Facts and figures about the starting field for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
- Robert Shwartzman earned his first career Indianapolis 500 pole. Shwartzman, born in Tel Aviv, Israel, is the first Israel native to compete in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
- Robert Shwartzman is the first rookie to win the pole since Teo Fabi in 1983. Tony Stewart started from the pole in 1996. He qualified second but moved to the pole position after his teammate Scott Brayton suffered fatal injuries in a crash during post-qualifying practice.
- Robert Shwartzman is the third rookie to win the pole on track. The others: Walt Faulkner (1950), Teo Fabi (1983). Lewis Strang started from the pole for the inaugural “500” in 1911 when starting position was determined by entry postmark date. Jean Chassagne started from the pole in 1914 when starting position was determined by a draw. Tony Stewart started from the pole in 1996 after pole winner Scott Brayton suffered fatal injuries in a crash in practice.
- This is the first time car No. 83 has won the Indianapolis 500 pole.
- The field average speed of 231.207 mph is the third fastest in history. The fastest is 232.184 in 2023, followed by 231.943 in 2024.
- The deepest starting position for a race winner is 28th, by Ray Harroun in 1911 and Louis Meyer in 1936. Two-time reigning winner Josef Newgarden is starting 32nd this year.
- There are eight former 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). Between them, they have 13 victories. The record for most former 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 three rookies in the field: Robert Shwartzman (starting first), Louis Foster (20th), Nolan Siegel (24th). There were six rookies in the 2024 field. The last race with fewer than three rookies was 2021 (Scott McLaughlin, Pietro Fittipaldi).
- Other than the three rookies, David Malukas, Devlin DeFrancesco and Jack Harvey are the drivers in the field who didn’t start the race in 2024. All three made their last start in 2023.
- Helio Castroneves is the most experienced driver in the field, with 24 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 driver in the field who has led more than 200 laps is Helio Castroneves (326).
- The oldest driver in the starting field is Helio Castroneves, 50 years, 15 days on Race Day. The youngest driver is Nolan Siegel, 20 years, 197 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 50 years, 15 days old on Race Day; Sato 48 years, 117 days.
- Helio Castroneves will become the 15th driver 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.
- Helio Castroneves will be the first driver age 50 or older to start in the Indianapolis 500 since Lyn St. James in 2000.
- Nolan Siegel, Kyffin Simpson and Louis Foster 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 20 years, 197 days old on Race Day; Simpson 20 years, 228 days; Foster 21 years, 302 days.
- Twenty-five different drivers in this year’s field have led a total of 2,575 laps in previous Indianapolis 500s.
- There are a combined 253 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 222 years of combined experience in last year’s field.
- The most-experienced row in this year’s starting lineup is Row 10, with a combined 37 career starts (Graham Rahal 17, Marco Andretti 19, Marcus Armstrong 1). The least-experienced row is Row 7, with four combined career starts (Kyle Larson 1, Louis Foster 0, Callum Ilott 3).
- There are eight former Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year in this year’s field: Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Santino Ferrucci, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Kyle Larson, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi. The record is nine, in 1991 and 2021.
