Ganassi’s Takuma Sato and Scott Dixon set the tone

The 107th Indy 500 is officially upon us.

Testing is complete and the 33-car grid for “Racing’s Greatest Show” is set. Here’s what you need to know and what you might have missed during the “month of May” at the speedway:

2023 Indy 500 TV/Streaming Schedule

All times Eastern

Friday May 26
11am-1pm: Final Practice – “Carb Day” (Peacock, IndyCar Radio)
2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.: Pit Stop Competition (Peacock)

Sunday May 28
9am-11am: Pre-race show (Peacock)
11am-4pm: 107th Indianapolis 500 (NBC, Universo, Peacock, SiriusXM, IndyCar Radio)

Ganassi duo top speed charts on ‘Carb Day’

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Takuma Sato and Scott Dixon continued to show the strong pace they have had over the past two weeks, topping the speed charts for Friday’s final “Carb Day” practice. Sato completed 86 laps and had a top average speed of 227.855 mph. Dixon’s top average speed was 227.285, just 0.332 mph faster than Penske’s Will Power.

Legge and Rahal got a shakedown session

Katherine Legge and Graham Rahal will get an extra 15-minute practice session away from the rest of the field to shake up their rebuilt cars on Thursday. Legge ran into Stefan Wilson in Monday’s practice session, sending both the wall and Wilson to the hospital with a fractured vertebra that will keep him out of contention.

Rahal, after initially failing to qualify in his normal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, will drive the backup Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet. Legge’s RLL team was able to rebuild the original chassis of their crashed car. The track will be open from 4:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. for Legge and Rahal to come out of the pit lane, down the back stretch and back into the pits just to make sure the cars are in working order for final practice Friday’s “Carb Day”. .

Best bets for the 2023 Indy 500

Although there are nine former winners on the court, only two, Scott Dixon and Takuma Sato, enter the weekend with winning odds above 10 to 1, according to BetMGM. Three Hondas and two Chevrolets are among the big favorites to win.

Better chances of winning
• Alex Palou +550
• Pato O’Ward +650
• Scott Dixon +850
• Takuma Sato +1,000

2023 Indy 500 Starting Grid

1. Alex Palou (10), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

2. Rinus Veekay (21), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

3. Felix Rosenqvist (6), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

4. Santino Ferrucci (14), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet

5. Pato O’Ward (5), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

6. Scott Dixon (9), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

7. Alexander Rossi (7), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

8. Takuma Sato (11), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

9. Tony Kanaan (66), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

10. Marcus Ericsson (8), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

11. Benjamin Pederson (55), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet

12. Will Power (12), Team Penske Chevrolet

13. Ed Carpenter (33), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

14. Scott McLaughlin (3), Team Penske Chevrolet

15. Kyle Kirkwood (27), Andretti Autosport Honda

16. Conor Daly (20), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

17. Josef Newgarden (2), Team Penske Chevrolet

18. Ryan Hunter-Reay (23), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet

19. Romain Grosjean (28), Andretti Autosport Honda

20. Helio Castroneves (06), Meyer Shank Racing Honda

21. Colton Herta (26), Andretti Autosport Honda

22. Simon Pagenaud (60), Meyer Shank Racing Honda

23. David Malukas (18), Dale Coyne Racing/HMD Motorsports Honda

24. Marco Andretti (98), Andretti Autosport Honda

25. Devlin DeFrancesco (29), Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda

26. Callum Ilott (77), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

27. Agustin Canopino (78), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

28. RC Enerson (50), Abel Motorsports Chevrolet

29. Katherine Legge (44), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

30. Christian Lundgaard (45), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

31. Sting Ray Robb (51), Dale Coyne Racing/Rick Ware Racing Honda

32. Jack Harvey (30), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

33. Graham Rahal (24), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet

Rahal will replace the injured Wilson

Graham Rahal will replace Stefan Wilson in the No.24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet after the British driver fractured a vertebra in an accident during Monday’s practice session. Rahal was dramatically ousted from the field by Rahal Letterman Lanigan team-mate Jack Harvey in a desperate last-minute qualifying run as the session drew to a close on Sunday afternoon.

