The 110th Indianapolis 500 will take place Sunday, May 24, 2026, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the green flag scheduled for 12:45 p.m. ET. FOX will broadcast the race, providing six hours of coverage beginning at 10 a.m. ET, including pre-race ceremonies and post-race shows [1, 2].
Last year’s 109th Indy 500 on FOX attracted 7.05 million viewers, peaking at 8.4 million, its largest audience since 2008. By comparison, the 2026 Daytona 500 on FOX drew 7.489 million viewers with a peak of 9.154 million [1]. Jacob Ullman, FOX Sports senior vice president of production and talent development, said, "The amazing scale of the Indianapolis 500 fits so well into the FOX Sports big-event mentality. We’re excited to take what we all learned in our inaugural year and elevate the coverage to new heights and build on it for this year and beyond" [1].
About 350,000 fans are expected to attend the event in person, roughly one in every 1,000 Americans [1]. 33 drivers will take the starting grid, including nine past winners: Alex Palou, Alexander Rossi, Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato, Helio Castroneves, Marcus Ericsson, Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Josef Newgarden [2].
Alex Palou will start on pole position and try to become the seventh driver ever to win back-to-back Indianapolis 500 races [2]. Helio Castroneves, at age 51, aims for a record fifth Indy 500 victory, which would make him the oldest winner ever [2]. Katherine Legge plans to attempt "double duty" by racing in both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, seeking to become the first woman to do so [2].
The traditional telecast start time for the race is noon ET. The event is scheduled to begin just before 12:45 p.m. ET, with pre-race programming starting at 10 a.m. ET on FOX [1].
