It’s race day for the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500, and approximately 345,000 fans are expected to fill the grandstands and infield at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Scott McLaughlin will lead the field to green (scheduled for 12:45 p.m. local time), followed by Team Penske teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden.
Storms are expected to hit the Indianapolis area around 1:00, which could delay the start of the race and some pre-race festivities. IMS president Doug Boles said that his team will continue to monitor the storms in the hours leading up to the start of the race. The showers, according to some estimates could leave the area by 2-3 p.m., with more rain potentially returning around 8:00. During practice for this year’s race, IMS crews dried the track in 77 minutes after a bout of rain. Crews have Air Titan jet dryers at their disposal, renting them from NASCAR for today’s events.
Stay tuned here for updates throughout the day, including exclusive live trackside updates for everything before, during, and after the race.
8:20 a.m. – Kyle Larson will “prioritize the 500” should weather delay the race
According to local news affiliate WTHR, Arrow McLaren driver Kyle Larson, who is attempting to run both the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 later tonight, will stay and run the Indy 500 should the start of the race be delayed. Larson, who drives with Hendrick Motorsports full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, currently leads the points standings and has already locked himself into the Cup Series playoffs.
NASCAR rules require drivers to start all races on the calendar to remain playoff eligibility. However, it is expected that should he miss tonight’s race in Charlotte, NASCAR would grant the 2021 Cup Series champion a waiver to that rule.
