The seventh race of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season is on tap for Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But with all due respect to the prestigious Astor Challenge Cup, the pursuit of the season championship takes a back seat for a few days.

After all, motorsports immortality is at stake with the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

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The magnitude of the moment is immense, and the number of important storylines has grown by the day. No. 1 on the list is the status of Alexander Rossi, the 2016 race winner who suffered minor injuries in a Turn 2 accident in Monday’s practice. He underwent outpatient surgeries on a left finger and his right ankle, and his recovery will be monitored throughout the week with a goal of participating in Friday’s two-hour Miller Lite Carb Day practice (11 a.m.-1 p.m.).

There are numerous examples over the years of drivers competing in the “500” as they recovered from injuries. Buddy Lazier famously won the 1996 race eight weeks after suffering multiple back fractures in an accident in practice at Phoenix Raceway. Last year, Takuma Sato still had broken ribs after being injured in the spring test at IMS.

That’s not the only thing noteworthy about Monday’s accident. Two of the cars that qualified in the Firestone Fast Six round were damaged, and those drivers – Rossi and Pato O’Ward – are expected to use backup cars in Sunday’s race (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls). Fortunately for all involved, Rossi’s ECR and O’Ward’s Arrow McLaren have been some of the most successful teams at Indy in recent years. Per INDYCAR rules, the backup cars will remain in the second and sixth starting positions, respectively.

Romain Grosjean, who has the 24th starting position, also was involved in the accident, forcing Dale Coyne Racing into additional work. The car will be ready for Friday’s practice, a team official said Tuesday. A few other cars, including the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing machines of Conor Daly (No. 8 starter) and Jack Harvey (No. 33), suffered lesser damage and will be repaired.

How all these cars perform Friday will be interesting to watch. Another item to monitor: How many of those deeper in the 33-car field rate after switching out of the extra engine boost used in qualifying. Two-time Indy winner Josef Newgarden is a prime example.

Josef Newgarden

Newgarden (photo, above) had one of the faster cars in the practices leading up to qualifying. But when under last weekend’s timed run, Newgarden’s four-lap average ranked 25th. He moved up two positions after the cars of Harvey and AJ Foyt Racing’s Caio Collet were penalized for unapproved modifications in qualifying. Newgarden would be the first to win Indy from the 23rd starting position, and only four have won from further back.

Prior to the penalty, Collet was in a strong position to earn the Rookie of the Year Award. He earned the No. 10 starting position, 19 spots ahead of the next-highest contender, Mick Schumacher of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. When the green flag drops Sunday, the four drivers challenging for the award will be able to see one another. Schumacher will start 27th with Dale Coyne Racing’s Dennis Hauger 29th, Abel Motorsports’ Jacob Abel 30th and Collet 32nd. There are six former winners of the award in this field, including two who won the race that year (Helio Castroneves in 2001, Rossi in 2016).

Helio Castroneves

Castroneves (photo, above) will be taking his fifth shot at winning a record fifth “500.” Also noteworthy is the fact he can break A.J. Foyt’s mark for career miles completed if he is still in the race on Lap 112. Foyt completed 12,272.5 miles over 35 races.

Katherine Legge will bid to become the sixth driver to compete in the “500” and NASCAR’s Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the same day. Kyle Larson did both last year. At Indy, Legge will start 26th in an AJ Foyt Racing entry.

There are nine former Indy winners in this field, led by reigning champion Alex Palou, the pole sitter. In addition to Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing has 2008 winner Scott Dixon starting 10th. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Sato starts 12th, Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian’s Castroneves 14th, Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson and Will Power 17th and 19th, Arrow McLaren’s Ryan Hunter-Reay 22nd and Team Penske’s Newgarden 23rd.

With nine former winners, that means 24 drivers could become first-time winners of “The Greatest Spectacle Racing,” a career-making feat. The top starter in that group is Team Penske’s David Malukas in third. Fourteen winners, the second-highest figure in event history, have come from that starting position. Twenty-one were pole winners.

Palou will be aiming to become the seventh driver to win the “500” in consecutive years. Castroneves (2001, 2002) and Newgarden (2023, 2024) are already members of that club. He has won 11 of the past 23 series races, including Indy, but this race is a three-hour sprint of its own kind.

Palou’s three wins this season have him as the series points leader, putting him pace for a record-tying fourth consecutive season championship and fifth title in six years. That’s important, sure, but like the rest of those chasing the Astor Challenge Cup, that’s a story for another day.

The Indianapolis 500 is next.