Danny Sullivan returned to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week not as a competitor or broadcaster, but as a celebrated icon of one of the Indianapolis 500's most unforgettable moments.

Sullivan won the 1985 Indy 500 in dramatic fashion. His 360-degree spin after passing Mario Andretti for the lead, and then going on to win, remains etched into Indy lore.

Forty years later, IMS is honoring the “Spin and Win” by capturing the significance of both Sullivan’s career and the hallowed history of the Indy 500.

An image of Sullivan’s spinning car is featured on the Silver and Bronze Badge credentials. He also will drive his 1985-winning No. 5 Miller American March/Cosworth of Team Penske ahead of Sunday’s race.

This weekend, however, is rare moment for Sullivan to step back and soak in the magnitude of his achievement – something he didn’t have the luxury of doing in the whirlwind following the win.

Sullivan candidly shared how, in the months after the race, the reality of his victory only truly set in while preparing for a test at Michigan in July 1985.

“I'm taking a shower, getting ready to go to the test, and ... I go, ‘Damn, you won the Indy 500,’” Sullivan said.

While the iconic spin has defined that race in the eyes of many fans, Sullivan also recalls the Lap 124 restart incident as equally pivotal. He narrowly avoided disaster when Tom Sneva spun right in front of him following contact between Howdy Holmes and Rich Vogler. That moment, he notes, is often forgotten but just as critical in securing his victory.

This recognition brings his journey full circle – a celebration not just of the win, but of what it means to be forever part of Indy 500 history.

“When we came through the tunnel and you show your badge and you go down under the track and come out and look around, this is just one of those places that stirs the emotions,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan, 20 other Indianapolis 500 winners and Roger Penske gathered on the Yard of Bricks this morning to don their blue winner’s jackets and pose with the Borg-Warner Trophy, a new tradition that started last year.

Palou Understands What Indy Means

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt once said, “A.J. Foyt didn’t make the Indianapolis 500 famous, the Indianapolis 500 made A.J. Foyt.”

That’s a sentiment three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and current runaway points leader Alex Palou fully understands, even without yet claiming the coveted Borg-Warner Trophy.

In 2020, Palou was a rookie from Spain, driving for Dale Coyne Racing. His first trip to IMS left a mark not just on fans, but on the very people who would shape his future.

That year, Palou introduced himself to Chip Ganassi. He caught the eye of Chip Ganassi Racing team advisor and three-time “500” winner Dario Franchitti. He qualified seventh and left enough of an impression that Ganassi and Team Manager Mike Hull quietly began plotting his future with the powerhouse Chip Ganassi Racing team.

“I would say for sure,” Palou said. “Without that Indy 500, I probably wouldn’t be with a CGR polo (shirt) on right now.”

Fast-forward to 2025, and Palou’s record with CGR is nothing short of remarkable: three championships, 15 wins and eight poles in just 72 starts with the team. Yet, the Indianapolis 500 remains elusive.

He’s come close. In 2021, Palou finished second. Over his last four starts, he’s averaged a fifth-place finish and led 119 laps. But still, the win has slipped through his fingers.

“We’ve never won here,” Palou said. “I feel we could win, but I don't think you can look at us as the favorite.”

The “500 isn’t just a race for Palou – it’s a turning point, a career compass and a dream yet to be fulfilled. But as history shows, the Speedway has a way of rewarding those who respect its challenge and rise to meet it. Maybe, just maybe, 2025 is his year.

“If my career ends and I’ve not won an Indy 500, it’ll not be a successful career,” Palou said.

McLaughlin Pleased with Start to Season

Scott McLaughlin has an 8.8 average finish this season with four top-six finishes in five races. The outlier is a 27th-place finish March 23 at The Thermal Club.

Palou, who has four wins and a runner-up in five races, is overshadowing McLaughlin and the rest of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field. McLaughlin is fifth in the standings, 111 points back.

“I've had probably one of the best starts of my season, in my years, and that guy (Palou) has won four out of five races,” McLaughlin said. “All you can do is compliment the guy. He's executing. He’s nailing it. His team is nailing it.

“I think we need to put him under pressure. He's fast, for sure, but I think we can put him under pressure and get him into a spot that he doesn't like or hasn't been in for a long time. It will be interesting. But I'm looking at it, thankfully, very early in the year. There's a lot of other races coming up that I know that I'm strong, and he's not, and whatnot, but he’s also solid right now.”

The “500” starts a stretch of six ovals in the final 12 races.

McLaughlin earned his first two circle-track victories last season, at Iowa Speedway and Milwaukee Mile. He starts 10th in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet on Sunday.

Palou is 0-for-27 in career oval starts.

Larson Talks Hydration, Logistics

Nutrition is an underrated but critical element in Kyle Larson's pursuit of the 1,100-mile double as he tackles both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in one day.

