Are you ready for the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing?”
The 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place Sunday when 33 drivers will be vying to drink the milk and kiss the bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Eight former winners and six rookies are among the 11-row field that will take the green flag, including Helio Castroneves, who could become the first driver to win the Indy 500 five times.
Also among the contenders: Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, who will become the fifth driver to contest arguably the hardest thing in motor sports: racing in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. As soon as Larson’s day in Indianapolis is done, he will fly to Charlotte, North Carolina to race Sunday night in NASCAR’s longest race.
Larson and the rest of the field will have to pass a trio of Team Penske drivers who swept the top three positions in qualifying and make up the entire front row.
Here is all the information you need to get ready for the 2024 Indianapolis 500:
The Indianapolis 500 festivities start at noon ET. The command to start engines is scheduled for 12:38 p.m. ET, with the green flag scheduled to wave at 12:45 p.m. ET.
NBC is broadcasting the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 and will have a pre-race show beginning at 11 a.m. ET.
The race will be streamed on Peacock in the U.S. and IndyCar Live for International viewers. The race also is available for streaming on Fubo (regional restrictions apply).
The Indy 500 is 200 laps around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a total of 500 miles.
It could be a wet Sunday at the Brickyard. According to the National Weather Service as of Friday evening, there is a 43% chance of precipitation projected for the 12:45 p.m. ET Sunday start time, which ticks up to 76% by 2 p.m. There is also a chance of thunderstorms. And the rain could fall most of the afternoon and evening if those projections come to pass. The one piece of good news is the temperature: projected to be in the high 70s to low 80s.
Actors Austin Butler and Jodie Comer, who star in the upcoming film “The Bikeriders,” will serve as honorary starters for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 and will wave the green flag at Sunday's race.
Singer-songwriter and actress Jordin Sparks will perform the national anthem prior to Sunday's race. Sparks, who gained fame as the winner of season six of “American Idol" in 2007, also performed the national anthem before the 2015 Indianapolis 500.
Additionally, musician Phillip Phillips, who won the 11th season of "American Idol" in 2012, will perform “God Bless America” during pre-race ceremonies.
Actor Dylan Sprouse will serve as grand marshal of the 108th Indianapolis 500 and will give the traditional command for drivers to report to their cars during pre-race ceremonies.
Roger Penske, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar and Team Penske, will give the command for drivers to start their engines.
Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. will drive the pace car and lead the 33-car field to the green flag for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Josef Newgarden won the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500, beating 2022 winner Marcus Ericsson in a one-lap shootout. Newgarden passed Ericsson with less than half a lap remaining then held off the Swede to take the checkered flag, giving Roger Penske his 19th victory on the legendary track he now owns.
Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin won the pole for the 108th running and will start on the front row alongside teammates Will Power and Newgarden.
Start position (car number in parentheses), car make and team (R-rookie; W-Indy 500 winner)
ROW 1
ROW 2
4. (7) Alexander Rossi (W), Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren
5. (17) Kyle Larson (R), Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren
6. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, AJ Foyt Racing
ROW 3
7. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
8. (5) Pato O'Ward, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren
9. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, Meyer Shank Racing
ROW 4
10. (75) Takuma Sato (W), Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
11. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, Andretti Global
12. (23) Ryan Hunter-Reay (W), Chevrolet, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports
ROW 5
13. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, Andretti Global
14. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing
15. (6) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren
ROW 6
16. (11) Marcus Armstrong (R), Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing
17. (20) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
18. (4) Kyffin Simpson (R), Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing
ROW 7
19. (98) Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Global
20. (06) Helio Castroneves (W), Honda, Meyer Shank Racing
21. (9) Scott Dixon (W), Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing
ROW 8
22. (78) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, Juncos Hollinger Racing
23. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, AJ Foyt Racing
24. (33) Christian Rasmussen (R), Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
ROW 9
25. (66) Tom Blomqvist (R), Honda, Meyer Shank Racing
26. (77) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, Juncos Hollinger Racing
27. (8) Linus Lundqvist (R), Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing
ROW 10
28. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
29. (24) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports
30. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
ROW 11
31. (51) Katherine Legge, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
32. (28) Marcus Ericsson (W), Honda, Andretti Global
33. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
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