attempt) and much, much more! The “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is the world’s largest single day sporting event and for the second year in a row is sold out for the grandstand seats. When you think about the great teams like Penske, Ganassi, Andretti, and McLaren, don’t forget to leave out smaller teams that have a great shot at winning like Dreyer and Reinbold, ECR, Meyer Shank Racing and more. Teams like D&R compete in only one race a year and it’s the Indy 500. They spend all year massaging those cars and focusing on the details to have a car ready to roll into Victory Lane. Conor Daly has been fast all month for the team and always runs strong at Indy. Santino Ferrucci has finished well multiple times at Indy and is looking to drink the milk and kiss the bricks for his team owner, AJ Foyt, and will be in the most resplendent car on the grid (including his driver’s suit) with a fabulous stars and stripes motif.
There are so many teams and drivers capable, that it’s hard to keep track. Could the 500 provide a rookie surprise? Mick Schumacher (who’s dad won at Indy five times in F1) qualified a strong fourth at the Phoenix oval earlier this year and ran strong there. Dennis Hauger dominated the Indy NXT Series last year and has already qualified in the Firestone Fast Six at two races this year. Graham Rahal, if he wins, would be on the 40th anniversary of his dad winning the race. His teammate, Takuma Sato, has won this race twice and always runs strong here.
The days leading up to the race were clean on track with only Sato just brushing the wall with his right rear tire – until the final practice on Monday before Carburetion Day when former winner and second place qualifier this year, Alexander Rossi, spun and hit the wall hard. Pato O’Ward spun in avoidance, but hit Rossi anyway. Further back, Romain Grosjean also spun and smacked the wall. Rossi and O’Ward will be in backup cars for the race but will keep their original start positions. At least that’s the plan. Rossi hit so hard that he had to get some surgical outpatient procedures on his finger and was seen afterwards with a big cast on his right foot/ankle. If he can’t drive, Callum Illot, is in Indy and is a possible backup driver.
One more day of practice (Carb Day) is scheduled to take place on Friday, however showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast. Saturday and Sunday (race day) also are bleak as far as the forecast is concerned. Memorial Day, however is forecast to be dry so who knows how many laps they’ll get in on Sunday. One key point to keep in mind is that if the race has gone past half-distance, they can call it early and crown a winner. Who will win? Last year’s winner (and series champ) Alex Palou is on pole and nothing seems to be slowing him down. He’s an easy pick. However, many things can happen in 500 miles. There are so many cars and drivers capable of winning and the crews need to be perfect over the expected seven or eight pit stops. Depending on strategy, just about anyone in the field can get the job done. Helio Castroneves (4x), Takuma Sato (2x), Josef Newgarden (2x), Marcus Ericsson, Scott Dixon, Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi and Alex Palou round out the former winners. Stay tuned on your local Fox TV station or listen in on the Sirius XM IndyCar channel, or on the NTT IndyCar Series App!
By Larry Mason
Copyright © 2026 Larry Mason
Photos courtesy of Penske Entertainment (Photographers below)