Legge and Wilson crash in training on Monday

May’s first crash came in the seventh practice session as Katherine Legge and Stefan Wilson became tangled in Turn 1 with around 50 minutes remaining in the session. Running in a peloton on the front stretch, Legge was unable to slow his car enough and slammed into Wilson’s rear, sending them both into the wall.

Wilson gave a thumbs up as he was placed on a board before being transported to the field medical centre, while Legge got out of his car on his own. Track medical staff said Wilson was communicative and in good spirits and was being transferred to an area hospital for advanced imaging.

2023 Indy 500 Test Results

Harvey surprises Rahal in last chance qualifying

Five minutes from the end of Sunday’s last chance qualifying, Jack Harvey was not in the Indianapolis 500m field. At the end of what seemed to be his last race, he was still not in the field of 33. But the team and Harvey made the decision to have a desperate last race without the luxury of cooling the engine. Harvey crossed the finish line to make that final run with seconds on the clock and edged Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s teammate Graham Rahal off the field by 0.004 seconds.

Indy 500 qualifying format

There are 34 entries vying for 33 starting spots in the 107th Indianapolis 500. Qualifying is split over two days, with the bulk of the field set in Saturday’s seven-hour marathon session. Sunday will include sessions for the last three places – and an elimination – the top 12 and the top six in a shootout for pole. The drivers’ average speed over a four-lap race determines their ranking.

Qualifying Day 1 – Saturday May 20
Grid points 13-30 locked
• After each car has had an opportunity in a four-lap race, it may choose one of two paths for subsequent attempts to improve its time. Lane 1 has priority for access to the track, but teams must give up their previous qualifying speed to enter it.

Qualifying Day 2 – Sunday May 21
Grid points 1-12 and 31-33 locked
• The first hour-long session features the top 12 racing cars with places 7-12 determined.
• The last four cars have one hour to determine who will or will not enter the race with places 31 to 33 locked.
• Finally, the top six cars will have a 30-minute session to determine pole position in sixth place.

107th Indianapolis 500 entry list

Josef Newgarden (2), Team Penske Chevrolet
Scott McLaughlin (3), Team Penske Chevrolet
Pato O’Ward (5), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves (06), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Felix Rosenqvist (6), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Alexander Rossi (7), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Marcus Ericsson (8), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Scott Dixon (9), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Alex Palou (10), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Takuma Sato (11), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Will Power (12), Team Penske Chevrolet
Santino Ferrucci (14), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Graham Rahal (15), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
David Malukas (18), Dale Coyne Racing/HMD Motorsports Honda
Conor Daly (20), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Rinus Veekay (21), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Ryan Hunter-Reay (23), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet
Stefan Wilson (24), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet
Colton Herta (26), Andretti Autosport Honda
Kyle Kirkwood (27), Andretti Autosport Honda
Romain Grosjean (28), Andretti Autosport Honda
Devlin DeFrancesco (29), Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda
Jack Harvey (30), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Ed Carpenter (33), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Katherine Legge (44), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Christian Lundgaard (45), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
RC Enerson (50), Abel Motorsports Chevrolet
Sting Ray Robb (51), Dale Coyne Racing/Rick Ware Racing Honda
Benjamin Pederson (55), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Simon Pagenaud (60), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Tony Kanaan (66), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Callum Ilott (77), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Agustin Canopino (78), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Marco Andretti (98), Andretti Autosport Honda

2023 Indy 500 Weather Forecast

Heading into the first week of practice for the 107th Indianapolis 500, rain threatens to hamper two days of track racing — the first two sessions on Tuesday, May 16 and “Fast Friday” on May 19. Otherwise, the forecast is for cool temperatures in the 60s and low 70s with scattered cloud cover. But, being the Midwest, conditions can change at any time.