2025 Indianapolis 500 Preview

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2025 Indianapolis 500 Race Weekends Information

The residential Indianapolis suburb of Speedway takes center stage again with the biggest two weeks of the IndyCar Series season from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the 109th Indianapolis 500 the main attraction.

The drivers will have Practice from Tuesday, May 13 to Thursday, May 15 followed by Fast Friday on Friday, May 16, and Time Trials on Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18. On Monday, May 19 there will be another Practice with Carb Day on Friday, May 23 and the Parade on Saturday, May 24.

On Sunday, May 25 the 33-car field will rev it up for the Indianapolis 500, part of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season. Pre-race ceremonies will see Michael Strahan driving the Pace car (Chevrolet Corvette ZR1).

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden will look to make it three straight checkered flags at the Brickyard in a race that sees Alex Palou as the oddsmaker’s current favorite to win the race. Newgarden won $4,288,000 for winning the 2024 Indianapolis 500. The race will air on FOX for the first time.

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When is the 2025 Indianapolis 500?

After a two-week break, the IndyCar circuit heads to Indianapolis for Round 6 and the 2025 Indianapolis 500 from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Road Course) will also host the Sonsio Grand Prix—also known as the Grand Prix of Indianapolis—on Saturday, May 10 in Round 5 of the NTT season. May will mark the first month of a road course race with this IndyCar Grand Prix. You can still buy tickets for the 2025 Indianapolis 500 here at TicketX.

2025 NTT IndyCar Series Past Schedule and Race Winners

Honda has won the first three races of the new season with Chip Ganassi Racing (Alex Palou) and Andretti Global (Kyle Kirkwood) emerging victorious. Kirkwood was also the Pole sitter and led the most laps at the Acura Grand Prix on the Streets of Long Beach in Long Beach, California.

Here are the winners of the first three rounds of the 2025 NTT IndyCar season:

• Round 1—St Petersburg: Alex Palou (Honda)

• Round 2—Thermal Club: Alex Palou (Honda)

• Round 3—Long Beach: Kyle Kirkwood (Honda)

• Round 4—Barber: Birmingham, Alabama (May 4)

2025 IndyCar Series Upcoming Spring-Summer Schedule

• Round 5—Sonsio Grand Prix, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Road), May 10

• Round 6—Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 25

• Round 7—Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, Streets of Detroit, June 1

• Round 8—Bommarito Auto Group 500, World Wide Technology Raceway, June 15

• Round 9—XPEL Grand Prix of Road America, Road America, June 22

• Round 10—Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 6

• Round 11—Sukup IndyCar Race Weekend Race 1, Iowa Speedway, July 12

• Round 12—Sukup IndyCar Race Weekend Race 2, Iowa Speedway, July 13

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Who is Leading the IndyCar Series Circuit This Season?

After three rounds, the 2025 IndyCar Driver Standings show two-time winner (Round 1, Round 2) Alex Palou currently enjoying a comfortable 34-point lead over second-place driver Kyle Kirkwood. Here is the Top 11 heading into Round 4:

1. Alex Palou (Spain) 142 points

2. Kyle Kirkwood (USA) 108 points

3. Christian Lundgaard (Denmark) 96 points

4. Felix Rosenqvist (Sweden) 88 points

5. Scott Dixon (New Zealand) 86 points

6. Pato O‘Ward (Ireland) 80 points

7. Colton Herta (USA) 73 points

8. Scott McLaughlin (New Zealand) 69 points

9. Will Power (Australia) 63 points

10. Josef Newgarden (USA) 58 points

11. Alexander Rossi (USA) 58 points

Will Kyle Larson Make Another Attempt at “Double Duty”?

After failing in his attempt to try to run and win a NASCAR and an IndyCar race on the same weekend in 2024 when rain scrapped the Coca-Cola 600, Kyle Larson will again attempt to race in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 this year.

Only one driver, Tony Stewart, has completed all 1,100 miles of “The Double”. Stewart accomplished the feat in 2001 when he finished in 3rd at Charlotte and in 6th at Naptown.

Besides Larson and Stewart, only three other drivers have attempted the double, John Andretti, Robby Gordon, and Kurt Busch. Larson is priced at +700 to win the Indianapolis 500 at DraftKings.

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When and What is Carb Day?

On Friday, May 23, it’s Carb Day from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway. Carb Day is a big tradition at the Indianapolis 500 and is short for “Carburetion Day,” a day which was the last chance for teams to adjust carburetors—something no longer done in IndyCar.

But the tradition of Carb Day evolved on and now features the final Practice session for all drivers, a Pit Stop Challenge, and of course now, a concert. The two co-headliners for Carb Day 2025 at the Indy 500 are Bret Michaels and The All-American Rejects.

When and What is Legends Day?

On Saturday, May 24, the day before the Indy 500, it’s Legends Day at the Brickyard with a celebration of the race itself. A Public Drivers’ Meeting, a Driver Autograph Session, the AES 500 Festival Parade, and the Firestone Legends Day Concert are among the festivities.

