By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Eight former winners _ including reigning champion Josef Newgarden and four-time champ Helio Castroneves _ will continue preparations this week for the 108^th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Photo by Michael C. Johnson

INDYCAR’s official entry list for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Sunday, May 26, around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval also features five NTT IndyCar Series champions.

Thirty-four entries will vie for the race’s traditional 33 starting spots. Tuesday’s Opening Day practice was curtailed by persistent rain after only 23 minutes of track time. Practice is scheduled to resume today through “Fast Friday,” with PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying booked for Saturday and Sunday, May 18-19.

Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon of New Zealand_ the Indy 500 champion in 2008 _ topped Tuesday’s speed chart at 229.107 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Marco Andretti, the 2020 Indy 500 pole-sitter and grandson of 1969 race champion Mario Andretti, was second-fast at 228.399 mph in the No. 98 MAPEI/Curb Honda fielded by Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb-Agajanian. Both Dixon and Andretti benefitted from aerodynamic tows generated by traffic.

Two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato of Japan was third at 225.551 mph in the No. 75 AMADA Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Native Mexican Pato O’Ward placed fourth _ the day’s fastest Chevrolet-powered driver _ at 224.993 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy.

Denmark’s Christian Lundgaard ran fifth at 223.844 mph in the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda, as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was the only team with multiple cars in the top-five.

Team Penske’s Newgarden earned his first career 500 victory last May after passing 2022 winner Marcus Ericsson of Sweden on the final lap after a late red flag created a one-lap shootout for a place on the BorgWarner Trophy and racing immortality. Newgarden presented team-and-series owner Roger Penske  his organization’s record-extending 19th Indy 500 victory.

“There’s just no place like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. No place compares,” Newgarden said last weekend while preparing to begin his “Month of May” activity in the Sonsio Grand Prix on the 2.439-mile/14-turn IMS Road-Course. “The history of this facility and the feeling that it gives you, it’s very emotional. It’s just a great place to be.”

Newgarden is aiming to become the first back-to-back winner since Castroneves accomplished the feat in 2001 and 2002. If Newgarden secures a repeat win, he will earn a bonus of $440,000 courtesy of BorgWarner, namesake of the Indy 500 trophy. That amount is more than the entire yearly purse up to and including the 1962 Indianapolis 500, which paid out $425,652.

Castroneves earned a spot alongside open-wheel legends A.J. Foyt Jr. of Houston, Al Unser and Rick Mears in the most prestigious club in motorsports _ four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500 _ with his emotional victory in 2021 for Meyer Shank Racing. The popular Brazilian won his first three Indy 500s (2001, 2002 and 2009) for Team Penske. Additionally, Castroneves turned 49-years-old on May 10, and a victory would make him the oldest winner in 500 history. That record is held by “Big Al” Unser, who won the 1987 edition just five days shy of his 48th birthday.

Sato returns as a two-time champion (2017, 2020), along with single winners Dixon (2008), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016) and native Australian Will Power (2018). The record for winners in one field is 10, set in 1992.

In addition to Dixon, the field includes past NTT IndyCar Series champions Hunter-Reay (2012), Newgarden (2017, 2019), two-time reigning champ Alex Palou (2021, 2023) and Power (2014).

Indy 500 rookie Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will attempt to become the fifth driver to complete “The Double” on Memorial Day by racing in the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day. Larson is looking to join John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch on that exclusive list. The last driver to complete the feat was Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, in 2014.

The versatile Larson is one of seven drivers competing for Rookie of the Year honors, along with Marcus Armstrong, Tom Blomqvist, Linus Lundqvist, Christian Rasmussen, Nolan Siegel and Kyffin Simpson.

Live Race Day coverage is scheduled to begin on NBC, Peacock, Universo and the INDYCAR Radio Network at 11 a.m. (EDT), with the green flag set to wave at 12:45 p.m.

2024 INDY 500 ENTRY BREAKDOWN

Winners (8) _ Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden, Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato.

Rookies (7) _ Marcus Armstrong, Tom Blomqvist, Kyle Larson, Linus Lundqvist, Christian Rasmussen, Nolan Siegel, Kyffin Simpson.

U.S. drivers (13) _ Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, Santino Ferrucci, Colton Herta, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Kyle Kirkwood, Kyle Larson, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Sting Ray Robb, Alexander Rossi, Nolan Siegel.

International drivers (21, from 13 countries) _ Marcus Armstrong, Tom Blomqvist, Agustín Canapino, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Pietro Fittipaldi, Romain Grosjean, Callum Ilott, Katherine Legge, Christian Lundgaard, Linus Lundqvist, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Alex Palou, Will Power, Christian Rasmussen, Felix Rosenqvist, Takuma Sato, Kyffin Simpson, Rinus VeeKay.

Engines (34) _ Honda 18, Chevrolet 16 (all cars use Dallara chassis and Firestone Firehawk tires).

Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 152; 2, Will Power, Team Penske, 140; 3, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 127; 4, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 127; 5, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 107; 6, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 88; 7, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 88; 8, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 86; 9, Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 84; 10, Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren, 78;

11, Marcus Armstrong, Chip Ganassi Racing, 76; 12, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 71; 13, Linus Lundqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing, 68; 14, Romain Grosjean, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 68; 15, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 63; 16, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 63; 17, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 61; 18, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 60; 19, Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing, 58; 20, Augustin Canapino, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 48;

21, Jack Harvey, Dale Coyne Racing, 47; 22, Pietro Fittipaldi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 45; 23, Tom Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 41; 24, Theo Pourchaire, Arrow McLaren, 38; 25, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 32; 26, Sting Ray Robb, A.J. Foyt Racing, 31; 27, Callum Ilott, Arrow McLaren, 19; 28, Luca Ghiotto, Dale Coyne Racing, 14; 29, Colin Braun, Dale Coyne Racing, 10; 30, Nolan Siegel, Dale Coyne Racing, 10.

Official NTT IndyCar Series entry list for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, with car number in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car name with engine supplier and team entrant:

1. (2) Josef Newgarden-(W), Nashville, Tenn., Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet/Team Penske
2. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Christchurch, New Zealand, Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet/Team Penske
3. (4) Kyffin Simpson-(R), Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Chip Ganassi Racing
4. (5) Pato O’Ward, Monterrey, Mexico, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet/Arrow McLaren
5. (06) Helio Castroneves-(W), Sau Paulo, Brazil, Cliffs Honda/Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian
6. (6) Callum Ilott, Cambridge, England, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet/Arrow McLaren
7. (7) Alexander Rossi-(W), Nevada City, Calif., Arrow McLaren Chevrolet/Arrow McLaren
8. (8) Linus Lundqvist-(R), Stockholm, Sweden, American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Chip Ganassi Racing
9. (9) Scott Dixon-(W), Auckland, New Zealand, PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Chip Ganassi Racing
10. (10) Alex Palou, Barcelona, Spain, DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Chip Ganassi Racing
11. (11) Marcus Armstrong-(R), Christchurch, New Zealand, Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Chip Ganassi Racing
12. (12) Will Power-(W), Toowoomba, Australia, Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet/Team Penske
13. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Woodbury, Conn., A.J. Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties Chevrolet/A.J. Foyt Enterprises
14. (15) Graham Rahal, New Albany, Ohio, United Rentals Honda/Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
15. (17) Kyle Larson-(R), Elk Grove, Calif., Hendrickcars.com Arrow McLaren Chevrolet/Arrow McLaren/Rick Hendrick
16. (18) Nolan Siegel-(R), Palo Alto, Calif., Dale Coyne Racing Honda/Dale Coyne Racing
17. (20) Ed Carpenter, Indianapolis, Ind., Guy Care Chevrolet/Ed Carpenter Racing
18. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Hoofddorp, The Netherlands, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet/Ed Carpenter Racing
19. (23) Ryan Hunter-Reay-(W), Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet/DRR-Cusick Motorsports
20. (24) Conor Daly, Noblesville, Ind., Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports Chevrolet/DRR-Cusick Motorsports
21. (26) Colton Herta, Valencia, Calif., Gainbridge Honda/Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian
22. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Jupiter, Fla., AutoNation Honda, Andretti Global
23. (28) Marcus Ericsson-(W), Kumla, Sweden, Delaware Life Honda/Andretti Global
24. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Miami, Fla., 5-hour Energy Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
25. (33) Christian Rasmussen-(R), Copenhagen, Denmark, Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
26. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Payette, Idaho, A.J. Foyt Racing/Pray.com Chevrolet/A.J. Foyt Enterprises
27. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Hedensted, Denmark, Hy-Vee Honda/Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
28. (51) Katherine Legge, Guildford, England, e.l.f. Honda/Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing
29. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Varnamo, Sweden, AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda/Meyer Shank Racing
30. (66) Tom Blomqvist-(R), Cambridge, England, AutoNation/Arctic Wolf Honda/Meyer Shank Racing
31. (75) Takuma Sato-(W), Tokyo, Japan, AMADA Honda/Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
32. (77) Romain Grosjean, Geneva, Switzerland, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet /Juncos Hollinger Racing
33. (78) Agustin Canapino, Arrecifes, Argentina, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet/Juncos Hollinger Racing
34. (98) Marco Andretti, Nazareth, Pa., MAPEI/Curb Honda/Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb-Agajanian

Note _ All cars use the fourth generation NTT IndyCar Series chassis (Dallara IR-12) with universal IR-18 aerodynamic bodywork, Chevrolet or Honda twin-turbocharged V-6 engines and Firestone Firehawk tires.

(W) _Denotes Indianapolis 500 winner

(R) _ Denotes Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year candidate