Many American racing fans (and even a few drivers) still believe winning the Indianapolis 500 is a more prestigious or important honour than collecting an IndyCar Series championship. Set to run for the 109th time at the end of May, ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ often lives up to its tagline and no other motor sport event outside of Le Mans raises as much annual anticipation.

The ‘all or nothing’ nature the Indy 500 creates an intense level of pressure for the drivers, whether hunting for their first victory, building on their established Brickyard legend or just trying to qualify for the 33-car field. Riding the bubble on Bump Day is excruciating, and recent years have seen big names including Paul Tracy, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal feel the agony of failing to make the cut.

Things can change quickly. Marcus Ericsson won Indianapolis in 2022, came a very close second to Josef Newgarden in ’23, then barely scraped into the field and finished dead last in 2024. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a deceptively simple-looking, fast four-corner rectangle on paper, but no other circuit or race in the world messes more with a driver’s mind.

Here are nine talking points ahead of this year’s ‘International Sweepstakes’..

1. Perfect Palou 

Álex Palou is already a three-time IndyCar Series champion, and he opened the 2025 season with wins in the first two races. Palou’s victory in Round 2 at The Thermal Club was especially impressive; he turned an 11sec deficit into a 10sec margin of victory, passing and leaving pole winner and long-time leader Pato O’Ward far behind with a crushing final stint.

Palou has won 13 of his 83 IndyCar starts, but none have come on an oval. He’s showed speed, including second place at Indianapolis in 2021 and pole position in ‘23. Oval racing is a unique skill set, and many drivers find winning on an oval is a tough nut to crack. It took six years of trying for Dario Franchitti and Will Power, a pair of modern era IndyCar legends. Don’t expect Palou to be denied much longer, and Indianapolis is his next chance.

2. All eyes on the treble

Through 108 editions, no driver has won the Indianapolis 500 three consecutive times. Josef Newgarden is the latest to have that opportunity, and the 2017 and ’19 IndyCar champ will be keen to achieve one of the few Indianapolis records not already owned by his team boss, 20-time Indy-winning car owner Roger Penske.

Newgarden’s explanation of his role in Team Penske’s 2024 cheating scandal didn’t endear him to all, but he blocked out the noise to triumph over Pato O’Ward in a thrilling finish for his second straight Indianapolis win. He’s a betting favourite, if not a fan favourite.

3. Hélio out for record 

AJ Foyt cemented his legend in 1977 by becoming the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. It’s still his proudest achievement, matched since by only Al Unser, Rick Mears and Hélio Castroneves, above.

Hélio no longer competes full-time, but he holds a minority stake in Meyer Shank Racing and will chase his historic fifth Indy triumph driving a Honda-powered MSR entry, with technical support from Chip Ganassi Racing.

4. Can Scott be great?

With six IndyCar championships and 58 race wins, Scott Dixon, above, ranks second only to Foyt. But just one of those wins came at Indianapolis, way back in 2008. Since then, Dixon’s Indy experience has ranged from dominance to despair, often in the course of the same race – a spectacular crash in 2017 and a pit speed violation that cost him a likely win in ‘22.

The Kiwi racer has finished in the top five of the Indy 500 nine times, but a lack of multiple wins at the Brickyard is the last stamp missing from his passport to legendary greatness.

5. Herta’s choice

Some believe Colton Herta, above, has an inside line to a seat with Cadillac’s future Formula 1 effort because he is the most successful American IndyCar driver in recent years who is still under 30 (25; Newgarden is 34). That’s contingent not only upon Herta securing enough points to obtain an FIA superlicence (he needs to finish fourth or better in the 2025 IndyCar standings to do so), but on his actual desire to make the move.

An Indy win could help swing things either way – by sending Herta on a solid path to the points he needs to qualify for F1 or convincing him that life would be sweet staying home as an established IndyCar star.

6. Hybrid debut

Hybrid technology was added to IndyCar’s V6 turbo formula in mid-2024, and the jury is still out. There were several high-profile component failures in the early races and a handful of drivers suffered heat-related issues in the second race of ’25 at The Thermal Club. The system has added more than 100lb (45kg) to a car that wasn’t designed to accept it, a detriment to handling especially apparent at oval tracks.

This is the first time the Indianapolis 500 will be run with the hybrid package, and its performance and reliability will be under scrutiny.

7. Winners on the up

Winning Indianapolis more than once truly solidifies a driver’s credentials with traditional fans.

Those who have a chance to add number two this year include Marcus Ericsson, Alexander Rossi (now with local favourite team Ed Carpenter Racing) and Will Power, above – who despite being the all-time leader in IndyCar pole positions with 70 has never earned the top starting spot at Indianapolis, with its unique four-lap qualifying format.

Then there’s Takuma Sato, who has developed into an Indy specialist and will be chasing his third 500 win.

8. Two races, one day

For the second year in a row, NASCAR star Kyle Larson, above, will attempt to complete ‘The Double’ by racing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day. Win or lose, he’ll get the biggest cheers in driver introductions at both venues.

9. Bump Day drama

The complicated two-day qualifying procedure of the Indianapolis 500 wrings every last ounce of drama from the normally mundane task of determining the back row of the grid. With as few as 34 or 35 entries vying for 33 starting spots, it can seem pretty pointless – until you see it actually play out. Bobby Rahal, Emerson Fittipaldi, above, and Al Unser Jr all won the Indianapolis 500 – yet are almost equally remembered for failing to qualify.