This year at the Firestone Legends Day Concert, American country group Midland will be the headlining act. Both Carb Day and Legends Day see the gates opening at 8:00 am Indianapolis time.

What is the Schedule For Indy 500 Race Day?

On Sunday, May 25, the day before the Memorial Day holiday, it’s Race Day in Speedway. Here is the tentative schedule for the big day:

• 9-9:20 am EDT—Cars to Pit Lane

• 10:30 am EDT—Cars to Grid on Frontstretch

• 11:47 am EDT—Driver Introductions

• 12:20 pm EDT—National Anthem (Kelly Clarkson)

• 12:38 pm EDT—Command to Start Engines

• 12:45 pm EDT—Green Flag Waves

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What Are the Track Specifics and Layout?

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana was built in 1909 with the Indianapolis 500 beginning in 1911. The oval track has an Asphalt surface and is 2.5 miles in length (4.0 km). For the Indy 500, the drivers race 200 laps for a total of 500 miles.

The track has four identical turns which have a banking angle of 9 degrees, 12 minutes. They are connected with four straightaways comprising two longer strips (0.625 miles) and two shorter chutes (0.125 miles).

Here is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track layout:

The field is made up of 33 IndyCar Series drivers in 11 rows of three. The race is counter-clockwise on the historic track.

The track record is 37.895 seconds (237.498 mph) set by Arie Luyedyk in the Indianapolis 500 in 1996 driving for Reynard/Ford-Cosworth XB.

Who Are the Last 10 Winners of the Indianapolis 500?

• 2024—Josef Newgarden (USA)

• 2023—Josef Newgarden (USA)

• 2022—Marcus Ericsson (Sweden)

• 2021—Hélio Castroneves (Brazil)

• 2020—Takuma Sato (Japan)

• 2019—Simon Pagenaud (France)

• 2018—Will Power (Australia)

• 2017—Takuma Sato (Japan)

• 2016—Alexander Rossi (USA)

• 2015—Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia)

2025 Indianapolis 500 Betting Odds

Courtesy of DraftKings, here are the Indianapolis 500 betting odds to win for drivers who are hoping to make the starting lineup of 33 for the big race in Indianapolis and drink that sacred milk when all is said and done.

• Alex Palou +450

• Pato O’Ward +550

• Josef Newgarden +650

• Kyle Larson +700

• Scott McLaughlin +900

• Scott Dixon +1000

• Will Power +1200

• Colton Herta +1200

• Alexander Rossi +1700

• Santonio Ferruci +1800

• Kyle Kirkwood +1800

• Marcus Ericsson +2000

• Hélio Castroneves +3000

• Felix Roseqvist +3000

• Takuma Sato +3000

• Rinus Veekay +3000

• David Malukas +3000

• Christian Lundgaard +3000

• Ed Carpenter +4000

• Graham Rahal +4000

• Ryan Hunter-Reay +5000

• Marcus Armstrong +6000

• Marco Andretti +7000

• Nolan Siegel +7000

• Christian Rasmussen +7000

• Jack Harvey +8000

• Louis Foster +8000

• Callum Ilott +8000

• Sting Ray Robb +10000

• Kyffin Simpson +10000

• Robert Shwartzman +15000

• Devlin DeFrancesco +15000

• Jacob Abel +15000

How to Get Tickets, Watch and Listen to the Indianapolis 500

How to Get Tickets to the 2025 Indianapolis 500

You can buy tickets for the 2025 Indianapolis 500—the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” —right here through TicketX and get a special discount by using the monthly promo code where first-time buyers can get a 10% discount on Indianapolis 500 tickets.

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How to Watch the 2025 Indianapolis 500

The crown jewel of the 2025 NTT IndyCar series racing season, the 2025 Indianapolis 500 will air on TV on Sunday, May 25 on FOX (1 pm EDT/12 pm CDT/10 am PDT). This will be the first time that FOX has aired the Indy 500.

Many streaming services will over the race including Hulu + Live TV, SlingTV, fuboTV, and YouTube TV. The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 will also be available live on the FOX Sports Website and app. The race will start at 12:45 EDT (11:45 CDT/9:45 PDT).

How to Listen to the 2025 Indianapolis 500

There are a number of ways you can listen to the 2025 Indianapolis 500 on radio, which has broadcast the race since 1922. The race will air on the INDYCAR Radio Network and NBC Sports Audio (Channel 85) on SiriusXM.

The satellite radio and online radio provider will also broadcast the 2025 Indianapolis 500 on car radios and the SiriusXM app on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation on Channel 218 as well as airing it on both SiriusXM channels 85 and 160.

Where Can I Get Tickets For the Indianapolis 500 Weekends?

Indianapolis 500 tickets can be found here on TicketX and on the second-hand market where cheap deals can be found. First-time ticket buyers at TicketX get an additional 10% off their purchases by using this special promo code.

You can still find Indy 500 Qualifying tickets for Sunday, May 18 for as low as $49.50 each as well as reasonably priced tickets for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25 for $79.20 each on the second-hand market at TicketX where you will find an industry-low flat fee of 20% for buyers and no commission fees for sellers.

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