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There is no other event in the world like the Indianapolis 500, and it’s aptly named The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
While the Monaco Grand Prix has the glitz and the glamour and the 24 Hours of Le Mans has the lustre of being the toughest endurance race, nothing matches the Indianapolis 500 for scale, history, or fanfare.
Come Monday, the 2.5-mile rectangular Indianapolis Motor Speedway will host more than 300,000 people in what is the largest single-day attendance of any sporting event globally.
Watch the 2024 Indianapolis 500 on May 27 only on Stan Sport. All the action streaming ad free, live and on demand
This year’s event is set to be the most attended since the 2016 sellout for the 100th running of the race.
This year’s 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 will see three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin lead from pole position.
He’ll have teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden on his outside when the green flag drops at 2.45am AEST.
The Indianapolis 500 is steeped in history with traditions like the winner kissing the yard of bricks and dousing themselves in milk in victory lane.
Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, McLaughlin said the event itself is unlike anything else.
“One, you see history. It’s a race that’s been going for (a long time). This is the 108th running of the race. The historic feature of it is hard to go past,” he explained.
“Then you have 350,000 people. There are 50,000 people inside the place that don’t know what’s going on because the Snake Pit (live concert) is happening. It’s wild.
“If you’re a sport fan, it’s amazing to be a part of. It’s one of the top five best sporting events in the world.
“I think it’s a bucket list item for any sports person to come over and check it out and see what goes on.”
The tradition of the winner drinking milk dates back to 1933 when Louis Meyer won the race for the second time.
Upon claiming victory, Meyey asked for a bottle of buttler milk.
The story goes that growing up, his mother told him it would cool him down on a hot day.
It’s been a tradition ever since to give the race winner a celebratory swig.
Asked what he would be drinking if he was able to convert pole position to victory, McLaughlin replied, “Whole milk. Absolutely. I’ll be drinking that like crazy.”
The last driver to win the Indianapolis 500 from pole position was Simon Pagenaud in 2019 for the same outfit, Team Penske.
DRINKING MILK AT THE INDY 500
Such is the importance of the tradition, drivers choose before the race whether they would like skim, two per cent, or whole milk should they win.
This year, 26 of the 33 drivers select whole milk. Five drivers selected two per cent and two drivers chose skim.
In the past 11 years, a driver has never selected skim milk and won. This year, Christian Lundgaard and Christian Rasmussen have both opted for skim milk.
Will Power opted to put down “no preference” the year that he won in 2018. This year he’s chosen whole milk.
What drivers do with the milk is up to them. Some drink it, some share it, others have doused themselves in it, making for a smelly situation.
KISSING THE BRICKS
One of the newest traditions, ironically, didn’t begin with the Indianapolis 500.
In 1996, NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett won the ‘Brickyard 400’, which was NASCAR’s answer to the IndyCar race.
After winning the race, Jarrett and his engineer Todd Parrott knelt down and kissed the yard of bricks which mark the start/finish line.
It’s been a tradition ever since for the winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 until its demise.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s nickname the ‘Brickyard’ comes from the 20-year period in which the track was paved with bricks.
In 1930, work began to pave part the track with asphalt. By 1950, just the yard of bricks on the front straight remained – a symbolic marker of the speedway’s history.
THE BORG-WARNER TROPHY AND THE ‘BABY BORG’
The Borg-Warner Trophy is one of motorsport’s most unique and prized possessions.
It is unique in that the face of every Indianapolis 500 winner is added to the enormous sterling silver trophy.
The name, year of victory, and average speed are engraved next to the face of every winner.
The faces aren’t the only interesting element. Atop the trophy is a naked name waving a chequered flag.
The trophy has been awarded every year since 1936, and with the race in its 107th running it has had to grow in stature with a Super Bowl-style extension to its base.
Indianapolis 500 winners never take home the trophy. Instead, a miniature ‘Baby Borg’ replica of the Borg-Warner trophy standing 46cm tall is given to the winner.
The Baby Borg has been awarded since 1988 while the real day stays at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Previous winners have been awarded Baby Borgs retroactively in the years since.
WHO IS THE FAVOURITE TO WIN?
Pole position winner McLaughlin is the favourite heading into the race according to US bookmakers with his teammates Newgarden and Power behind him.
Aussie bookmakers have McLaughlin as the short-priced favourite with Newgarden behind him. Kyle Larson is equal third with Power.
HOW CAN I WATCH THE INDIANAPOLIS 500?
Stan Sport will carry live, ad-free coverage of the Indianapolis 500 from 1am Monday (AEST).
WHEN DOES THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 START?
The green flag falls at 2.45am Monday (AEST).
INDIANAPOLIS 500 RACE DAY SCHEDULE (AEST)
1am – Stan Sport live broadcast starts
1.47am – Driver introductions
2.24am – USA national anthem
2.36am – Back Home Again In Indiana
2.38am – Command to start engines
2.45am – Green flag for 108th running of Indianapolis 500
HOW LONG IS THE INDIANAPOLIS 500?
As the name suggests, the race is a 500-mile affair and roughly runs for three hours depending on safety car interventions.
The shortest Indianapolis 500 took place in 1976, which ran for just 102 laps after rain intervened.
The shortest Indianapolis 500 to go the full 200-lap distance was in 2021, which lasted two hours and 37 minutes and was won by Helio Castroneves.
The second shortest race could conceivably be considered the longest too.
Officially, the 1973 race ran for two hours and five minutes, but was held over three days due to crashes and rain and eventually won by Gordon Johncock.
The inaugural race in 1911 remains the longest in history at six hours and 42 minutes, claimed by Ray Harroun.
INDIANAPOLIS 500 STARTING GRID (TOP 12):
P1 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske
P2 – Will Power – Team Penske
P3 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
P4 – Alexander Rossi – McLaren
P5 – Kyle Larson – McLaren
P6 – Santino Ferucci – AJ Foyt Racing
P7 – Rinus VeeKay – Ed Carpenter Racing
P8 – Pato O’Ward – McLaren
P9 – Felix Rosenqvist – Meyer Shank Racing
P10 – Takuma Sato – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
P11 – Kyle Kirkwood – Andretti Global
P12 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
THE 10 MOST RECENT INDIANAPOLIS 500 WINNER
2023 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske
2022 – Marcus Ericsson – Chip Ganassi Racing
2021 – Helio Castroneves – Meyer Shank Racing
2020 – Takuma Sato – Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
2019 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske
2018 – Will Power – Team Penske
2017 – Takuma Sato – Andretti Autosport
2016 – Alexander Rossi – Andretti Autosport
2015 – Juan Pablo Montoya – Team Penske
2014 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – Andretti Autosport
