This Sunday (hopefully!) marks the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. 200 laps of racing glory that is something to behold every Memorial Day weekend. With that, let’s take a look at the storylines that are developing for the race.

Chevy vs Honda

Honda has looked good in practice, while Chevy dominated qualifying. Nine out of the top 12 cars are Chevy. Felix Rosenqvist, at 9, is the highest qualifying Honda. Chevy-powered Penske to the front in an all-Penske front row. Not a single Chip Ganassi driver finished higher than 13th, which is where Alex Palou slotted. Needless to say, CGR is going to have some work cut out for them.

Scott McLaughlin and Penske sit on the front row, and Josef Newgarden won the 500 last year. He will definitely be hungry this year. Part-time drivers and rookies are playing a big part in this race as they always do with 8 part-timers and 6 rookies.

The Double

Kyle Larson is showing out! This author was skeptical at first, but Kyle Larson has quieted those doubts in me. He has been fast in practice, has been good in traffic, and qualified in the second row. Not a bad attempt for the “Rookie.” I look forward to watching him race, hopefully racing the 500 and 600 to completion. With that being said….

The Weather

Oh boy, we hate looking at the weather, but it is a critical part of the Indy 500. The Indy 500 has had a good stretch without rain for the race, but that might be in jeopardy. Weather as of Wednesday shows some heavy storms in the afternoon. The race may be moved slightly earlier to try to get it in, but if the race gets delayed, it could put Larson’s run in trouble. Right now, the only driver eligible to drive instead of Larson is Nolan Siegel. However, Indycar has said that there can be no fill-in driver once the race starts. If the race gets delayed and Larson has to leave for the Coca-Cola 600–he’ll have a tough decision to make, and Arrow Mclaren may have to retire the 17.

Grosjean vs Ferrucci

While it doesn’t seem like much, Romain Grosjean and Santino Ferrucci have been going at it since Barber, with multiple incidents at Barber and practices leading up to the Indycar GP and the 500. The two aren’t starting near each other in the race, but things could get dicey, especially on pitlane. It’s definitely a story that you need to be watching as the race goes on.

Row 1

Scott McLaughlin, Will Power, Josef Newgarden

Row 2

Alexander Rossi, Kyle Larson, Santino Ferrucci

Row 3

Rinus Veekay, Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist

Row 4

Takuma Sato, Kyle Kirkwood Ryan Hunter Reay

Row 5

Colton Herta, Alex Palou, Callum Ilott

Row 6

Marcus Armstrong, Ed Carpenter, Kyffin Simpson

Row 7

Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon

Row 8

Agustin Canapino, Sting Ray Robb, Christian Rasmussen

Row 9

Tom Blomqvist, Romain Grosjean, Linus Lundqvist

Row 10

Christian Lundgaard, Conor Daly, Pietro Fittipaldi

Row 11

Katherine Legge, Marcus Ericsson, Graham Rahal

How to watch:

The race will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock, with coverage starting at 11 AM Eastern.

Header Image By: Joe Skibinski