The sixth race of the 2024 IndyCar Series is upon us as we prepare for the 107th Indy 500 race in Indianapolis, Indiana on Sunday May 26th.
The season is wide open right now with four different winners in the opening five races of the season, but it's Scott McLaughlin who comes into this race on pole position after dominating the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix race where he won the race, had the fastest lap and led for the most laps too.
We'll look ahead to the race and provide you with our best free IndyCar picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash to claim while watching a fun motor race.
| Indianapolis 500 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott McLaughlin | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Josef Newgarden | +530 | +530 | +530 |
| Will Power | +660 | +660 | +660 |
| Kyle Larson | +720 | +720 | +720 |
| Patricio O'Ward | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Alex Palou | +1125 | +1125 | +1125 |
Remember that these bookies offer plenty of betting bonuses and promotions.
2024 Indy 500 information
- Sunday, May 26th 2024
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana
- 12:45 ET start time
- 500 miles
- 200 laps
Indy 500 favorites
Below you'll find a list of the favorites to win the 2024 Indianapolis 500 IndyCar race.
Scott McLaughlin - (+500)
McLaughlin was trending to be somewhere in the middle of the pack heading into the week, but the New Zealander had a record-setting qualification to claim pole position and shot to the front of the queue as the favorite.
The No. 3 posted a four-lap average of 234.220 mph, edging the record that defending IndyCar champion Alex Palou set ahead of the 2023 race (234.217). That earned him his second pole of the season after winning the Grand Prix of Alabama from the same spot on April 28 for Team Penske.
The 30-year-old has never finished better than 14th over three career Indy 500 starts, but he also hasn't started better than 14th.
He's having a solid season so far and if he is capable of maintaining his pace from qualifying into the actual race, then he will be hard to beat. At +500 there is good value, but considering the price earlier in the week and the performances in his career in this race it may be best to look elsewhere this time.
Check out our review for MyBookie sports betting here.
Josef Newgarden - (+530)
Newgarden qualified in third place for Sunday's race, but he's getting the second-shortest odds after winning the 2023 edition of this iconic race.
The two-time IndyCar champion had previously gone 0-for-11 in the most significant race of the series circuit, tied for the most starts before winning one. He became the third driver ever to find a way to claim a win by overtaking on the final lap, scraping past Marcus Ericcson to take the win.
But his efforts this season haven't been the best, despite sitting top of the standings, after failing to finish in the top three in any race so far and finishing outside of the top 15 in each of the last three races.
Newgarden’s decade-plus of experience and his familiarity with his team will make him challenging to beat. He won the event last year and is looking to become the first back-to-back Indy 500 winner since Hélio Castroneves in 2001 and 2002. A win this year would also make Newgarden just the 21st driver to win multiple Indy 500s.
With so much history on the line, I expect the star to deliver another strong performance in the Indianapolis 500, but once again a victory seems unlikely this time out.
Check out our review for Bovada sports betting here.
Kyle Larson - (+720)
In a huge development on the IndyCar scene, current NASCAR Cup Series Championship favorite Kyle Larson enters this race among the favorites and looks to become only the fifth driver to race in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day.
Larson has never raced in the IndyCar series, though he's been preparing with test drives since October. He got off to a brutal start in practices ahead of his Indy 500 debut, but Larson bounced back to qualify fifth for Sunday's race, slashing his odds hugely in the process.
John Andretti, Davy Jones, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Kurt Busch are the only other full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers to race in both the Indy 500 and the Coke 600. Of those five drivers to put their name in the history books, none has won any of the races they've competed in and a sixth-place finish in the 2001 Indy 500 and a third in the Coke 600 by Stewart was considered an all-timer feat.
There will be things ongoing in the race that Larson hasn't had to deal with before when in his first run, and at +720 there is little value in him pulling off a first-time win, so this is one to avoid.
Alex Palou - (+1125)
Palou was the favorite to come out on top in 2023 but fell short, but so far this season he has already claimed victory in the 2024 $1 million challenge and then dominated in the IMS GP last time out.
Palou finished fourth in last year’s Indy 500 race, which was disappointing after his performance in the previous races and the qualifiers. He finished in the top five in four of the five opening races of the 2023 season and this season he has finished in the top five in every race, winning two of them.
Everyone expected a win, but Palou’s inexperience eventually failed him. The driver is still raw at this level, even if he’s very fast.
With his performances so far this season, plus his experience of the track and the world championship under his belt, there is incredible value in backing the Spaniard to come out on top in the Indy 500 for the first time in his young career.