The physical and mental toll of these two grueling races, separated by just a few hours and a 430-mile flight, creates a unique nutritional challenge that elite athletes rarely face.

Larson, who starts 19th on Sunday in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, needs to complete his main meal before driver introductions at 11:47 a.m. ET. This meal must be strategically balanced – enough to fuel nearly three hours of intense racing, but not so heavy that it causes sluggishness.

Once the “500” ends, Larson’s only shot to refuel is on the jet to Charlotte. That short window of a little more than an hour is his time to rehydrate and recover but also re-prepare.

“Last year I had one IV bag, which I really didn’t feel like I needed it,” Larson said. “I think I had a protein style bowl on the way there – some grains, chicken and black beans. Like Mexican style but not spicy. It was fine. I felt ready to go last year, so I would think with the conditions being cooler here, I shouldn’t be too drained before I get there.”

Larson believed the “500” won’t hurt his approach to his NASCAR ride even though he prepares one way for 35 weeks of the Cup Series season but this one will be different.

“I travel around so much and race and, like, fly in last minute for sprint car races and jump straight in that,” Larson said. “I think that would help the mindset of what it would be like for the 600, too.”

O’Ward Milks Cow for Luck

Pato O’Ward’s determination to finally break through and win the “500” after two runner-up finishes, including last year, is clear. He’s even embracing a quirky tradition in hopes of tipping the scales in his favor.

Sunday’s rookie pole sitter Robert Shwartzman made a suggestion Thursday to help O’Ward’s chances of victory this weekend.

“You have to milk the cow,” Shwartzman said. “That’s maybe what you need to have proper luck for winning the Indy 500.”

Shwartzman milked a cow Tuesday as part of the annual American Dairy Association Rookie Luncheon. The unique tradition began in 2016, a race rookie Alexander Rossi won.

“I'm jealous,” O’Ward said. “I wanted to do that. I've never milked a cow. I’m going to find a cow, and I’m going to milk it.”

O’Ward mentioned that the American Dairy Association slid into his social media direct messages and offered Rihanna the cow to come to the track Friday morning. She came from Silverstone Farms in nearby Greenfield, Indiana.

“Woke up for some morning milking,” O’Ward said.

He truly believes this could be the difference in winning Sunday’s race from the third starting position in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

O’Ward and Palou, who were part of a 2020 “500” rookie class that didn’t get a chance to milk a cow due to COVID-19 safety measures, combined to finish runner-up in three of the last four Indy 500s but have never won.

Flurry of Incidents During Practice

Miller Lite Carb Day, the final practice before the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, turned into an eventful two-hour session for several teams and drivers as mechanical issues and incidents disrupted preparations for Sunday’s race.

Graham Rahal experienced a major setback when smoke began billowing from the back of his No. 15 United Rentals Honda just 38 minutes into the session. He completed 21 laps with a top speed of 219.062 mph before the issue ended his day prematurely.

Takuma Sato, Rahal’s teammate at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, also faced trouble. He pulled off on the backstretch at 12:45 p.m. ET with a mechanical problem in his No. 75 AMADA Honda yet still managed to log the second-fastest speed of the day at 225.415 mph.

Ryan Hunter-Reay had perhaps the most dramatic moment. His No. 23 DRR CUSICK WEDBUSH SECURITIES Chevrolet caught fire around 12:18 p.m. ET, prompting a quick exit from the car at the head of the pit lane as flames erupted under the engine cover.

“After I felt the liquid, it just started smoking more and more,” Hunter-Reay said.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports confirmed the damage to Hunter-Reay’s car was substantial enough to require a move to a backup car for the race. He will stay in the 25th starting spot.

Hunter-Reay will get a special “leak check” session in the No. 23 from 8:30-8:45 a.m. Saturday. The car will be allowed two install laps (out and in) within the time frame. The car will not be allowed to stay on the track to cross the start-finish line and the Yard of Bricks.

Alexander Rossi was limited to just five laps due to a water leak in his No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet, while Ed Carpenter, who owns the team and makes his lone start of the season, had to replace the hybrid unit in his No. 33 ECR Splenda Stevia Chevrolet earlier in the morning.

Rahal Still Haunted by 2021 Race

Rahal has endured a frustrating Month of May, struggling with speed and balance before qualifying 28th. It’s another cruel chapter at IMS for Rahal, who has had several encounters with potential victories, no matter the layout, but each one was ripped from his grasp.

The race leaving the largest impact is the 2021 Indianapolis 500.

Rahal pitted from the lead on Lap 118 but was released without the left rear tire secured. That tire came off in the warmup lane, causing Rahal to spin and crash in Turn 2, triggering the second caution of the race.

