The Indianapolis 500 is “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” and the 110th running takes place this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
From Friday’s festivities to Sunday’s race, FOX will broadcast all the event’s exciting moments.
Here’s what to know about the 2026 Indy 500. This will come in handy if you’re new to racing or just need a refresher on how everything works.
If you’re looking for more racing details ahead of the Indy 500, we’ve got you covered there too.
Basics Of The Indy 500
The Indy 500 will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the suburb of Speedway, just outside of Indianapolis. The green flag for 2026 is approximately set for 12:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 24.
One lap around this oval track is 2.5 miles long, meaning the 500-mile race consists of 200 laps. Alex Palou, the 2025 Indy 500 winner, finished the race in two hours, 57 minutes. The average run time is around three hours.
Who Are The Indy 500 Announcers? How To Watch
You can watch the Indy 500 pre-race and race broadcasts on FOX and stream the broadcasts on FOX One, FOX Sports.com and the FOX Sports App.
Coverage for the Indy 500 begins at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 24, on FOX with the pre-race show. Veteran host Chris Myers will lead the pre-race coverage, with former INDYCAR drivers Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick alongside him.
Danica Patrick and Townsend Bell at the 2025 Indy 500. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Will Buxton, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be on the call for the live broadcast of the race, while Jamie Little, Kevin Lee and Georgia Henneberry report from the pits. FOX Sports’ Tom Rinaldi will be on site with features and interviews.
FOX Sports’ “First Things First” will make an appearance. Rob Gronkowski will be part of the all-day party in the Snake Pit (more on that later) on Sunday.
Who Are The Top Betting Favorites To Win The Indy 500?
- Alex Palou: 5/2 (bet $10 to win $35 total)
- Pato O’Ward: 13/2 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
- David Malukas: 8/1 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Who Gained The Indy 500 Pole?
Alex Palou, the reigning Indy 500 champ, won pole position for this year’s Indy 500 throughout qualifying at IMS on Sunday, Could 17. Alexander Rossi will be part of Palou on the entrance row, and David Malukas will begin behind Palou in third place. Palou additionally earned pole place on the Indy 500 in 2023 however completed the race in fourth place.
[Read More: 4 Takeways From Alex Palou Snagging Indy 500 Pole]
This time round, nonetheless, Palou became the first defending Indy 500 champ to win the pole the next 12 months since Hélio Castroneves did it in 2010.
What Is The Indy 500 Trophy?
The Indy 500 trophy is named the Borg-Warner Trophy — named after creator and sponsor, automotive provides firm BorgWarner. It stands at 5-feet-4, weighs 110 kilos and is valued at round $3.5 million. The trophy is fitted with a sculpted face and engraved identify of every winner, courting again to Ray Harroun in 1911.
Previous Indy 500 profitable drivers within the 2026 Indy 500 area (Photograph by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Photos)
What Do The Flags Imply At The Indy 500?
The flags on the Indy 500, and in motorsports usually, are much like visitors lights.
Inexperienced: Go
Yellow: Warning, when all drivers should decelerate
Crimson: All drivers should cease
Black: A driver should cease and go to the pits
Black-and-white checkered: Finish of the race
Earlier Indy 500 Winners In The 2026 Area
The Indy 500 area is all the time stacked, and this 12 months isn’t any exception. There are 9 earlier Indy 500 winners within the area — together with three multi-time winners — and 5 earlier INDYCAR champions.
Listed here are the previous Indy 500 champs, and the 12 months(s) they gained, competing for the 2026 crown:
Alex Palou (2025), Josef Newgarden (2023, 2024), Marcus Ericsson (2022), Hélio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021), Takuma Sato (2017, 2020), Will Energy (2018), Alexander Rossi (2016), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014) and Scott Dixon (2008).
Helio Castroneves is trying to turn into the primary driver with 5 Indianapolis 500 victories. He is certainly one of 4 drivers to win the race 4 instances. (Photograph by Brandon Badraoui/Lumen by way of Getty Photos)
Who Are The 2026 Indy 500 Rookies?
