When is the 2021 Indy 500? Start times, schedule, TV, race info

When is the Indy 500? Well, the good news is that it’s back in May.

Even better, it’ll have a crowd again: 135,000 fans (with face coverings required) have been approved to attend the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500, which will take place on Sunday, May 30 and will be broadcast on NBC.

After the 2020 race was held in August and without fans for the first time in the storied race’s history because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing will return to some degree of normalcy this season.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway officially opens for business for May next weekend with the GMR Grand Prix on Saturday, May 15 taking place on the track’s road course.

The action then will move to the 2.5-mile oval for two weeks of practice, qualifying and then the 500-Mile Race on May 30.

Here are all the pertinent details to help answer the question of “When is the Indy 500?” and many more (all times are ET and subject to change):

What are the Indy 500 race day start times?

5 a.m.: Garage opens

6 a.m.: Gates open

6:30 a.m.: Tech inspection

8:15 a.m.: Cars pushed to pit lane

10:30 a.m.: Cars on the starting grid

11:47 a.m.: Driver introductions

12:38 p.m.: Command to start engines

12:45 p.m.: Green flag for the 105th Indy 500

How can I watch the Indy 500 on TV?

The Indy 500 will be shown on NBC. Prerace coverage will begin at 9 a.m. on NBCSN, moving to NBC at 11 a.m. and running through 4 p.m., followed by a postrace show on NBCSN. It also will be available via streaming on the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com.

Practice and qualifying for the Indy 500 will be shown on NBC, NBCSN and Peacock Premium.

When is qualifying for the Indy 500?

Qualifying to set the 33-car field was held May 22-23. Scott Dixon won the Indy 500 pole position for the fourth time in his career.

Click here for the starting lineup in the 105th Indy 500.

When is practice for the Indy 500?

There will be five practice-only days, starting Tuesday, May 18 and continuing through Carb Day on May 28.

May 18: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (oval veterans 10 a.m.-noon; rookies and refreshers noon-2 p.m.; 3-6 p.m. all drivers), Peacock Premium

May 19: Noon-6 p.m., Peacock Premium

May 20: Noon-6 p.m., Peacock Premium

May 21: Noon-6 p.m., Peacock Premium

May 28: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Peacock Premium, NBCSN

How many fans will be allowed to attend the Indy 500?

There will be 135,000 fans permitted (with face coverings required) in the 230,000-seat grandstands. Practice and qualifying also are open to the general public. The infield will be closed to fans, and the track has canceled all concerts (including Carb Day, Legends Day and the Snake Pit) for May.

How many laps and how long is the Indy 500?

The race is 500 miles over 200 laps. Depending on the number of yellow flags, the Indy 500 typically takes about 3 hours to complete (give or take 30 minutes).

What is the size, length, width and banking of Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

The track is 2.5 miles, which consists of:

Front straightaway: 5/8ths of a mile
Back straightaway: 5/8ths of a mile
Turns: Each a quarter-mile.
Short chutes: Each 1/8th of a mile

The track’s width is 50 feet on the straightaways and 60 feet in the turns. Its turns are banked at 9 degrees.

IMS sits on 963.4 acres (which includes the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course, 315 acres of parking lots and a solar farm). There are 17 grandstands, 26 bridges and six tunnels. The infield is 253 acres.

Why do 33 cars start the Indy 500?

There were 40 cars that started the inaugural 500 Mile Race in 1911. Afterward, the American Automobile Association’s contest board decided the field was too big for the 2.5-mile track. A formula was created that decreed each car should be entitled to 400 feet when the field was spread around the track. Because 2.5 miles equals 13,200 feet, that allows for 33 cars at 400 feet apiece.

Why does the Indy 500 winner drink milk?

The tradition began in the 1930s when two-time winner Louis Meyer asked for a glass of buttermilk after his second victory (his mother taught him it would refresh him on hot days). After winning his third Indy 500 in 1936, a photo of Meyer drinking buttermilk led to a dairy industry executive requesting milk be available annually to the winner. Since 1956, winners have been given a $10,000 bonus from the Indiana Dairy Association for including milk in their postrace celebration.

What is the Indy 500 winner’s trophy?

The Borg-Warner Trophy has honored the winner since 1936. Each victor’s face is sculpted onto the trophy with a square that includes their name, winning year and average speed. Originally designed to hold 80 winners, two new bases were constructed to add more space (in 1986 and in 2004, which provides capacity through 2034).

The trophy is 5 feet, 4.75 inches high and weighs 110 pounds. It’s valued at more than $3 million and also features a 24-karat gold sculpture of late IMS owner Tony Hulman. It resides at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Hall of Fame Museum. Since 1988, race winners have received a 14-inch “Baby Borg” to keep.

Which drivers have won more than one Indy 500?

Driver	Wins	Years
Rick Mears	4	1979, 1984, 1988, 1991
Al Unser Sr.	4	1970, 1971, 1978, 1987
A.J. Foyt	4	1961, 1964, 1967, 1977
Dario Franchitti	3	2007, 2010, 2012
Helio Castroneves	3	2001, 2002, 2009
Bobby Unser	3	1968, 1975, 1981
Johnny Rutherford	3	1974, 1976, 1980
Mauri Rose	3	1941, 1947, 1948
Wilbur Shaw	3	1937, 1939, 1940
Louis Meyer	3	1928, 1933, 1936
Tommy Milton	2	1921, 1923
Bill Vukovich	2	1953, 1954
Rodger Ward	2	1959, 1962
Gordon Johncock	2	1973, 1982
Emerson Fittipaldi	2	1989, 1993
Al Unser Jr.	2	1992, 1994
Arie Luyendyk	2	1990, 1997
Dan Wheldon	2	2005, 2011
Juan Pablo Montoya	2	2000, 2015
Takuma Sato	2	2017, 2020

What are the closest finishes in Indy 500 history?

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Margin of victory
1992	Al Unser Jr.	Scott Goodyear	0.043 seconds
2014	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Helio Casroneves	0.06 seconds
2006	Sam Hornish Jr.	Marco Andretti	0.0635 seconds
2015	Juan Pablo Montoya	Will Power	0.1046 seconds
1982	Gordon Johncock	Rick Mears	0.16 seconds

Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

When is the Indy 500? Start times, schedules, TV, stats, historical details about the race