After a year of preparation and ten intense days of practice, the green flag for the 110th Indianapolis 500 will wave this coming Sunday! Can Helio Castroneves claim a historic fifth Indy 500 victory, can Alex Palou make it back-to-back wins, or will we see a surprise winner? One thing is certain: one of the 33 starters will make history! We've put together everything you need to know ahead of the race.

The Indianapolis 500

First IndyCar race: 1911
Number of races held: 109
Number of different winners: 76
Last year’s winner: Alex Palou (2025)
Lap record: Arie Luyendyk in 1996, 37.6160 seconds
Most successful driver: A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967 en 1977), Al Unser Sr. (1970, 1971, 1978 en 1987), Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988 en 1991) and Hélio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009 en 2021) all won the Indianapolis 500 four times.

The 2026 Race

Race length: 200 laps / 500 mile (804,6 km)
Tires: 31 sets Firestone tires for the entire event
Green flag: Sunday, May 24, 12:45 PM ET
Expected race duration: 3 hours
Number of participants: 33

Entry List for the Indianapolis 500

Full Entry List for the Indy 500

Overview of All Indy 500 Liveries

Schedule for the Indianapolis 500

Friday, May 22 – Carb Day
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM ET – Final Practice (Carb Day Warm-Up)
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM ET – Pit Stop Challenge

Sunday, May 24 – Race Day
10:30 AM ET – Cars roll to the grid
11:47 AM ET – Driver introductions
12:18 PM ET – Indy 500 pre-race ceremonies: invocation & national anthem
12:29 PM ET – Command: “Drivers to your cars”
12:38 PM ET – Command to start engines
12:45 PM ET – Green flag for the 110th Indianapolis 500!

Indianapolis 500 on TV

USA
Carb Day – Practice: Friday, May 22 at 11:00AM ET on FS1
Carb Day – Oscar Mayer Wienie 500: Friday, May 22 at 2:00PM ET on FOX
Carb Day – Pitstop Competition: Friday, May 22 at 2:30PM ET on FOX
Race Day – Pre-Race Show: Sunday, May 24 at 10:00AM ET on FOX
Race Day – Race broadcast: Sunday, May 24 at 12:30PM ET on FOX

Canada
Carb Day – Practice: Friday, May 22 at 11:00AM ET on TSN+
Carb Day – Pitstop Competition: Friday, May 22 at 2:30PM ET on TSN+
Race Day – Pre-Race Show: Sunday, May 24 at 10:00AM ET on TSN3 & TSN+
Race Day – Race broadcast: Sunday, May 24 at 12:30PM ET on TSN3 & TSN+

UK
Carb Day – Practice: No broadcast
Carb Day – Pitstop Competition: Friday, May 22 at 8:10PM BST on Sky Sports F1
Race Day – Pre-Race Show: Sunday, May 24 – 3:00-3:40PM BST & 4:30-5:00PM BST on Sky Sports F1
Race Day – Race broadcast: Sunday, May 24 – 6:20-7:30PM BST on Sky Sports F1 (no full race coverage)

Australia
Carb Day: No broadcasts
Race Day – Pre-Race Show: Monday, May 25 at 12:00AM AEST on Stan Sport
Race Day – Race broadcast: Monday, May 25 at 2:30AM AEST on Stan Sport

New Zealand
Carb Day – Practice: Saturday, May 23 at 3:00AM NZST on Sky Sport 5
Carb Day – Pitstop Competition: Saturday, May 23 at 6:30AM NZST on Sky Sport 5
Race Day – Pre-Race Show: Monday, May 25 at 2:00AM NZST on Sky Sport 3
Race Day – Race broadcast: Monday, May 25 at 4:30AM NZST on Sky Sport 3

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Weather Forecast

It appears that rain could have an impact on the upcoming race weekend. Rain is forecast for Carb Day, with showers expected to move over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway around midday local time. As a result, it remains to be seen how much the practice session and later in the day the annual pit stop competition will be affected. With temperatures around 68°F (20°C), relatively cool conditions are expected for Friday.

For Race Day, temperatures are expected to rise to 79°F (26°C), making it significantly warmer than during practice and Carb Day. Conditions in Indianapolis are expected to remain mostly cloudy, with a chance of scattered showers. Forecasts regarding how much rain will fall, and exactly when, still vary considerably.

Carb Day – Friday, May 21: 68°F (20°C), cloudy with showers developing around midday
Race Day – Sunday, May 23: 79°F (26°C), mostly cloudy with a chance of scattered showers

Source: AccuWeather.com

Historical Results

Number of Pole Positions
1. Scott Dixon – 5
2. Hélio Castroneves – 4
3. Ed Carpenter – 3
= Alex Palou – 1
= Scott McLaughlin – 1

Number of Wins
1. Hélio Castroneves - 4
2. Takuma Sato – 2
= Josef Newgarden – 2
4. Will Power – 1
= Scott Dixon – 1
= Alexander Rossi – 1
= Marcus Ericsson – 1
= Alex Palou – 1

Number of Top 3 Finishes
1. Hélio Castroneves – 8
2. Scott Dixon – 6
3. Takuma Sato – 3
= Pato O’Ward – 3
5. Will Power – 2
= Alexander Rossi – 2
= Graham Rahal – 2
= Marcus Ericsson – 2
= Josef Newgarden – 2
= Alex Palou – 2
11. Ed Carpenter – 1
= Santino Ferrucci – 1
= David Malukas – 1

Average Finish Position
1. Santino Ferrucci – 6,14 (7 races)
2. Pato O'Ward – 6,83 (6 races)
3. Alex Palou – 8,17 (6 races)
4. Christian Rasmussen – 9,00 (2 races)
5. Helio Castroneves – 9,12 (25 races)
6. Scott Dixon – 10,96 (23 races)
7. Alexander Rossi – 11,20 (10 races)
8. Louis Foster – 12,00 (1 race)
9. Josef Newgarden – 12,86 (14 races)
10. Nolan Siegel – 13,00 (1 race)
11. Christian Lundgaard – 14,25 (4 races)
12. Will Power – 14,33 (18 races)
13. Takuma Sato – 15,44 (16 races)
14. David Malukas – 15,67 (3 races)
15. Ed Carpenter – 15,95 (22 races)
16. Ryan Hunter-Reay – 16,41 (17 races)
17. Rinus VeeKay – 17,83 (6 races)
18. Graham Rahal – 17,83 (18 races)
19. Conor Daly – 18,00 (11 races)
20. Felix Rosenqvist – 18,43 (7 races)
21. Marcus Ericsson – 19,00 (7 races)
22. Jack Harvey – 19,50 (8 races)
23. Scott McLaughlin – 19,80 (5 races)
24. Kyle Kirkwood – 21,00 (4 races)
25.Kyffin Simpson – 23,00 (2 races)
26.Sting Ray Robb – 23,33 (3 races)
27.Marcus Armstrong – 24,00 (2 races)
28.Romain Grosjean – 26,67 (3 races)
29.Katherine Legge – 27,50 (4 races)