Indy 500 drivers: Meet the starting grid for 2025 race, from pole winner Robert Shwartzman to Kyle Larson

Get ready for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

The Indianapolis 500 returns Memorial Day weekend, where a field of 33 drivers will compete for 200 laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

This year, the group of 33 drivers includes plenty of previous Indy 500 victories, from Takuma Sato to defending back-to-back winner Josef Newgarden. Meanwhile, other notable names like Robert Shwartzman and Pato O’Ward will be competing for their first win at the event.

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Here’s a look at the full 2025 Indy 500 field, including some quick facts about each driver.

Indy 500 starting grid 2025

Rookie Robert Shwartzman won pole position for the 2025 Indy 500 with an average speed of 232.790 mph in Sunday’s “Fast Six.” Joining him in the first two rows will be Takuma Sato, Pato O’Ward, Scott Dixon, Felix Rosenqvist and Alex Palou. 

MORE: Full results from 2025 Indy 500 qualifying

Below is the full starting grid for the Indianapolis 500.

Indy 500 drivers 2025

Here’s what to know about each of the drivers competing in the 2025 Indy 500.

Robert Shwartzman

• Position: 1
• Car No.: 83
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 232.8 mph

Schwartzman is be the first rookie to claim pole position in the Indy 500 in 43 years and just the second ever. The 25-year-old, who has just five IndyCar races under his belt, will now seek to make some history out of the top spot. Schwartzman’s best IndyCar finish so far has been 18th, but he’s now primed to improve there after a surprising performance in qualifying.

Takuma Sato

• Position: 2
• Car No.: 75
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 232.5 mph

Sato became the first Japanese-born driver to win an IndyCar race in 2013 and was the first Asian driver to win the Indy 500 in 2017. He remains just one of 20 drivers to win the race multiple times thanks to his second victory in 2020. The 48-year-old will have strong positioning for a potential third Indy 500 victory in 2025, seeking to add to his six-win IndyCar career.

Pato O’Ward

• Position: 3
• Car No.: 5
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 232.1 mph

O’Ward has been on the verge of an Indy 500 win twice, finishing in second in both 2022 and 2024. He’ll be hoping 2025 is the year he breaks through, as he earned his best starting position yet in third. O’Ward has seven career IndyCar victories and 27 logged podiums.

Scott Dixon

• Position: 4
• Car No.: 9
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 232.1 mph

Dixon is another IndyCar veteran, owning 57 career wins over 363 races. He’s been seeking his first Indy 500 win since 2008 for some time, but did finish third in the 2024 race. Starting in fourth place this year, Dixon will have his highest Indy 500 position since earning pole position in both 2021 and 2022.

Felix Rosenqvist

• Position: 5
• Car No.: 60
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 232.0 mph

Roseqvist is seeking to become the third Swedish driver to win the Indy 500. The 33-year-old has one career IndyCar win, which came in 2020, and his best Indy 500 finish was fourth in 2022. 

Alex Palou

• Position: 6
• Car No.: 10
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 231.4 mph

Palou is a 15-time IndyCar winner who was the top qualifier for the 2023 Indy 500. He finished fourth in that race, and he’ll now start within the top-six of the Indy 500 for the fifth time in six attempts. While Palou has yet to win the race, he will certainly be a threat to take down the checkered flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

David Malukas

• Position: 7
• Car No.: 4
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 231.6 mph

Malukas did not compete in the 2024 Indy 500 but has two previous races to lean on. He’ll be starting in his best position yet after earning spots No. 13 in 2022 and No. 23 in 2023, with his best finish being 16th in his rookie race. Malukas has two logged podiums in his 44-race career.

Christian Lundgaard

• Position: 8
• Car No.: 7
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 231.4 mph

Lundgaard is racing in his fourth Indy 500, finishing in the top-20 in each of his previous three. Eighth will be by far his best starting position yet, though. The 23-year-old’s first and lone IndyCar win came in 2023.

Marcus Ericsson

• Position: 9
• Car No.: 28
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 231.0 mph

Ericsson had a tough 2024 Indy 500, starting in 32nd and finishing 33rd, after winning the 2022 race and finishing second in the 2023 race. But the 34-year-old is back for revenge this year, seeking his fifth career win and first since 2023.

