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The “greatest spectacle in racing” is scheduled for Sunday with the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The stories abound as former NASCAR champion and current points leader Kyle Larson makes his IndyCar debut, Roger Penske aims to add to his illustrious trophy case and Helio Castroneves seeks a record fifth Indy 500 victory.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the weekend at Speedway, Indiana:
How to watch the 2024 Indy 500?
The Indianapolis 500 will air live on Sunday, May 26 on NBC, Peacock, the NBC Sports app and NBCSports.com.
Pre-race show: 11am – 12:30pm Eastern Time
Race coverage: 12:30 – 4 pm ET (green flag at 12:45 pm ET)
News and stories entering the Indy 500
The dominant narrative during “The Month of May” at the Speedway is Kyle Larson’s attempt at “The Double”: running the combined 600 laps and 1,100 miles of the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. The weather can wreak havoc on that effort (more on that later), but if he starts both races, he will be only the fifth driver to do so.
Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg wrote earlier in the week about the top stories from the Indy 500, including:
Team Penske seeks 20th victory: The series and speedway owner has quite the collection of trophies and, after sweeping all three front row spots this year, has an excellent chance of reaching 20 race wins.
Honda’s challenge to Chevrolet: The Chevys took the top eight spots in the standings and had a clear advantage when the engines were revved to maximum; Can a Honda in racing version unseat them?
Former winners in the field: This year’s field features eight previous winners, including four-time winner Helio Castroneves. The Brazilian legend could break the record for most wins in the event, which would elevate him above the likes of AJ Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser.
Top drivers and odds for the 2024 Indy 500
Defending champion Josef Newgarden will start third on the grid and has the best odds entering the weekend at 5-1. according to BetMGM.
Best odds of winning
Josef Newgarden +500
Scott McLaughlin +550
Kyle Larson +675
Willpower +700
Alejandro Rossi +800
Duck O’Ward +850
The six betting favorites are either Penske or Arrow McLaren, with Indy 500 rookie and current NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kyle Larson sporting a +675 moneyline heading into his first IndyCar start.
What are the traditions of the Indy 500?
As the longest continuous automobile race in the United States (beginning in 1911), there are many traditions that have built up over the years. The most notable are:
Singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana” just before the order to the fire trucks.
The Gordon Pipers bagpipe group of Indianapolis plays the Borg-Warner Trophy on the track before the race and carries the winner to victory lane afterward.
Starting grid three cars wide (as opposed to the usual two for all other races).
The winner kisses the three feet of bricks that mark the finish line of the circuit.
The winner drinks (or drinks with) a liter of milk of their choice: whole, 2% or skim.
The winner receives a crown with 33 orchids, which represent the 33 cars entered.
Starting grid for the 2024 Indy 500
Scott McLaughlin (3), Team Penske Chevrolet, 234.220 mph
Will Power (12), Team Penske Chevrolet, 233.917 mph
Josef Newgarden (2), Team Penske Chevrolet, 233.808 mph
Alexander Rossi (7), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, 233.090 mph
Kyle Larson (17), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, 232.846 mph
Santino Ferrucci (14), AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet, 232.692 mph
Rinus Veekay (21), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, 232.610 mph
Duck O’Ward (5), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, 232.584 mph
Felix Rosenqvist (60), Meyer Shank Racing Chevrolet, 232.305 mph
Takuma Sato (75), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, 232.171 mph
Kyle Kirkwood (27), Andretti Global Honda, 23.993 mph
Ryan Hunter-Reay (23), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet, 230.567 mph
Colton Herta (26), Andretti Global/Curb-Abajanian Honda, 232.316 mph
Alex Palou (10), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, 232.306 mph
Callum Ilott (6), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, 232.230 mph
Marcus Armstrong (11), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, 232.017 mph
Ed Carpenter (20), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, 232.017 mph
Kyffin Simpson (4), Chip Ganasi Racing Honda, 231.948 mph
Marco Andretti (98), Andretti Herta/Marco & Curb-Abajanian Honda, 231.890 mph
Helio Castroneves (06), Meyer Shank/urb-Abajanian Honda, 231.871 mph
Scott Dixon (9), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, 231.851 mph
Agustín Canapino (75), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, 231.847 mph
Sting Ray Robb (41), AJ Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet, 231.826 mph
Christian Rasmussen (33), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, 231.682 mph
Tom Blomquist (66), Meyer Shank Racing Honda, 231.578 mph
Romain Grosjean (77), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, 231.514 mph
Linus Lundqvist (8), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, 231.506 mph
Christian Lundgaard (45), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, 231.465 mph
Conor Daly (24), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet, 231.243 mph
Pietro Fittipaldi (30), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, 231.100 mph
Katherine Legge (51), Dale Coyne Racing Honda, 230.092 mph
Marcus Ericsson (28), Andretti Global Honda, 230.027 mph
Graham Rahal (15), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, 229,974
Weather forecast for the 2024 Indy 500
Its not cute. Sunday asks Thunderstorms with a 62% chance of rain., posing a major threat to Kyle Larson’s attempt to run 1,100 miles in one day. Any significant delay in the green flag for the Indy 500 would likely result in Larson flying to his “day job” driving the No. 5 Hendrick Racing Chevrolet in the series he won outright in 2021.
“Yeah, it doesn’t look very promising for Indy on Sunday…if it’s going to rain, I hope it rains all day,” Larson told reporters earlier in the week. “That way it can be delayed until Monday or something, and then it’s not going to rain in Charlotte, I just hope it doesn’t rain, and we can get there Sunday night and then come here on Monday.”