Everything You Need to Know about the Indianapolis 500 (2024)

• The Indy 500 is one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. It dates from 1911, is rife with tradition, and is one of the most action-packed live events you can watch, whether you're an auto-racing novice or a hardened fan.
• Thirty-three drivers will take the green flag on Sunday, May 26, for the 103^rd running of the race and compete at speeds of more than 220 mph for 500 miles on Indy's 2.5-mile oval track.
• The spectacle of the winner’s circle is almost the best part. It features the winning driver chugging a bottle of milk, an old tradition specific to the Indy 500 that dates back to 1936. How much money that person gets is a complex story that varies from year to year but should be about $2.5 million in 2019.

Mixing pomp, circ*mstance, and death-defying speeds, the Indy 500 has transcended mere auto racing to become a must-watch event like the Kentucky Derby or the Super Bowl. It mixes the technology of a SpaceX rocket launch with the tradition of professional baseball . . . at 220 miles per hour. Here's everything you need to know to help make sense of the race on May 26.

What is it? 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500, billed as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing"

When is the 2019 Indy 500? Sunday, May 26, 2019, with the race scheduled to start at 12:45 p.m. ET

How to watch? NBC, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app

Where is the Indy 500 held? Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Nicknamed the Brickyard, the track was opened in 1909, has more than a quarter-million seats, and is the highest-capacity sports complex in the world. The Indy 500 runs on a 2.5-mile circuit where the drivers will aim to complete 200 laps.

What time does it start? Coverage begins on NBC Sports Network at 9 a.m. ET and on NBC at 11 a.m. ET.

With the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports-car classic, the Indy 500 is part of auto racing's unofficial triple crown. The Indy 500 is a sporting institution with a colorful history dating to 1911 and triumphs and tragedies by the dozen. The stands seat upward of 250,000 people. The cars race at incomprehensible speeds: this year's pole winner, Simon Pagenaud, qualified at an average speed for four consecutive laps of 229.992 mph. Almost every professional race driver would like to win the Indy 500, and not just because of the huge financial payoff—which this year totals about $2.5 million for the winner.

The Indy 500 is part of the NTT IndyCar series (Japanese communications giant NTT is the series sponsor), which consists of 16 races held at race circuits in the U.S. and Canada. Indy-car drivers compete on oval tracks that turn left and on sports-car tracks that turn both left and right—including temporary tracks set up in city locations.

Indy race cars are knee-high, arrow shaped, single-seat machines that run with their wheels exposed. Built largely from super-rigid carbon fiber, the cars are extremely lightweight at 1565 pounds and roll on fat racing tires. (If an Indy car's wheels touch those of a competitor's, it can easily flip into the air.) An Indy car's design incorporates a jet-fighter-like attention to aerodynamics—they are fitted with front and rear wings and special underbody panels—that glues them to the track, enabling extreme speeds in the corners that subject the drivers to neck-straining g-loads. The cars are powered by 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engines that produce up to 750 horsepower (depending on the track) and are currently supplied by the racing divisions of Honda and Chevrolet. The engines run on ethanol fuel because it's less prone to catching fire than gasoline during the race's several refueling pit stops. Fresh tires are fitted at every pit stop as well. Teams are often sponsored by large companies like Verizon, NAPA, and PNC Bank, and the top drivers earn millions.

The Indy 500 is, as the name implies, a 500-mile-long race. It takes place on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile asphalt oval, which hosted its first race in 1911. Originally paved with bricks, the track retains a row of bricks at the start-finish line as a connection with its early history. This year's event is the 103rd running; the race was suspended for a total of five years during the two world wars. The starting field is composed of up to 33 race cars, and there are usually more teams vying for spots in the race than can be accommodated. Indy cars qualify for the race on the basis of speed during the weekend before the race, with the fastest 33 gaining entry to the field. The race is always run, weather permitting, on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

Traditions abound at the Speedway on Memorial Day weekend. There are concerts before the race—this year Kool and the Gang, Foreigner, and the Zac Brown Band are performing on the two evenings before the race. There are pre-race parades. The nostalgic tune On the Banks of the Wabash is played before each race, and this year it will be performed by the Purdue University Band. Kelley Clarkson will sing the National Anthem. And then the most famous call in motor racing will go out: "Drivers, start your engines."

While attending the race in person is an exhilarating experience, the track is so big you can only see small sections of it at a time. Watching at home on TV or streaming the race is actually a much better way to take in the action. You can sit back and let the dozens of TV cameras positioned around the track follow the passing, crashes, and pit stops as they unfold, complete with instant replays. And there's a team of knowledgeable announcers and color commentators calling the action, several of whom have driven in the race.

Watching at home is also the best way to see the final Indy 500 tradition of the weekend: watching the elated winner take a slug of milk in the winner's circle.