Indianapolis, IN
When is Indy 500 2024 start time? What to know from schedule, TV blackout, race time, more
Watch ‘More Than a Race,’ our mini-documentary on the Indy 500
Indianapolis is the 500.
A.J. Foyt once said, “If it wasn’t for the Indianapolis 500, none of you would’ve ever heard of me.” The same might be said of Indianapolis.
Jenna Watson, Indianapolis Star
The 2024 Indianapolis 500 is coming soon. The drivers from the IndyCar Series will seek auto racing’s greatest prize at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Here’s what fans should know, including the race date and time, how to get tickets, who won last year’s race, what’s happening at the track throughout May, and much more. More details will be available as the race nears.
When is the Indy 500?
The 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 26, 2024.
What is the Indy 500 start time?
The green flag is scheduled to drop at 12:45 p.m. ET on May 26. But there’s a lot happening on the track before the race begins.
Indy 500 tickets
Here’s what seats are available at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Officials report that just a few seats remain.
What is the Indy 500 race day schedule?
Tickets start at $50
Public gates open at 6 a.m., and there is a celebrity red carpet, prerace on-track activity and the infield Snake Pit concert.
When is Carb Day at IMS for the Indy 500?
Tickets start at $45
Friday, May 24: Gates open 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; practice is 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; pit stop contest is 2:30-4 p.m. George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Gin Blossoms and Kid Quill are playing the Carb Day concert starting at 4 p.m.
When is Legends Day at IMS for the Indy 500?
Tickets start at $20
Saturday, May 25: Gates open 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; full-field autograph session 9-10 a.m.; public drivers’ meeting 10:30-11 a.m. Riley Green will headline a downtown concert at Everwise Amphitheater in White River State Park that evening.
Why is the Indy 500 so famous?
The Indy 500 quickly caught on after its inaugural race in 1911 as a way to test drivers, engineers and cars, which had been under mass productions for just a few years. French auto maker Peugeot joined several U.S. companies by entering cars starting in 1913, and members of the Chevrolet came from Switzerland, founded a car company and won the race in 1920. It has been a destination race since.
How many laps is the Indy 500?
200 laps on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. The track is flat on the straightaways, with gentle 9.2-degree banking in its four turns.
How much does it cost to enter the Indy 500?
In 2024, there are 27 full-time IndyCar Series cars that require up to $10 million to run for a full season. For cars competing only in the Indy 500, it’s believed the cost to in the $1 million-$2 million range.
Is the Indy 500 sold out? How do I get Indy 500 tickets?
Indy 500 tickets for 2024 are available here. The Speedway doesn’t reveal attendance figures, but in recent years the crowd has been estimated at 300,000, though a complete sellout is rare.
Indianapolis 500 winners
75 drivers from 12 nations, representing five continents, have claimed race wins. Josef Newgarden of the United States won in 2023. The full list of race winners is here.
Indianapolis 500 milk
Indy 500 winners drink milk. Louis Meyer did so first in 1936, asking for buttermilk after crossing the finish line in steamy conditions. Drivers celebrated with milk intermittently until the mid 1950s, when milk producers became a race sponsor. A gulp from a bottle and a large pour over the winner’s head have been a tradition since.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum
The museum, located inside the 2.5-mile oval, is closed for renovations. The plan is to reopen in April 2025.
Indy 500 vs. Formula 1
The cars that compete in the Indy 500 are part of the IndyCar Series, a North American open-wheel series. Formula 1 is a worldwide series. Cars competing in the Indy 500 exceed 240 mph on the straightaways at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. F1 cars don’t reach such speeds because they race on road and street courses with frequent turns. Here’s more on the differences between the series.
Is Indy faster than NASCAR?
Stock cars can top 200 mph, but they don’t reach the speeds Indy cars reach. Joey Logano earned the pole position at the 2024 Daytona 500 with a lap of 181.947. Here’s more on the differences between the series.
Kyle Larson is attempting the Indy 500-NASCAR ‘Double’
The 2021 NASCAR Cup champion is willing to race almost anything with wheels, and this is his first chance in the IndyCar Series. He plans to race 500 miles in Indy, then travel to Charlotte, N.C., to race 600 miles in a Cup car. That’s 1,100 miles total, if he completes the task. Here’s his schedule between Indy 500 and NASCAR duties.
Indy 500 Snake Pit
This year’s lineup of EDM stars includes Excision, Dom Dolla, Gryffin, Sullivan King and Timmy Trumpet.
But why the Snake Pit? It used to be more of an informal title of an infield area where almost anything – anything – could happen. Though Speedway officials made the facility more family friendly, the name lives on in the concert.
What is the Indy 500 pace car?
A Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, the 21st iteration of the famous Chevy sports car, will lead the field of 33 to green. It’s Chevy’s 35th 500 pace car overall (dating to 1948).
Celebrities at the Indy 500
∎ Indiana Fever legend Tamika Catchings is the 500 Festival Parade grand marshal on Saturday, May 25. Catchings has led child literacy efforts and opened businesses in Indianapolis.
∎ Jordin Sparks will sing the national anthem for the second time. The “American Idol” winner and actress also sang the anthem in 2015.
How long does the Indy 500 take?