Rahal had to make just one more stop that day while everyone else had two more pit stops ahead. As the series has evolved in the last four years, Rahal ponders if snookering the field like that is even possible anymore.

“2021 burns, dude,” Rahal said. “The way that we played the strategy on that day, legitimately, we should have won that race by 40 seconds. And I don't say other than it should have, could have, would have, like we needed one more stop. Everybody else needed two. It was that cut and dry, like we knew it and that opportunity.

“What burns is that that opportunity probably will never happen again like that. Like to play out that good, that's life. You just keep chugging on. But I don't think it's as possible nowadays.

“But that day also was very atypical, because the Chevy’s were leading, their fuel mileage was really poor, so that pace that they were running was so slow, and we were just sitting behind them that it allowed that strategy to develop. And in the end, Chevy's got a lot better on their fuel economy, so no race since then we have we had that advantage to be able to play that game. This is a whole different world than what we had in ’21.”

Rossi Aims To Remain Perfect During ‘500’ Sellouts

For the first-time since 2016, all grandstand seating for Sunday’s “500” is sold out. Rossi believes that despite his Friday practice, a packed house could be a good omen.

“Have been waiting for it to sell out again so I could drink more milk,” Rossi said.

Rossi has been close to securing a second “500” win, with six top-seven finishes the eight “500” starts since his victory, including three consecutive in the top five for two different teams. He finished fifth for Andretti Global in 2022 and fifth and fourth the last two years for Arrow McLaren.

Rossi qualified 12th in the No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet, joining McLaughlin and Conor Daly in Row 4.

The winner is coming from this row,” McLaughlin said.

Herta Confident in Backup Car

Colton Herta’s journey through the PPG Armed Forces Qualifying Weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was nothing short of dramatic.

Herta’s hopes of a “500” win were jolted by a violent crash in Turn 1 during his first qualifying run. The incident, which began with a half-spin and ended with the car flipping and sliding on its top into the Turn 2 SAFER Barrier, forced Andretti Global to scrap the primary chassis.

Remarkably, the team rallied, assembling a backup car in just over four hours. Herta then delivered a strong recovery effort, clocking a four-lap average of 230.192 mph – good enough for 27th on the starting grid.

While the crash echoed his 2022 Miller Lite Carb Day incident, another flip that preceded a disappointing 30th-place finish due to a mechanical failure, Herta isn't dwelling on the past.

“Normally, you're a bit nervous getting into a backup car around here, feel like you typically lose speed,” Herta said. “It was just like being in the other car. They matched everything pretty perfectly, which for me has never happened. It was a surprise. Usually at least a few things that you need to button up and change that are different on the backup car to the actual race car, but it felt exactly the same.

“That filled me with a lot of confidence. It makes me excited for Sunday.”

Herta’s chief mechanic, Nick Allen, received the Clint Brawner Mechanical Excellence Award on Friday for leading the efforts to build Herta’s backup car. Award sponsor Firestone presented Allen with a $5,000 award.

‘Hollywood Harvey’ To Start 26th

Jack Harvey is starting to accept that he’s now known as “Hollywood Harvey,” as his fellow FOX Sports broadcasters have nicknamed him this month. The irony is, he’s from Lincolnshire, England.

“The village that I grew up in is like 1,000 people in a small town in a small part of the United Kingdom two hours north of London – this is a rural place, guys,” he said. “I have my friends who didn't get to see the buildup to (the nickname). They're, like, ‘Oh, big time now that you’re on TV.’ I'm like, ‘I know it's going to come across that way.’

“Even these hooligans (fellow drivers), they all heckle me now saying ‘Hollywood’ and stuff. I’ve kind of been forced to embrace it.”

Odds and Ends

  • “Slaw Dog” passed “Chi Dog” just before the checkered flag at the Yard of Bricks to win the “Wienie 500” race among all six Oscar Mayer Weinermobiles. The two-lap race around the IMS oval earned millions of social media impressions globally and was trending in the United States as the No. 2 event on X immediately after the finish.
  • The NHL Stanley Cup was on the grounds Friday. Fans were able to get a close look and take pictures in the Fan Midway.
  • Chip Ganassi Racing team manager Barry Wanser and longtime statistician and historian for INDYCAR television broadcasts Russ Thompson won the Robin Miller Award for longtime dedication and service to INDYCAR SERIES racing.
  • Pat Caporali, the lead communications representative for Firestone, was honored with the 2025 Jim Chapman Award for excellence in motorsports public relations. Caporali, a former radio and TV reporter in Montreal, has worked for several race teams and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
  • Fifteen of the last 16 Indianapolis 500s were won by drivers 32 years of age or older. Rossi was 24 when he won the 100th Running in 2016 as the lone exception.