Scott McLaughlin

• Position: 10
• Car No.: 3
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 233.0 mph

McLaughlin had pole position at the 2024 Indy 500, finishing sixth. It was by far the best performance over his four years competing in the event. The 31-year-old New Zealand native has seven career IndyCar victories.

Josef Newgarden

• Position: 11
• Car No.: 2
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 233.0 mph

Newgarden, the back-to-back champion of the Indy 500, is seeking a three-peat. He has 31 career wins over 215 IndyCar races, reaching a new peak in the Indy 500 in recent years despite never winning pole position. Newgarden is racing in his 14th Indy 500.

Will Power

• Position: 12
• Car No.: 12
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 232.1 mph

Power began last year’s Indy 500 in second, but finished in 24th. He is one of the 33 drivers with a previous Indy 500 victory though, winning the race back in 2018. The Australian star broke onto the tour in 2008 and has eight seasons with at least three wins.

Conor Daly

• Position: 13
• Car No.: 76
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 231.7 mph

Over 115 career races, Daly has two podiums, with the most recent being a third-place finish at the 2024 Milwaukee Mile race. The 33-year-old has represented various teams as a reserve driver over the years, racing in the Indy 500 on 11 previous occasions. Daly has finished in the top-10 in three consecutive years.

Alexander Rossi

• Position: 14
• Car No.: 20
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 231.7 mph

Rossi won in his first-ever Indy 500 appearance back in 2016, but hasn’t been able to reclaim the title since. However, Rossi does have three consecutive top-5 finishes in the race, even finishing fifth after a 20th starting position back in 2022. Rossi has finished below 25th at the Indy 500 in just two of his nine appearances.

Kyffin Simpson

• Position: 15
• Car No.: 8
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 231.6 mph

Simpson will again be one of the youngest drivers in the field at 20 years old. The Cayman Islands native will be racing in his second Indy 500 after finishing in 21st last year. In his two years of IndyCar Series races, Simpson’s best finish was 10th in the 2025 Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Ed Carpenter

• Position: 16
• Car No.: 22
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 231.6 mph

The 44-year-old Carpenter is an IndyCar veteran, having competed in the Indy 500 a total of 21 times. However, he has yet to win the race despite earning pole position three times; Carpenter’s best finish was in second back in 2018. Carpenter founded Ed Carpenter Racing back in 2012 and has three wins over 205 career races.

Santino Ferrucci

• Position: 17
• Car No.: 14
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 231.6 mph

Ferrucci has 77 career races under his belt, but is still seeking his first victory. He’s competed in the Indy 500 in every year since 2019, drastically improving on his starting position a few different times. In all six of those races, Ferrucci finished in the top-10, including a best third-place finish in 2023.

Devlin DeFrancesco

• Position: 18
• Car No.: 30
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 231.6 mph

DeFrancesco is back in the Indy500 after a year away, as he competed in the race back in 2022 and 2023, but not in 2024. He has finished 20th and 13th in his two attempts. The 25-year-old, who’s from Toronto, is now on a multi-year deal with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Sting Ray Robb

• Position: 19
• Car No.: 77
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 231.5 mph

Robb, a 23-year-old with arguably the best name in the Indy 500, has 34 races over his two years in IndyCar thus far. As a rookie in the 2023 Indy 500, he finished 31st, and in 2024, he improved on his No. 23 starting spot to finish 16th. Robb hails from Boise, Idaho, and is still seeking his first career podium.

Christian Rasmussen

• Position: 20
• Car No.: 21
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 231.4 mph

Rasmussen made his first Indy 500 appearance last year, notably beginning the No. 24 spot and finishing 12th. The 24-year-old, representing Ed Carpenter Racing, will be competing in his 15th career race in Indianapolis.

Kyle Larson

• Position: 21
• Car No.: 17
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 231.3 mph

Larson is once again attempting to pull off the “Double Duty” by racing in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. Last year, a rain delay prevented him from completing the entirety of the challenge. The NASCAR star won Rookie of the Year honors at last year’s Indy 500, finishing in 18th.

Louis Foster

• Position: 22
• Car No.: 45
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 231.1 mph

The 21-year-old Foster joined IndyCar for the first time in 2025, representing Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The British driver previously won the 2024 Indy NXT title and the 2022 Indy Pro 2000 championship.

