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In Driver’s eye with James Hinchcliffethe six times INDYCAR The Winner will take you into the mind of a runner while breaking down the inner workings of the sport for fans.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Speedway, Indiana) — The long wait is finally over. And that wait began minutes after the checkered flag fell on Alex Palou’s victory in the 2025 Indianapolis 500.
Thirty-two drivers are eagerly awaiting another chance to add their names to the list of those immortalized by winning the Great Racing Spectacle. A driver looking to defend his 500m champion title.
The Indy 500 takes place in the largest sporting arena on the planet. Sunday is the 110th race since 1911, and it’s the most important race for any driver privileged enough to attempt it. When you stack all of these things on top of each other, it’s no surprise that the Indy 500 intensifies every emotion a driver feels.
As a driver, you know that winning this race changes everything. Your life will never be the same and you feel it with every lap you take here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You also know that the team spent countless hours getting the car ready and running.
Leading an INDYCAR race always feels good, but there’s nothing quite like the thrill of leading the Indy 500.
Me, at the head of the peloton to start the 2016 Indianapolis 500. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
When you take the lead at Indy for the first time, you can’t help but smile into your helmet. You can almost hear the crowd cheering through the sound of the engine. Your heart rate increases and adrenaline surges stronger.
I remember leading the 2016 race into Turn 1 at the start, and you could see the grandstands come to life.
After two weeks of observing them while driving on the right front, largely empty and gray, they are suddenly this vibrant, colorful living being. The view is breathtaking… for a second! Then you have to focus on the corner coming at 220 miles per hour.
Qualifying on pole, leading laps and, of course, winning the race, means so much more here at IMS. This place truly allows drivers to experience the highest of peaks.
But…this comes with an obvious caveat.
For every increased positive emotion, the negative emotions hit you and take your breath away in an entirely different and heartbreaking way. A bad Indy 500 stays with you a lot longer and weighs a lot heavier on your mind. This is one of the hardest things to overcome.
My junior year, I crashed the Indy 500 right about halfway through. As I lost control and hit the wall, my heart sank lower than it ever had in my career.
I was desperate, at that moment, to invent a way to turn back time with my mind. Just a few seconds, nothing crazy. There was almost a refusal to accept what had just happened. But when it finally sets in, the feeling of devastation is unprecedented for a driver.
Whether you crash mid-race like me, or with a handful of laps to go like Pato O’Ward in 2023, or before the green flag even drops like Scott McLaughlin last year, this feeling is the worst thing you can feel emotionally as an INDYCAR driver.
Depressed Scott McLaughlin after wrecking on the pace lap before the 2025 Indy 500. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The highest of the highest can only happen in the same place that offers you the lowest of the low.
Second place at any other track is a decent day. Second place at Indy is a fiery stab in the heart.
You only need to look at the images of drivers who have finished second in recent years to understand. A picture is worth a thousand words, and these clips are romances of pain and disappointment.
That said, as painful as the results may be, no matter how low they may be, every driver will be happy to look that pain in the face for a chance to feel the glory.
SOUND LIKE AN INDYCAR EXPERT
Drivers and their teams during a pit stop at the 2025 Indianapolis 500. (Photo by Phillip G. Abbott/Lumen via Getty Images)
We all know that racing is a team sport – from the manufacturers on the shop floor to the truck drivers, sales staff, public relations, mechanics, engineers, etc. – and nowhere is this more visible than in Indy. We’ve already talked about all the hard work that goes into the shop in preparation for May, and then, if you’re lucky enough to qualify for the race, the real pressure begins.
In a typical INDYCAR race, we usually talk about the debate between two and three stops. At the Indy 500, there could be six, seven or maybe eight stops. This means that an exceptional performance in the pit lane is essential for a team to win.
Teams will dedicate extra hours to practicing pit stop perfection for the Indy 500.
Carb Day even takes place the official Pit Stop competition, which constitutes immense pride for the teams who cross the wall. These crews will work with physical trainers and sometimes mental coaches to try to maximize their performance on race day.
Marcus Armstrong and his Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian during a stop at the 2025 Indy 500. (Photo by Brett Farmer/Lumen via Getty Images)
[INDY 500: What Makes The Indy 500 So Hard?]
And talk about a high-pressure environment. Hanging tires, refueling, and operating the air jack are all stressful tasks in themselves. But these supply crews don’t work in a quiet room or even on a large field. They’re in a concrete driveway with race cars flying at 60 miles per hour, all trying to fight each other out of pit lane.
The fact that these crew members are all exposed to 30 or more cars driving at highway speeds just inches from their largely unprotected bodies — they’re wearing fire suits and helmets — definitely raises the temperature in the pressure cooker.
And just like the drivers, the pit crews know that any small mistake or mishap can cost them a chance at glory.
So know that when you see a driver drinking their choice of celebratory milk in Victory Lane, everyone on the team celebrating with them has played an equally important role.
MY VIEWS ON THE INDY 500
I was so lucky to experience the Indy 500 from three distinctly different seats.
First as a fan. When I was a kid, I watched this race and cheered on my heroes. And not only was it a fun and entertaining way to spend a Sunday in May, but I also thought, even back then, that it was a great way to bond with my friends and family. It was always a great opportunity to get together with people you care about and cheer on the same rider (or not!) and be able to say, “I was watching when that rider’s life changed.”
Me, fans cheering at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2018. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Then, of course, my 11 years as an INDYCAR driver have given me a whole new appreciation for this event. To have played a small role in the history of this great race is an immense pride. The history of this event is unparalleled in the world of auto racing, and is undoubtedly why it means so much to any driver lucky enough to participate.
And now I can participate in the event in a completely different way as a broadcaster. Helping to tell the millions of people watching at home what’s happening on the track and, ultimately, what it means, is a true privilege.
There are many parts of running that I love. Lots of traditions that I find incredible. As a fan, driver or broadcaster, the best for me has changed and evolved, but I will always keep this race very close to my heart.
1 FOR THE ROAD
Alexander Rossi before qualifying for the 2026 Indy 500. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
If you needed further proof that INDYCAR drivers are modern-day gladiators, look no further than Alexander Rossi.
After a stunning performance in qualifying and placing himself and his team in second, he was injured in a training accident on Monday. He had to have surgery on his left hand and right foot. And despite falling at more than 200 miles per hour and having scars and metal on him that he didn’t have a week ago, he plans to suit up and continue to compete in the 110th running of the Indy 500 from the middle of the front row.
No fear. No hesitation. Just a nagging desire to get back on the winning path, where he was 10 years ago after winning as a rookie.
Everyone loves a comeback story, and this one would be worthy of a Hollywood script.
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