A look at the starting field for Sunday’s 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge:

  1. Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): Is starting on the pole for the second time in four years and seeking to become seventh back-to-back winner.
  1. Alexander Rossi (No. 20 Java House Chevrolet): Month was going well for the 2016 winner until Monday’s spin into the Turn 2 wall in practice that injured his ankle and forced him to a backup car; this will be his second front-row start (started third in 2017).
  1. David Malukas (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): The 50th front-row start for Team Penske in 60 years is the first for last year’s race runner-up in four tries.
  1. Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda): Swede has a pair of top-four finishes in past four years as he bids to become his country’s third Indy winner (following Kenny Brack in 1999 and Marcus Ericsson in 2022).
  1. Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 Homes for Our Troops Chevrolet): Connecticut native has a remarkable run of seven consecutive top-10 finishes, the past three with AJ Foyt Racing.
  1. Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet): It can be argued that only Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden have been better at Indy over the past six years, but popular Mexican driver will be using a backup car after Monday’s accident.
  1. Kyffin Simpson (No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): Don’t sleep on this third-year driver from the Chip Ganassi Racing stable who gets better each year at Indy.
  1. Conor Daly (No. 23 DRR Kingspan ARCO Chevrolet): The only Indiana-born driver in the field has his best chance to become the first Hoosier to win Indy in 86 years.
  1. Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet): A win would be quite the redemption from last year’s crash on the frontstretch before the race officially began.

Scott Dixon

  1. Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda): A win would break Juan Pablo Montoya’s “record” for most years between Indy victories; Dixon’s (photo, above) win was in 2008.
  1. Rinus VeeKay (No. 76 Wedbush JHR DRR Chevrolet): Juncos Hollinger Racing driver had an average starting position of 3.8 (with three front-row berths) in his first five races.
  1. Takuma Sato (No. 75 Amada Honda): Two-time Indy winner could become the 11th driver with three or more Indy wins, and this one would be 40 years after team owner Bobby Rahal won as a driver in 1986.
  1. Ed Carpenter (No. 33 SlimFast Special Chevrolet): This start will push him to eighth in “500” history in career starts with 23 – in this field only Helio Castroneves (26) and Scott Dixon (24) will have more.
  1. Helio Castroneves (No. 06 Cleveland Cliffs Honda): By completing 112 laps, four-time Indy winner passes A.J. Foyt for the most laps completed in event history.
  1. Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet): ECR driver has had the car to beat at two of the past three oval races, winning at Milwaukee and incurring late contact at Phoenix, and he had the second-fastest car on Miller Lite Carb Day.
  1. Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 Acura Honda): New Zealander who grew up following Scott Dixon’s career gleans information from the six-time series champion through the technical alliance of their teams.
  1. Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Phoenix Investments Honda): It’s remarkable how strong this ex-Formula One driver has been at Indy, with a win in 2022, losing the lead on the last lap in 2023 and crossing the finish line last year in second place (his car was penalized in post-race inspection).
  1. Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet): Danish driver is aiming to becoming the fourth driver to win both May races at IMS in the same year, following Will Power (2018), Simon Pagenaud (2019) and Alex Palou (2025).
  1. Will Power (No. 26 TWG AI Honda): 2018 winner competing for the first time with Andretti Global will be seeking his first top-13 finish since 2019 when he finished fifth.

Nolan Siegel

  1. Nolan Siegel (No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet): Along with Kyffin Simpson, Siegel (photo, above) has one more chance to break Troy Ruttman’s record as the youngest Indy winner (22 years, 80 days).
  1. Louis Foster (No. 45 Droplight Honda): Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver who finished 12th last year might have won the Rookie of the Year Award if not for Robert Shwartzman improbable pole run.
  1. Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 31 Prize Picks Arrow McLaren Chevrolet): Led 48 laps in last year’s race to jump to 27th in career laps led in this event.
  1. Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet): Two-time Indy winner begins with a lot of cars to pass, but last year he drove from 32nd to sixth before incurring a mechanical failure, and he was fastest driver on Miller Lite Carb Day.
  1. Romain Grosjean (No. 18 Bmax.IO Honda): Pleased with this qualifying effort, team had to repair the car after it was collected in Turn 2 accident in Monday’s practice.
  1. Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda): If not for better qualifying runs, Andretti Global driver might have a better best finish in the “500” than seventh (in 2024).
  1. Katherine Legge (No. 11 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet): This will be her fifth start with five different teams, and it’s 20 years since she debuted in Champ Car with PKV Racing.
  1. Mick Schumacher (No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda): Son of seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher qualified in the fourth spot for the season’s only other oval race (at Phoenix) and has had a smooth month at IMS.
  1. Graham Rahal (No. 15 United Rentals Honda): It would be quite the celebration if the second-generation Indy driver could win the “500” on the 40th anniversary of his father’s 1986 victory.
  1. Dennis Hauger (No. 19 OnlyBulls Honda): Last year’s INDY NXT by Firestone champion has finished in the top 11 of three of his first six NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season.

Jacob Abel

  1. Jacob Abel (No. 51 Abel Construction Company Chevrolet): Rookie (photo, above) earned his first “500” starting position with family team after failing to earn a starting spot in 2025.
  1. Sting Ray Robb (No. 77 Juncos Hollinger/Goodheart Chevrolet): Former INDY NXT by Firestone runner-up led 23 laps in 2024 while driving for AJ Foyt Racing.
  1. Caio Collet (No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet): Reached the second round of qualifying and had the 10th starting position before car failed post-qualifying inspection.
  1. Jack Harvey (No. 24 DRR INVST Chevrolet): Team apologized for failing post-qualifying inspection that reduced the driver to his fourth last-row starting position at Indy.