The Super Bowl of open-wheel racing returns to its rightful date of Memorial Day Weekend this year. Although the stands won’t be completely full, there will at least be fans in attendance when 33 drivers take the green flag in the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500. History and tradition will be a common theme on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and what will be the sixth race of the NTT IndyCar Series season. After last weekend’s two-day qualifying event, the entire Indianapolis 500 starting lineup is official, with Scott Dixon winning the pole position.
This article contains all kinds of vital information to get you set for the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’. Read on for the Indianapolis 500 starting lineup, start time, race facts and IndyCar stats.
IndyCar Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
105th Indianapolis 500
Date: Sunday, May 30, 2021
Start Time: 12 p.m. EST
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway — Indianapolis, IN
Coverage: NBC
Pole Sitter: Scott Dixon
Defending Champion: Takuma Sato
Indianapolis 500 Race Details
Distance: 500 miles
Laps: 200
Lap Length: 2.5 miles
Surface: Asphalt
Turns: 4
Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid
The following table contains the complete 33-car starting lineup for this Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 race.
| Starting Position | Driver | Car Number | Team | Engine Manufacturer |
| 1 | Scott Dixon | 9 | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 2 | Colton Herta | 26 | Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian | Honda |
| 3 | Rinus VeeKay | 21 | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Ed Carpenter | 20 | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 5 | Tony Kanaan | 48 | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 6 | Alex Palou | 10 | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 7 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 28 | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 8 | Helio Castroneves | 06 | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda |
| 9 | Marcus Ericsson | 8 | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 10 | Alexander Rossi | 27 | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 11 | Ed Jones | 18 | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan | Honda |
| 12 | Patricio O’Ward | 5 | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet |
| 13 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 51 | Dale Coyne Racing/RWR | Honda |
| 14 | Felix Rosenqvist | 7 | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Takuma Sato | 30 | Rahal Letterman Racing | Honda |
| 16 | James Hinchcliffe | 29 | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda |
| 17 | Scott McLaughlin | 3 | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 18 | Graham Rahal | 15 | Rahal Letterman Racing | Honda |
| 19 | Connor Daly | 47 | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Jack Harvey | 60 | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda |
| 21 | Josef Newgarden | 2 | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 22 | J.R. Hildebrand | 1 | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 23 | Santino Ferrucci | 45 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda |
| 24 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 86 | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet |
| 25 | Marco Andretti | 98 | Andretti Herta-Haupert with Marco and Curb-Agajanian | Honda |
| 26 | Simon Pagenaud | 22 | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Sebastien Bourdais | 14 | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 28 | Stefan Wilson | 25 | Andretti Autosport | Honda |
| 29 | Max Chilton | 59 | Carlin | Chevrolet |
| 30 | Dalton Kellett | 4 | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Sage Karam | 24 | Dreyer and Reinbold Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | Will Power | 12 | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 33 | Simona de Silvestro | 16 | Paretta Autosport | Chevrolet |
Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Overview
As one can imagine, the biggest race of the IndyCar Series season has a qualifying ritual that is both thrilling and complex. Last weekend, the 35 cars on the official Indianapolis 500 entry list partook in a two-day qualifying session. Positions 10-30 on the starting grid were finalized on Saturday. Then, the top nine cars from Saturday’s time trials battled for the pole position and grid spots 2-9 on Sunday. The second day also featured the five cars outside of the top-30 take part in a last chance qualifying session in an attempt to claim one of the final three spots (31-33) in the field. Two cars on the entry list ultimately failed to make the 33-car Indianapolis 500 starting lineup.
For more on the rules and format of Indianapolis 500 qualifying, check out our complete overview of the two-day event!
Indianapolis 500 Race History
- The inaugural Indianapolis 500 was held in 1911, with Ray Harroun driving to victory. The race has been held every year since with the exceptions of 1917-18 and 1942-45 due to World Wars I and II.
- The Indy 500 is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, which consists of three of the most prestigious races in the world. The other two events included are the Monaco Grand Prix (Formula 1) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FIA World Championship) events.
- Prior to the current name, this race was known as the ‘500-Mile International Sweepstakes’ up until 1980. It was also run as the ‘Liberty Sweepstakes’ for a single year in 1919.
- Pole-sitters have won the Indianapolis 500 more than any other starting grid position. The front row (Pos. 1-3) have combined to win 45 of the 104 previous editions of the race. The lowest starting grid position to produce a winner is 28th.
IndyCar Stats and Trends
- Three drivers are tied for the most all-time Indianapolis 500 wins. A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Casey Mears each won the race four times.
- Among active drivers in this year’s race, Helio Castroneves leads the way with three prior Indianapolis 500 wins. Defending champion Takuma Sato and Juan Pablo Montoya are the only other drivers in this year’s field with multiple prior wins.
- This year’s pole-sitter, Scott Dixon, has one prior win coming back in the 2008 edition of the race.
- Team Penske leads all race teams with 18 total Indy 500 wins. The most recent came courtesy of Simon Pagenaud in 2019.
- Among engine manufacturers, Offenhauser has 27 victories to top the all-time list. Of the two current engine manufacturers, Honda has a 13-11 lead over Chevrolet in total Indy 500 wins.
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