IndyCar driver Takuma Sato (75) leads a restart during the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 25, 2025, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

It’s the “Month of May” and that means action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is about to fire up for the 110^th Indianapolis 500 on May 24. It is truly one of the major sporting events of the year and is auto racing’s version of The Masters, Wimbledon the World Series and the Stanley Cup when it comes to history, tradition, and significance.

There may be other racing series that have impact throughout the season such as Formula One and NASCAR, but there is only one Indianapolis 500.

From the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, it has always been a major event, drawing huge crowds even back then and creating legends such as AJ Foyt, Rick Mears, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Wilbur Shaw, Bill Vukovich, Helio Castroneves – the list goes on and on.

It also draws the largest crowd for any single-day sporting event on Earth approaching 350,000 at the world’s largest sporting arena, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

This year’s race is on pace to be another sellout, marking the second year in a row and the third time since the 100^th Indianapolis 500 was sold out in 2016.

In previous decades, there may have been even bigger crowds that attended the Indianapolis 500. But at that time, IMS had more viewing room in its massive infield and packed in the fans, leaving the total crowd to be estimated by various sources. Sometimes, those estimates exceeded 400,000, but in more recent times with greater crowd control, a crowd over 335,000 or so is considered a sellout.

“Let me put it this way, we’re going to be selling folding chairs here before long,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske told me before last month’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. “We have a great group of people and many of you don’t know them, but they are the ones that make it happen. Remember, there is no dress rehearsal. Three-hundred-plus-thousand people. Real number. This isn’t a telephone book number or a newspaper; it’s a real number.

“What we try to do every year is make it better for the guests that come in as fans. We put handrails up these big stands this year going up in the Southwest stands and the North stands so the people can walk up those stands. That is what of the new things we’ve done this year.”

Many of the fans in the massive grandstands have attended the Indianapolis 500 every year for 20, 30, 40, even 50 years of more. It’s an annual tradition as fans come from around the world to witness one of the most thrilling spectacles on Earth.

Sid Collins, once the famed “Voice of the 500” on the Indianapolis 500 Radio Network for decades before his death in 1977, coined the phrase, “And now, stay tuned for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

The Indianapolis 500 began in 1911 to celebrate Memorial Day, then known as “Decoration Day,” to honor the soldiers who had fought for the United States and were killed in action.

To this day, the pre-race ceremonies before the Indianapolis 500 contain a somber remembrance, especially when over 300,000 fans fall completely silent during the playing of “Taps.”

The mood quickly becomes one of excitement as “Back Home Again In Indiana” is sung, most recently by Jim Cornelison, who sings the national anthem before Chicago Blackhawks games. For decades, Jim Nabors had the honor of singing that traditional ballad.

It’s a moment similar to the University of Louisville band playing “My Old Kentucky Home” before the start of the Kentucky Derby.

Natives of Indiana, known as “Hoosiers,” and visitors alike often get teary-eyed during “Back Home Again In Indiana.” A few moments later, Penske steps up to the microphone and gives the command, “Drivers, Start Your Engines” as the starting field of 33 comes roaring to life.

Attending the Indianapolis 500 in person is considered a “Bucket List” moment. But it also is a major event on television as last year’s Indianapolis 500 telecast on FOX drew 7.05 million viewers, with a peak audience of 8.4 million viewers from 4:15 to 4:30 p.m. ET.

It was the most-watched Indianapolis 500 since 2008 and was 40 percent higher than the 2024 telecast on NBC.

This year, FOX Sports is devoting 60 hours of comprehensive coverage to the 110^th Indianapolis 500, which includes practice and qualifications and the race on its platform of channels.

“Our partners at FOX Sports do a great job of bringing the excitement of IndyCar racing to our fans and we are excited to see their expanded coverage of the Indianapolis 500 over the next few weeks," Penske told me on May 4. "We expect plenty of drama and competition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway here in the month of May and for FOX to dedicate 60 hours of combined coverage will provide incredible exposure and opportunities for our teams, our partners and our sport overall.”

For those who aren’t part of the massive crowd of humanity at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, FOX will be there giving viewers plenty of action.

“This is our favorite time of year,” said FOX IndyCar lead producer Pam Miller. “We learned so much in our first year with the Indy 500 in 2025, and every member of the FOX IndyCar team is looking forward to taking lessons learned from 2025 and applying them to this year’s coverage.

“We’re blessed to be going into the biggest race of the season with a wide variety of great storylines. We’re prepared to go where the race takes us, and that uncertainty has the entire team really excited.”