There are 4 rookie drivers within the Indy 500 together with, Jacob Abel, Caio Collet, Dennis Hauger and Mick Schumacher. Collet initially did the most effective in qualifying tenth, however he was dropped to the again of the sector after a technical violation on his automotive. Schumacher (twenty seventh), Hauger (twenty ninth) and Abel (thirtieth) will all begin towards the again of the pack.
What Is Carb Day?
Carb Day is the ultimate day of hype earlier than the weekend. On Friday, Indianapolis Motor Speedway will play house to a slew of festivities. The day begins at 11 a.m. ET with the ultimate Indy 500 apply.
At 2 p.m. ET, there’s the well-known Oscar Mayer Wienie 500.
And after the Indy 500 Pit Cease Problem, there will probably be performances from Switchfoot and Counting Crows.
Why Is Indianapolis Motor Speedway Nicknamed The Brickyard?
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is nicknamed the Brickyard as a result of, in 1909, it was solely repaved with bricks.
It was initially an asphalt-based racetrack, however that resulted in harmful and deadly accidents. After greater than 25 years of racing on bricks, the IMS returned to an asphalt observe. The observe stays majority asphalt, aside from a center portion of the straightaway on the start-finish of the race — a line of bricks that the winner and workforce kiss to honor custom after ending the Indy 500.
What Are Some Indy 500 Traditions?
Josef Newgarden celebrates after profitable the 2024 Indy 500. (Photograph by Justin Casterline/Getty Photos)
“Again Residence Once more in Indiana” shouldn’t be the official state anthem, however contemplating the track’s reputation, some would possibly argue that it might be. It is a 75-year custom on the Indy 500 that was first carried out in 1946 by James Melton to rejoice troopers returning house after World Conflict II.
Winners of the Indy 500 douse themselves with a bottle of milk. That custom started in 1936, when winner Louis Meyer was introduced with a bottle of buttermilk following the race. A dairy trade government pushed to show this right into a yearly customized, however it did not stick till after the Indy 500 returned from its World Conflict II hiatus in 1946. Now, annually, two Indiana dairy farmers are current in Winner’s Circle. One executes the handoff of the ice-cold milk to the profitable driver, whereas the opposite delivers bottles of milk to the profitable chief mechanic and workforce proprietor. Previous to the race, every racer submits their preference for type of milk, selecting between complete, 2 p.c and skim.
[INDY 500: 7 Things To Know About The Indy 500 Milk Tradition]
Just like being drowned in milk, as talked about above, the winners kiss the bricks. After a race, profitable drivers and their groups kneel on the start-finish line to kiss the observe’s uncovered 3-foot vast, 100-year-old strip of unique brick paving. This custom debuted 30 years in the past in 1996 when crew chief Todd Parrott and driver Dale Jarrett kissed the bricks after profitable the race. Ricky Rudd adopted go well with in 1997, and thus the custom caught.
Who Is Performing At The Indy 500?
The Indy 500 is not only a race, it is a communal expertise full of festivities and music performances. As for the artists, Grammy-winner Jordin Sparks will sing the nationwide anthem previous to Sunday’s race. Then there’s Jim Cornelison, who will sing “Again Residence Once more in Indiana.”
Together with Friday night time live shows that includes Switchfoot and Counting Crows, there will probably be Sunday performances on the Snake Pit that includes the well-known DJ Zedd.
What Is The Snake Pit?
The Snake Pit is an all-day live performance that’s held within the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. Grammy-award profitable DJ Zedd headlines the lineup. Crankdat, Wooli, it’s murph and Wax Motif will even carry out on the live performance on race day through the a hundred and tenth Indy 500.
Who Are The Indy 500 Dignitaries?
Indiana soccer coach Curt Cignetti will probably be driving the tempo automotive, which is the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X. Actor Brendan Fraser will provoke the beginning of the race, waving the inexperienced flag because the honorary starter. WNBA and Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was named the grand marshal.
