2025 Indianapolis 500

Did You Know?

• Katherine Legge, the lone female driver in the 2023–2024 races, did not enter the 2025 race and instead announced her intent to compete in multiple NASCAR races including the BetMGM 300 during the Memorial Day weekend.
• Abel Motorsports declined to enter the 2025 race, instead providing technical support and a backup car for Jacob Abel's entry at Dale Coyne Racing.
• IndyCar Series officials clarified that if a replacement driver is used on race day, the car will be moved to the rear of the starting grid (33rd).

Testing and Rookie Orientation

A private Rookie Orientation Program session took place on October 10, 2024, for Arrow McLaren's Nolan Siegel. Although he had completed the ROP the previous May, he did not qualify for the race, so he had to repeat the rookie test. He successfully finished all three phases without any issues. A two-day offseason test followed on October 10–11, 2024, with eleven teams present to assess the hybrid energy recovery system powertrains introduced during the 2024 season.

On the first day, Josef Newgarden, Pato O'Ward, and Álex Palou focused on tire testing for Firestone. The next day, all eleven teams joined in, and Palou recorded the fastest lap at 224.342 mph. No incidents occurred. On March 26, a high-speed oval rookie evaluation test was held at Nashville Superspeedway.

Robert Shwartzman and Louis Foster took part, both passing their evaluations and earning approval for the Rookie Orientation Program at the April Open Test in Indianapolis. Jacob Abel had already completed his evaluation at Texas on November 14.

Practice

Opening day practice on May 13 was delayed by light rain until 2:35 p.m. and ended about 30 minutes early due to lightning. Will Power turned the fastest lap at 227.026 mph, while Kyle Kirkwood ran the fastest no-tow lap at 219.497 mph. The refresher session for Tony Kanaan was delayed until Wednesday. On the second day, rain again delayed the start until 1:08 p.m., and lightning halted practice for 54 minutes. Álex Palou posted the fastest lap at 227.546 mph, and Kirkwood again led no-tow laps at 222.760 mph.

No major incidents occurred. Thursday began with a 1-hour, 45-minute morning session for Kanaan's refresher testing. Scott Dixon's team performed an engine change after a problem in his final run on Wednesday. Christian Rasmussen spun in turn 2 and made light contact with the wall, returning later with minor damage. Josef Newgarden was fastest overall at 226.632 mph and fastest in no-tow at 222.555 mph.

Time Trials

A pre-qualifying practice on Saturday morning included a major accident when Marcus Armstrong lost control in turn 1 and hit the outside wall; he was taken to the medical center but was awake and alert. The first day of qualifying saw Colton Herta spin in turn 1 on his guaranteed run, heavily impacting the wall; his car became airborne and flipped, landing upside down. Herta switched to a backup car and qualified 29th. Álex Palou was fastest on Saturday with a four-lap average of 233.043 mph. Team Penske teammates Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden also exceeded 233 mph, at 233.013 and 233.004 mph respectively. Robert Shwartzman was the fastest rookie qualifier at 232.584 mph, earning sixth place and a spot in the Top 12 session. Conor Daly narrowly missed the Top 12, qualifying 13th on the final attempt of the day.

Race report

The race start was delayed about 30 minutes by light rain. During parade laps, Scott McLaughlin lost control while warming his tires, crashed into the pit wall on the front straight, and came to rest in turn 1, ending his race before the green flag. Scott Dixon experienced a brake fire on the left-rear during parade laps. The race began under yellow, with the green flag on lap 4.

Polesitter Robert Shwartzman led early, but Marco Andretti made contact with Jack Harvey and hit the outside wall in turn 1. Racing resumed on lap 8, with Pato O'Ward briefly leading before Takuma Sato passed him. A caution on lap 19 for rain led most of the field to pit, while ECR cars and Rinus VeeKay stayed out. After the rain stopped, racing resumed on lap 29, with Alexander Rossi leading.

Rossi and Christian Rasmussen exchanged the lead until their pit stops. Sato retook the lead. Rossi later developed an overheating gearbox and trailing smoke; on lap 74 he pitted, and as the car was shut off it erupted into flames. Neither Rossi nor crew members were injured, but the car was out.