2025 Indianapolis 500: Where to watch, stream, starting lineup, race preview, pick to win Indy 500

There are a select few places in the entire world that are famous for auto racing to the point that they are synonymous with the sport. Mention Le Mans, and you are surely referring to the Circuit de la Sarthe and the world’s greatest 24 Hour endurance race. Say Daytona, and it’s likely that you’re referring to Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR’s signature racetrack, and its greatest race. And talk of Indianapolis, and it will almost certainly bring the world’s most famous 500 Mile Race to the forefront of the mind and imagination.

From its beginnings as a yard of bricks laid just past the turn of the 20th century, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has become one of the world’s greatest racetracks, and each May it has lured drivers from all corners of the globe to contest a 500 Mile contest like no other. From 1911 onwards — through war and peace, pandemic and prosperity — thousands of racers have strapped into a race car to try and pursue the glory of a win in the Indianapolis 500. It is for this goal, and a permanent place on the Borg-Warner Trophy which serves a living testament to each Indy 500 winner, that drivers have committed themselves, devoted their spirit to, and even have given their very lives for.

For the 109th time, 33 drivers from the stars of the IndyCar Series to stars and champions in other divisions will take to the starting grid for the Indianapolis 500, all seeking to be the first to lay rubber to the Yard of Bricks at the end of 200 laps and savor the sweet taste of milk and glory in Victory Lane.

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Steven Taranto

Where to watch the 109th Indianapolis 500

When: Sun., May 25, 12:45 p.m. ET
Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway — Speedway, Ind.
TV: Fox
Stream: fubo (try for free)

Indy 500 starting lineup

Time trial qualifying at Indianapolis ended in a massive upset, as rookie driver Robert Shwartzman and first-year IndyCar team Prema Racing won the pole with a four-lap average of 232.790 MPH in the Fast Six on Sunday. Shwartzman, a former reserve driver for Ferrari’s F1 team, is the first Indy 500 rookie to start on the pole since Teo Fabi did so in 1983, while Prema Racing — an Italian racing team that runs several Formula 1 junior programs — is the first rookie team to win the pole since Mayer Motor Racing did so with driver Tom Sneva.

Schwartzman will be flanked on the front row by two-time Indy 500 champion Takuma Sato and last year’s runner-up Pato O’Ward. Sato is one of three former champions who will start in the first three rows, with 2008 winner Scott Dixon in fourth and 2022 champion Marcus Ericsson in ninth.

1. #83 – Robert Shwartzman (R)
2. #75 – Takuma Sato (W)
3. #5 – Pato O’Ward
4. #9 – Scott Dixon (W)
5. #60 – Felix Rosenqvist
6. #10 – Alex Palou
7. #4 – David Malukas
8. #7 – Christian Lundgaard
9. #28 – Marcus Ericsson (W)
10. #3 – Scott McLaughlin
11. #76 – Conor Daly
12. #20 – Alexander Rossi (W)
13. #8 – Kyffin Simpson
14. #33 – Ed Carpenter
15. #14 – Santino Ferrucci
16. #30 – Devlin DeFrancesco
17. #77 – Sting Ray Robb
18. #21 – Christian Rasmussen
19. #17 – Kyle Larson
20. #45 – Louis Foster
21. #90 – Callum Ilott
22. #06 – Helio Castroneves
23. #27 – Kyle Kirkwood
24. #6 – Nolan Siegel
25. #23 – Ryan Hunter-Reay
26. #24 – Jack Harvey
27. #26 – Colton Herta
28. #15 – Graham Rahal
29. #98 – Marco Andretti
30. #66 – Marcus Armstrong
31. #18 – Rinus VeeKay
32. #2 – Josef Newgarden
33. #12 – Will Power

Failed to Qualify: Jacob Abel (R)

(R) – Denotes rookie

(W) – Denotes past winner

Indy 500 storylines to watch

• When the Month of May opened, all eyes were on Josef Newgarden’s quest to become the first driver in Indy 500 history to win the race three years in a row. But his pursuit of history has been marred by a scandal at the Speedway that has put his team directly in the crosshairs of a challenge to the very integrity of IndyCar’s most accomplished organization.

