Basics Of The 2026 Indy 500: Announcers, Favorites, Trophy And More

The Indianapolis 500 is “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” and the 110th running takes place this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

From Friday’s festivities to Sunday’s race, FOX will broadcast all the event’s exciting moments. 

Here’s what to know about the 2026 Indy 500. This will come in handy if you’re new to racing or just need a refresher on how everything works. 

If you’re looking for more racing details ahead of the Indy 500, we’ve got you covered there too. 

The Indy 500 will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the suburb of Speedway, just outside of Indianapolis. The green flag for 2026 is approximately set for 12:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 24. 

One lap around this oval track is 2.5 miles long, meaning the 500-mile race consists of 200 laps. Alex Palou, the 2025 Indy 500 winner, finished the race in two hours, 57 minutes. The average run time is around three hours.

You can watch the Indy 500 pre-race and race broadcasts on FOX and stream the broadcasts on FOX One, FOX Sports.com and the FOX Sports App. 

Coverage for the Indy 500 begins at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 24, on FOX with the pre-race show. Veteran host Chris Myers will lead the pre-race coverage, with former INDYCAR drivers Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick alongside him. 

Will Buxton, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be on the call for the live broadcast of the race, while Jamie Little, Kevin Lee and Georgia Henneberry report from the pits. FOX Sports’ Tom Rinaldi will be on site with features and interviews. 

FOX Sports’ “First Things First” will make an appearance. Rob Gronkowski will be part of the all-day party in the Snake Pit (more on that later) on Sunday. 

Alex Palou, the reigning Indy 500 champ, won pole position for this year’s Indy 500 during qualifying at IMS on Sunday, May 17. Alexander Rossi will join Palou on the front row, and David Malukas will start behind Palou in third place. Palou also earned pole position at the Indy 500 in 2023 but finished the race in fourth place. 

[Read More: 4 Takeways From Alex Palou Snagging Indy 500 Pole]

This time around, however, Palou became the first defending Indy 500 champ to win the pole the following year since Hélio Castroneves did it in 2010.

The Indy 500 trophy is known as the Borg-Warner Trophy — named after creator and sponsor, automotive supplies company BorgWarner. It stands at 5-feet-4, weighs 110 pounds and is valued at around $3.5 million. The trophy is fitted with a sculpted face and engraved name of each winner, dating back to Ray Harroun in 1911. 

The flags at the Indy 500, and in motorsports in general, are similar to traffic lights. 

Green: Go

Yellow: Caution, when all drivers must slow down

Red: All drivers must stop

Black: A driver must stop and go to the pits

Black-and-white checkered: End of the race

The Indy 500 field is al