Today’s question: What whetted your appetite for the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge the most in two days of oval testing this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

Pato O'Ward

Curt Cavin: It’s seeing Pato O’Ward (photo, above) back at the track. For as good as Alex Palou has been at the Speedway in recent years, O’Ward has been even better. In six starts, he has a pair of seconds, a third, a fourth, a sixth and a Lap 193 accident battling for the win. In that span of races, the argument for the best driver comes down to Josef Newgarden, Marcus Ericsson, Palou and O’Ward, and O’Ward has the best average finish (6.8). More importantly, he is the only one of these without a trip to Victory Lane. I always root for the best story, and the popular O’Ward finally winning Indy is one I’d like to see in 2026.

Eric Smith: When I think of Indy, my mind goes straight to Alex Palou. For the past four years, the question has always been: Is this the year he finally gets his first oval win? Palou had led 119 laps across his first five Indy 500 starts, including a runner-up finish in 2021. He won the pole in 2023 and finished fourth. In 2024, he charged from 14th to finish fifth. Entering the 2025 race, he had won four of the first five events and was runner-up in the other. Was this finally his year? It was – and more. He swept the Month of May. On Tuesday, Palou returned to the oval to test his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. When I spoke with him last month, he told me that once you experience an Indy 500 win, you don’t want anyone else to take that feeling away. He’s motivated to defend it. The question has changed: Can Palou go back-to-back? Josef Newgarden was the first driver since Helio Castroneves in 2001-02 to go back-to-back when he won the 2023 and 2024 Indy 500. Does Palou enter that lore that only Castroneves, Newgarden, Al Unser (1970-71), Wilbur Shaw (1939-40), Mauri Rose (1947-48) and Bill Vukovich (1953-54) have accomplished?

Alex Palou

Arni Sribhen: It doesn’t matter if there is one car on the track or 33 cars preparing for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” fans will come out to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to watch race cars at The Greatest Race Course in the World. I saw a social media post about Alex Palou (photo, above) from a fan who attended the test. The four-time series champion spotted a young fan wearing his jersey while he was testing and sent a crew member to the Turn 2 mounds to deliver a team hat. Moments like that are what get me excited about May in Indianapolis, even if they happen in October.

Paul Kelly: I’m far from an engineer: Changing a spark plug sometimes is a challenge for me. But the mechanical side of racing always has intrigued me, and the various compounds of Firestone Firehawk tires tested Tuesday are exciting. There’s nothing wrong with the competition in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” as 14 of the 33 starters led at least a lap last May, tied for the third-most in the race’s rich history. But Firestone and INDYCAR remain relentless in making the show even better with new tire formulas, especially since last year was the first “500” with the hybrid unit, which adds weight to the rear and changes the balance of the car. Pato O’Ward said one of the compounds was a clear improvement over the Firehawks used last May, and Alex Palou also said some compounds reduced vibration. All of this should lead to even more compelling competition next May in the greatest race in the world. That’s cool.