Indianapolis 500 2025: Drivers to watch
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You don't have to be an IndyCar expert to enjoy the Indianapolis 500.
The big picture: Here's a casual fan's guide to some of the sport's biggest names and those to watch during Sunday's race.
Robert Shwartzman: The rookie driver on the rookie team shocked the sporting world when he took pole last weekend.
- The 25-year-old, born in Israel and raised in Italy, has never raced on an oval. He hasn't led a lap in an IndyCar — yet.
- Only 10 rookies have won the 500 in its 108 runnings, but the pole winner has taken victory about 20% of the time. Anything can happen.
Pato O'Ward: A fan and betting favorite, O'Ward was just two turns from glory last year.
- He was passed on the last lap of the race and finished second for the second time.
- He'll start in the third spot, making him the first Mexican driver to start on the front row of the 500.
What he's saying: "It's a frickin' long race," he said in a post-qualifying press conference. "Whoever looks to be winning it in the middle probably isn't going to win it because things change so much … but we're right there."
- "I know how to position myself in order to have a shot. I'll have the best view I've ever had starting an Indy 500."
Alex Palou: The Spanish driver is starting sixth, but he's won four of the first five races of the season. No one is more dominant in the series than Palou.
- Palou has won on the IMS road course the past three years.
Yes, but: He's never won on an oval track. He finished second at the Indy 500 in 2021 and in the top 5 the last two years.
Conor Daly: The only Hoosier in the field of 33, the Noblesville native is starting his 12th Indy 500.
- He's not the odds-on favorite to win, but Daly knows how it feels to lead at Indy. He led the most laps of all drivers in the 2021 race and has led as many laps as two-time reigning winner Josef Newgarden — just not the right laps.
- His 11th-place starting spot matches his best ever, and he's finished in the top 10 the last three years.
Josef Newgarden: The back-to-back defending champ is trying to make history as the first driver to win three Indy 500s in a row.
- He's one of eight former winners in the starting field this year.
Yes, but: He's got to drive through just about the entire field to do it.
- Newgarden was consistently one of the fastest cars in practice but got moved back to the 32nd spot on the starting grid after an illegal modification was found on his car ahead of qualifying.
Yes, but but: He won in 2023 after starting 17th. You can't count him out.
- "You can win this race from any seat in the house," Newgarden said during a media availability Thursday. "I like the challenge of coming from 32nd."