The Greatest Spectacle in Racing turns 110 on Sunday, which is when the 2026 Indianapolis 500 will be held. Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the scene with the green flag dropping at 12:45 p.m. ET as 33 drivers compete over 200 laps for the Borg-Warner Trophy. Alex Palou is the reigning champion, will start on the pole and tops the 2026 Indy 500 odds board at +250. The Spaniard ended Josef Newgarden’s quest for a three-peat last year, as those are two of the nine past winners in the Indianapolis 500 2026 field.Pato O’Ward is at +600 to target in Indy 500 bets after back-to-back top three finishes at this race, with Newgarden at +1000 and four-time winner Helio Castroneves at +3000. Katherine Legge is attempting “The Double” by competing at both The 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600, and she’s a +30000 longshot per the 2026 Indianapolis odds. Before scouring the 2026 Indy 500 starting grid and making any 2026 Indianapolis 500 predictions, be sure to see the just in 2026 Indianapolis 500 picks from SportsLine’s proven projection model.
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Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary auto racing prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results. All told, the model has nailed a whopping 29 NASCAR winners since 2021 and hit 11 winners in 2025. Anyone following his auto racing picks at their favorite sportsbooks could have seen huge returns.
Now, the model simulated the 2026 Indianapolis 500 10,000 times. Head to SportsLine to see the complete projected 2026 Indy 500 leaderboard.
Top 2026 Indianapolis 500 predictions
One surprise: the model is high on Scott Dixon, even though he is a +1600 longshot in the just in 2026 Indianapolis 500 odds. Dixon is one of the many past winners in this year’s field, courtesy of his 2008 victory. That year was also the first of his five pole positions at The 500, which is the second-most ever as he’s extremely familiar with the track. He has 14 top 10s in his Indy 500 career, which trails just three other drivers all-time, including a third place in 2024.
Dixon also had a third-place finish in his penultimate start this season at Long Beach. He’s been in contention throughout the year after a rough opener in St. Petersburg as he has five straight top 8s entering The Brickyard. Dixon rides for Chip Ganassi Racing, which won the Indy 500 last year and is tied for the second-most victories (six) in history. Dixon’s strong backing and consistency in this race make him a longshot to consider with Indy 500 bets. See who else to back at SportsLine.
And a massive shocker: Conor Daly, who has four straight top 10 Indy 500 finishes and is one of the favorites at +750, stumbles big-time and barely cracks the top 10. Daly spent last year full-time on the IndyCar Series but struggled, placing 18th, and his team in Juncos Hollinger Racing unveiled he wouldn’t return in 2026. Thus, Daly hasn’t raced a single IndyCar Series event this year as he’ll simply be dropping in for the Indy 500, putting him at a disadvantage versus most of the field which has been competing all season.
The Indiana native is back with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for this week’s race, and that team is still searching for its first taste of Indianapolis 500 success. Dreyer & Reinbold has sent 51 starters to The Greatest Spectacle in Racing but has no victories to show for it. A fourth-place finish in 2012 is the team’s best ever finish in this race, and given that, it’s hard to get excited about backing Daly at these short IndyCar odds. See which other drivers to avoid at SportsLine.
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How to make 2026 Indianapolis 500 picks
The model is also targeting two other drivers with 2026 Indy 500 odds longer than +1000 to make a serious run at the checkered flag, including a massive longshot of at least +3000. Anyone who backs these drivers could hit it big. You can see all of the model’s Indy 500 projected leaderboard over at SportsLine.
So who wins the Indy 500 2026, and which long shots make a run at the checkered flag? Check out the just in 2026 Indianapolis 500 odds below, then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2026 Indianapolis 500 leaderboard, all from the model that correctly predicted 29 NASCAR winners since 2021.
2026 Indianapolis 500 odds
See full 2026 Indy 500 picks at SportsLine
Alex Palou +250
Pato O’Ward +600
Conor Daly +750
David Malukas +800
Alexander Rossi +800
Scott McLaughlin +1000
Josef Newgarden +1000
Santino Ferrucci +1100
Felix Rosenqvist +1200
Scott Dixon +1600
Takuma Sato +3000
Kyle Kirkwood +3000
Kyffin Simpson +3000
Helio Castroneves +3000
Christian Rasmussen +3000
Will Power +4000
Rinus Veekay +4000
Marcus Ericsson +4000
Ed Carpenter +4000
Christian Lundgaard +4000
Ryan Hunter-Reay +6000
Marcus Armstrong +6000
Caio Collet +6000
Romain Grosjean +8000
Louis Foster +8000
Graham Rahal +8000
Nolan Siegel +10000
Mick Schumacher +10000
Jack Harvey +15000
Dennis Hauger +15000
Jacob Abel +20000
Sting Ray Robb +30000
Katherine Legge +30000
Indianapolis 500 starting grid
| Row | Inside | Middle | Outside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Álex Palou | Alexander Rossi | David Malukas |
| 2 | Felix Rosenqvist | Santino Ferrucci | Pato O’Ward |
| 3 | Kyffin Simpson | Conor Daly | Scott McLaughlin |
| 4 | Scott Dixon | Rinus VeeKay | Takuma Sato |
| 5 | Ed Carpenter | Hélio Castroneves | Christian Rasmussen |
| 6 | Marcus Armstrong | Marcus Ericsson | Christian Lundgaard |
| 7 | Will Power | Nolan Siegel | Louis Foster |
| 8 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Josef Newgarden | Romain Grosjean |
| 9 | Kyle Kirkwood | Katherine Legge | Mick Schumacher |
| 10 | Graham Rahal | Dennis Hauger | Jacob Abel |
| 11 | Sting Ray Robb | Caio Collet | Jack Harvey |