  Prior to the start of Sunday’s time trials, Newgarden and Will Power’s Team Penske cars were disallowed from making a qualifying attempt after it was discovered that both cars had illegal fillings in the seam of the rear attenuator, a safety device and spec part that teams are not allowed to modify. While it was at first decided that both cars would simply start in Row 4, the penalties levied to Penske became much more severe after the depth of Penske’s infractions, which included the same illegal fillings being present in Newgarden’s 2024 winning car, were made apparent.

  Newgarden and Power both start the Indianapolis 500 from the rear of the field, with their teams stripped of all points earned in qualifying and fined $100,000. The matter of the Penske penalties is made more complicated by the fact that Roger Penske also owns both IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leading to severe actions by Penske in an effort to maintain the integrity of the sport and his organization: Team Penske fired multiple top-ranking members of its organization on Wednesday, including IndyCar team president Tim Cindric, managing director Ron Ruzewski and general manager Kyle Moyer, several of whom were also implicated in a scandal last year involving an illegal push-to-pass system in Newgarden’s car at St. Petersburg.

  If the fallout from Penske’s penalties and the ensuing distraction does not make for a severe hindrance to Newgarden’s three-peat bid, the fact that he’s starting in the final row certainly will. No driver starting in Row 11 has ever gone on to win the Indy 500, as the deepest starting spot any winner has come from is 28th — a record held jointly by Ray Haroun (1911) and Louis Meyer (1936), meaning it hasn’t been done since prior to to World War II.

• One year after his Indianapolis 500 debut and doomed Double attempt, NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson returned to Indy this year looking to finally complete the Indy-Charlotte Double. Last year, Larson’s first attempt at running both the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte on the same day ended in disaster, as a rain delay at Indianapolis prevented him from making it to Charlotte in time for the start of the Coke 600 — and then more rain when he finally arrived in Charlotte ended the race prematurely and prevented him from ever getting in the No. 5 Chevrolet he drives full-time in NASCAR.

  Should the weather cooperate, Larson will try to improve on an 18th place finish in last year’s Indy 500 and become the fifth driver in history to complete the Double, joining John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch. Larson will also try to join Stewart (2001) in completing all 1,100 combined miles between the two races. In the event that the weather does not cooperate again, Larson will this time prioritize his NASCAR obligations and turn his No. 17 over to reserve driver and former Indy 500 champion Tony Kanaan.

  Larson’s second try at the Month of May has not been quite as successful as his first, as he crashed in the leadup to qualifying and then turned in a midpack time trial performance. After qualifying fifth for his debut a year ago, Larson will now start the Indy 500 from 19th starting spot this year.

• While several stars of IndyCar’s new generation like Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward and Scott McLaughlin seek their first wins in the Indianapolis 500, a legend of the Speedway is back to try and do something never done before: For the fourth time since his record-tying fourth win in 2021, Helio Castroneves looks to become the first driver to win the Indy 500 five times, which would break a tie he holds with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears and make him the winningest driver in the history of the 500 Mile Race.

  Although Castroneves’ resume is among the greatest of any who competed in IndyCar over the last quarter century, a fifth Indianapolis 500 win will be no small feat considering that he has yet to make a start in open wheel competition this season. Castroneves’ last major race came in February, when he made his long-awaited NASCAR debut in the Daytona 500. And having just turned 50 years old, Castroneves would have to become the oldest driver to ever win the Indy 500, a record Unser set when he won at 47 years old in 1987.

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Pick to win

Pato O’Ward (+500) – Last year’s Indianapolis 500 saw Pato O’Ward get his heart broken with one lap to go, as he made what would have been the winning move at the white flag had Josef Newgarden not been able to get a run and pass him back just a half lap later. Having come that close already makes O’Ward an obvious favorite going into this year’s Indy 500, as does the fact that he has become one of IndyCar’s biggest stars. O’Ward won a career-high three times last season, and already has a podium to start this year with a second place finish at The Thermal Club.

Since joining Arrow McLaren, O’Ward has consistently run at the front in the Indianapolis 500, leading 17 laps in 2021, 26 in 2022, 39 in 2023 and nine a year ago.