The grandstands across the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be filled for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 25. Photo from Visit Indy.

News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has officially sold out seats Indianapolis 500 grandstand seating for the first time in nearly 10 years. In addition, the Speedway is lifting the local television blackout, which had been in place since 1951, so that central Indiana fans are now available to watch the race live.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Doug Bores said field tickets for general admission are still available despite the fact that the 230,000 grandstand seats have been sold out. He said about 350,000 racing enthusiasts, or 1 in 1,000 people living in the United States, will gather on the track for the 109th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

The game is usually broadcast locally after the end of Sunday night, creating a clash with the Pacers, who are expected to host the Knicks in the third game of the Eastern Conference finals the same night. The blackout lift has resolved this conflict, with Fox Sports broadcasting the race as it happens for the first time.

The first sold-out race since the 100th in 2016 was imminent. “As promised, the very best fans in sports have delivered in fitting fashion for the stars of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and every last reserved seat ticket has been sold,” Boles said in a news release. And the biggest reason for such enthusiastic anticipation is the personalities competing at the race.

Joseph Newgarden won the Indy 500 the two previous years in a row, but it turns out that his car and the car of Team Pensky teammate Will Power had illegally modified parts in final qualifying round. As a result, they will start the race from the back of the field. 

Their other teammate, Scott McLaughlin, is driving a spare car after a crash during practice.

Alex Palou, two-time Indycar champion who finished second in 2021 and fifth in 2024, will compete to win his first Indy 500 victory. The 28-year-old Spaniard won four of the first five races this season and dominated the series.

Robert Shwartzman, an Indy 500 rookie with dual Israeli and Russian nationality, will start at pole after a noteworthy performance from Prema Racing, which is also making its 500 debut. The last rookie to start at the pole was Teo Fabi in 1983.

Meanwhile, NASCAR star Kyle Larson aims to run all 1,100 laps of the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on the same day, trying for the second time to to reach a “double.” Tony Stewart in 2001 is the only racer to achieve this goal.