Callum Ilott

• Position: 23
• Car No.: 90
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 231.0 mph

Over 40 IndyCar races, Ilott has yet to log a podium, let alone win a race. Over three Indy 500 races, he’s finished 32nd, 12th and 11, improving each year. The 26-year-old will now begin in 23rd as he makes his fourth appearance in the race.

Helio Castroneves

• Position: 24
• Car No.: 06
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 231.0 mph

Castroneves remains just one of four drivers to win the Indy 500 on four occasions, doing so in 2001, 2002, 2009 and 2021. The 50-year-old Brazilian star has 25 total IndyCar wins in his career, plus 84 logged podiums. Castroneves hasn’t been in the top-5 of the Indy 500 since his 2021 victory, but has more experience on the track than most drivers at the 2025 event.

Kyle Kirkwood

• Position: 25
• Car No.: 27
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 230.9 mph

Kirkwood has remained an up-and-coming IndyCar driver, having won three of his 51 career races. He logged his best Indy 500 finish last year, seventh place, after starting at the No. 11 spot. The 26-year-old is currently racing for Andretti Global.

Nolan Siegel

• Position: 26
• Car No.: 6
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 230.6 mph

Siegel isn’t completely a newcomer to the Indy 500 at just 20 years old, but he didn’t qualify for the 2024 event after crashing and flipping in his final qualifying attempt. Now, Siegel is seeking to rebound from that in the No. 26 position, still early in his IndyCar career.

Ryan Hunter-Reay 

• Position: 27
• Car No.: 23
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 230.4 mph

Hunter-Reay is another veteran set to compete in the 2025 Indy 500. He’s won the race once, back in 2014, out of his 16 attempts. He’s also added in five additional top-10 finishes, and the 44-year-old has a total of 16 career wins. 

Jack Harvey

• Position: 28
• Car No.: 24
• Car make: Chevrolet
• Qualifying speed: 230.3 mph

Harvey had one year away from the Indy 500 in 2024 after making seven consecutive appearances. He had just one top-10 finish, which came in 2020, but Harvey has also improved on his starting position in every year except his debut in 2017. In his IndyCar career, Harvey has one logged podium in 93 races.

Colton Herta 

• Position: 29
• Car No.: 26
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 230.2 mph

Herta is the son of Bryan Herta, a two-time winner on the IndyCar Series over 121 races from 1994 to 2003. Following in his father’s footsteps, Colton Herta has nine wins over 100 IndyCar races, but he’s still seeking his first Indy 500 win. In six previous races, his best finish was eighth back in 2020.

Graham Rahal

• Position: 30
• Car No.: 15
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 229.9 mph

Rahal owns a top of Indy 500 experience, competing in the race 17 previous times and logging four top-10 finishes. In 2020, he finished in third, one of his 29 career podiums to go with six victories. The 36-year-old won’t start in a favorable spot in 2025, however, and hasn’t been back inside the top-10 since his 2020 run.  

Marco Andretti

• Position: 31
• Car No.: 98
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 229.7 mph

The grandson of Mario Andretti (who had 52 IndyCar wins, 12 Formula One wins and a NASCAR win during his historic career), Marco Andretti has two IndyCar victories of his own. However, he has yet to claim the Indy 500 title over 19 tries, even winning pole position back in 2020. With five top-5 finishes in the race to his name, the 38-year-old will still be one of the most decorated contenders this year.

Marcus Armstrong

• Position: 32
• Car No.: 66
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 229.1 mph

Armstrong made his first Indy 500 appearance in 2024, finishing in 30th after earning the No. 16 spot. Now representing Meyer Shank Racing, he’ll have some work to do out of the No. 32 position, but the 24-year-old New Zealand native does have one podium logged over his 29 IndyCar races.

Rinus Veekay

• Position: 33
• Car No.: 18
• Car make: Honda
• Qualifying speed: 226.9 mph

Veekay, still just 24 years old, has already competed in the Indy 500 five times, earning starting positions in the top-10 in all of those races. This time, he’ll have more of a challenge. Veekay, now representing Dale Coyne Racing, has three top-10 finishes in Indianapolis, plus one career victory.