Helio Castroneves completed the 2021 race at 190.690 mph and in 2 hours, 37 minutes and 19.38 seconds, the fastest in race history. Four of the past six races have taken between 2:50 and 3 hours. The more caution-flag laps, or red-flag stops, the longer it takes.
Speed reading: Here are the fastest races in Indy 500 history
What channel is the Indy 500 on?
NBC broadcasts the race, but it’s unlikely to air live in the Indianapolis area.
Viewing/listening options: NBC | Peacock | SiriusXM
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The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on June 17 gave AES the nod to raise electricity rates enough to earn an additional $71 million each year, a decision that drew reproof from Indiana lawmakers who called it another blow to cost-burdened consumers.
The approved rate represents less than half of the $192 million increase that AES initially requested. It’s also less than the $91 million increase proposed in an October settlement agreement between AES, the city of Indianapolis and major electricity consumers like Kroger and Walmart.
But the new rate is still significantly more than what the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, the state agency representing ratepayers in the case, recommended in September. The OUCC’s proposal would have capped AES’s annual operating revenue at $21 million less than the current level.
The rate increase authorizes AES to earn a total of nearly $2 billion each year, or an estimated $384 million in profit.
The higher base rate comes as a double whammy for Indianapolis-area households, who are already paying more for electricity this summer after AES temporarily raised rates to account for higher-than-anticipated fuel costs during last winter’s storms. The increase also arrives against the backdrop of inflation, which rose to a three-year high last month, and surging gas prices due to the war in Iran.
Gov. Mike Braun wrote in a Wednesday post to X that he was “deeply disappointed” by the IURC’s approval of the rate increase.
“Hoosiers have spent years tightening their belts and making tough financial decisions,” Braun wrote. “It’s time for utility companies to do the same.”
The IURC’s decision also drew fire from the other side of the aisle. In a June 17 news release, five Democrats representing Indianapolis in the state Senate – J.D. Ford, Andrea Hunley, La Keisha Jackson, Fady Qaddoura, and Greg Taylor – chastised Indiana’s Republican supermajority for failing to rein in rising utility costs.
“Hoosiers pay more. Monopoly utilities collect more. And the leaders in the super-majority who promise affordability over and over again show those are just empty words,” the news release said. “Instead, they continue to defend a system that takes more and more out of our paychecks.”
The consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition also slammed the rate increase. Ben Inskeep, CAC’s program director, said the decision left him “less optimistic that this commission is willing to do things differently and to actually hold utilities accountable.”
He said the IURC should have penalized AES for issues that plagued customers after the utility updated its billing system in 2023, including duplicated withdrawals for the same monthly bill.
The rate increase will take effect in two phases, with rates going up in July 2026 and January 2027. AES officials anticipate the hikes “will be less than $5 per month per phase” for a household that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, according to a Wednesday news release from the utility.
“The IURC’s decision reflects a thorough, transparent process and balances the need for continued investment in the electric system with a focus on customer affordability,” the news release stated.
Under a state law that Braun signed in February, AES cannot ask for another increase to its base rate until January 2030 — though electricity bills could still go up for other reasons, like the fuel adjustment charge hitting consumers this month.
Three members of the five-member IURC signed off on the rate increase: Andy Zay, David Veleta, and David Ziegner. Commissioner Bob Deig dissented. Commissioner Anthony Swinger recused himself from the decision because he worked on the AES rate case for the OUCC before he was appointed to the IURC by Braun in January.
“None of this was taken lightly,” Zay, the IURC’s chair, said at the Wednesday hearing, adding that the commission and its staff had carefully weighed concerns about affordability. The commissioners did not go into further detail at the hearing.
But the commission’s order shows some of the debates that played out during the rate case. One point of contention was AES’s authorized return on equity — that is, how much the utility can earn each year in profits. Other disputes hinged on how AES forecasts its operating expenses.
The OUCC accused AES of including more than 100 “phantom hires,” vacant positions it did not necessarily intend to fill in its calculations. Last year, AES said that the rising costs of vegetation management, or trimming trees around power lines, also drove the need to raise rates. The OUCC recommended keeping vegetation management costs flat.
One factor that’s not driving higher prices? Data centers.
AES does not currently provide service to any data centers and did not include them in its calculations, AES president Brandi Davis-Handy said in testimony before the IURC.
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
Interactive radar | Weather alerts by county
WATCH LIVE COVERAGE
(WRTV) — A tornado watch has been issued through 1 a.m. EDT Thursday for much of Indiana, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said.
The watch area covers 47 of Indiana’s 92 counties, and includes Indianapolis and its surrounding counties.
Counties in the watch area are Bartholomew, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Decatur, Delaware, Fountain, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jay, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, and White.
WRTV Meteorologist Ryan Morse says Wednesday afternoon’s rain was the first of two rounds coming to the Hoosier state. A line of supercells were expected to form in Illinois and travel into central Indiana.
In neighboring Illinois, dozens of counties are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. CDT/11 p.m. EST.
All threats of severe weather were on the table: damaging wind, strong tornadoes, large hail, and flooding.
Severe storms should exit Indiana in the early morning hours.
WISH-TV Meteorologist Keith Gibson says people should have multiple ways of getting alerts and have electronic devices fully charged in case they lose power.
The next chance for rain after these storms could be on Saturday.
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