Facts and figures about the starting field for the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

  • Alex Palou earned his second career Indianapolis 500 pole. His first came in 2023, also with Chip Ganassi Racing. He finished fourth. Palou is the only Spanish driver to win the “500” pole.
  • This is the fourth time car No. 10 has won the Indianapolis 500 pole. The last time was 2023, also by Alex Palou.
  • Chip Ganassi Racing earned its ninth Indianapolis 500 pole, all since 1993. Only Team Penske has more in Indianapolis 500 history, with 19. CGR’s pole winners: Arie Luyendyk (1993), Bruno Junqueira (2002), Scott Dixon (2008, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022), Alex Palou (2023, 2026).
  • Six different teams are represented in the first two rows of the starting grid: Chip Ganassi Racing (Alex Palou), ECR (Alexander Rossi), Team Penske (David Malukas), Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian (Felix Rosenqvist), A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Santino Ferrucci) and Arrow McLaren (Pato O’Ward).
  • There are nine past Indianapolis 500 winners in the starting field: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021), Scott Dixon (2008), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016), Takuma Sato (2017, 2020), Will Power (2018), Marcus Ericsson (2022), Josef Newgarden (2023, 2024), Alex Palou (2025). Between them, they have 14 victories. The record for most past winners in the field is 10, in 1992. The fewest, other than the inaugural race in 1911, is zero in 1912, 1913, 1915 and 1916.
  • There are four rookies in the field: Mick Schumacher (starting 27th), Dennis Hauger (29th), Jacob Abel (30th), Caio Collet (32nd). The last time the top-qualifying rookie started lower than 27th was 2007, when Milka Duno was the top rookie qualifier in the 29th starting spot.
  • Other than the four rookies, Romain Grosjean and Katherine Legge are the drivers in the field who didn’t start the race in 2025. Both made their last start in 2024.
  • Helio Castroneves is the most experienced driver in the field, with 25 previous Indianapolis 500 starts. The record is 35, set in consecutive years from 1958-1992 by A.J. Foyt.
  • Scott Dixon has led 677 career laps in the Indianapolis 500, the all-time event record. The only other drivers in the field who have led more than 200 laps are Helio Castroneves (326) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (219).
  • The oldest driver in the starting field is Helio Castroneves, 51 years, 14 days on Race Day. The youngest driver is Nolan Siegel, 21 years, 196 days. A.J. Foyt is the oldest driver to start the Indianapolis 500. He was 57 years, 128 days old when he made his last start in 1992. A.J. Foyt IV is the youngest driver to start the Indianapolis 500. His 19th birthday was on Race Day, 2003.
  • Helio Castroneves and Takuma Sato will be older on Race Day than Al Unser when he became the oldest winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1987 at age 47 years, 360 days old. Castroneves will be 51 years, 14 days old on Race Day; Sato 49 years, 116 days.
  • Helio Castroneves is one of 15 drivers age 50 or older to start the Indianapolis 500. The others: Mario Andretti, Cliff Bergere, Gary Bettenhausen, Duane Carter, A.J. Foyt, Ralph Hepburn, Gordon Johncock, Jim McElreath, Danny Ongais, Johnny Rutherford, Johnny Parsons, Lyn St. James, Dick Simon, Al Unser.
  • Nolan Siegel and Kyffin Simpson will be younger on Race Day than Troy Ruttman when he became the youngest winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1952 at age 22 years, 80 days old. Siegel will be 21 years, 196 days old on Race Day; Simpson 21 years, 227 days.
  • Dennis Hauger is just the second Norwegian-born driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500. The first was Gil Anderson, who started in the first six editions of the “500” from 1911-16. Anderson, whose last name was spelled Andersen at birth, was born in Norway and emigrated to America as a teen and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1900.
  • Twenty-four different drivers in this year’s field have led a total of 2,485 laps in previous Indianapolis 500s.
  • There are a combined 256 previous Indianapolis 500 starts among the 33 drivers in this year’s field. The record is 260 years of experience, set in 1987 and 1992. There were 253 years of combined experience in last year’s field.
  • The most-experienced row in this year’s starting lineup is Row 5, with a combined 49 career starts (Ed Carpenter 22, Helio Castroneves 25, Christian Rasmussen 2). The least-experienced row is Row 9, with eight combined career starts (Kyle Kirkwood 4, Katherine Legge 4, Mick Schumacher 0).
  • There are six past Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year in this year’s field: Helio Castroneves, Santino Ferrucci, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi. The record is nine, in 1991 and 2021.
  • Twenty of the 33 starters in this year’s race have started at least one race in INDY NXT by Firestone (previously Indy Lights). The drivers: David Malukas, Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O’Ward, Kyffin Simpson, Conor Daly, Scott Dixon, Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter, Helio Castroneves, Christian Rasmussen, Nolan Siegel, Louis Foster, Josef Newgarden, Kyle Kirkwood, Graham Rahal, Dennis Hauger, Jacob Abel, Sting Ray Robb, Caio Collet, Jack Harvey.