The 2021 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) was a 500-mile (800 km, 200 lap) race in the 2021 IndyCar Series, held on May 30, 2021, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The month of May activities formally began on May 15 with the GMR Grand Prix on the combined road course. Practice for the Indianapolis 500 began on May 18, and time trials were held May 22–23. Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice, took place on May 28.
On April 21, 2021, the track management announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event would be held with a limit of 135,000 spectators, approximately 40% capacity. The previous year's race was postponed from May 24 to August 23, then ultimately held without spectators, as was the GMR Grand Prix (which was moved to July 4). The Intercontinental GT Challenge meeting in October 2020, which included the twin road course races for INDYCAR, carried a 10,000 spectator limit, with spectators restricted to grandstands in what are normally Turn 4 and Turn 1 on the oval (Turns 1–4 and Turns 12–14 on the road course).
Scott Dixon, the winner in 2008, won the pole position, and was a heavy favorite to win. Dixon, however, ran out of fuel during the first sequence of pit stops, as a result of a caution coming out, closing the pits and trapping him out on the track. He had to make a stop for emergency service, but the crew could not refire the stalled engine before he fell a lap down, and essentially out of contention. Two-time winner Takuma Sato (2017, 2020) was the defending champion, and led as late as lap 193, but he was off-sequence with the other leaders. Sato had to pit for fuel with seven laps to go, and finished 14th.
Three-time winner (2001, 2002, 2009), and four-time pole winner (2003, 2007, 2009, 2010) Hélio Castroneves took the lead for the final time on lap 199, and won his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 after dueling with second-year driver Álex Palou for most of the final 80 laps. The race set a new record for the fastest running of the Indianapolis 500, with an average speed at , as well as a new record for most cars running at the finish (30). Castroneves joined Hall of Fame drivers A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears as four-time winners. After the race, Castroneves celebrated his victory by climbing the catch fence, his signature celebration, which had earned him the nickname "Spider-Man" early in his career. The race was also the first IndyCar Series victory for Meyer Shank Racing, and Castroneves' most recent as of 2026.
Race background
Sponsorship On January 31, 2019, it was announced that the online financial services company Gainbridge would become the new presenting sponsor of the 500 under a four-year deal. This will be the third year under the current deal.
Rule changes The temperature requirement rule was changed to "45-45". That required both the ambient temperature to be or higher, and the track surface temperature to be or higher before cars were allowed out on the circuit. Previously the rule was "50-50". The Last Chance qualifying session was expanded to 75 minutes in order to allow multiple qualifying attempts for each participant. In 2019 participants were permitted only one attempt. This change was supposed to be implemented for 2020, however, only 33 cars were entered and the 2020 Last Chance qualifying session was cancelled. Each entry was allowed 34 total sets of tires (Firestone), for practice, time trials, and for the race. Entries taking part in the Rookie Orientation Program received an additional three sets for use during that session. Entries taking part in a Refresher Test received two additional sets for use during that session. From 2015 to 2019, teams were permitted 36 total sets. In 2020, teams were also allowed 34 sets, however, there was one fewer day of practice in 2020 compared to 2021.
Event changes Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the second year in a row, the annual Pit Stop Challenge was not held. In addition, the Carb Day concert and Snake Pit concerts were also cancelled. Allen Bestwick joined the public address system at the Speedway. Announcer and former radio and television "Voice of the 500" Bob Jenkins reduced his schedule while battling brain cancer. Jenkins died August 9, 2021.
2021 IndyCar Series
The 2021 Indianapolis 500 was the sixth race of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season. Five different drivers won the first five races of the season, including three first-time winners. Álex Palou won the season opener at Birmingham, his first career IndyCar Series win. The following week, Colton Herta won at St. Petersburg. A doubleheader weekend at Texas saw Scott Dixon and first-time victor Pato O'Ward as race winners. The GMR Grand Prix kicked off the month of May at Indianapolis on May 15, won by Rinus VeeKay, the third first-time winner of the season. Scott Dixon entered the Indianapolis 500 as the series points leader. For the first time since 2013, Team Penske failed to win a race prior to the Indy 500.
Race schedules The 2021 IndyCar Series schedule was announced on October 1, 2020. The Indianapolis 500 returned to its traditional Memorial Day weekend date after being delayed to August 23 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race was scheduled for Sunday, May 30, the 54th time the race has been held on May 30. From 1911 to 1970, the race was scheduled for May 30 regardless of the day of the week, as Memorial Day at the time was a fixed-date holiday. During that period, if May 30 fell on a Sunday, the race was scheduled for Monday, May 31. Since 1974, the race has traditionally been scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.
Practice, time trials, and other ancillary events were scheduled for the two weeks leading up to the race. The Freedom 100, however, was not held as the 2021 Indy Lights season only included a race on the road course during GMR Grand Prix weekend.
The GMR Grand Prix returned to the month of May, again serving as the opening weekend of track activity. The Road to Indy held doubleheader races on both Friday and Saturday, while IndyCar held practice and qualifying on Friday, and their race on Saturday. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IndyCar event was moved to July 4 (as part of the NASCAR weekend), the Road to Indy events were moved to September, and a second IndyCar road course event (Harvest GP) was held in October as part of the Intercontinental GT weekend. The 2020 GMR Grand Prix was held without spectators, while the October Harvest GP races were held with a maximum of 10,000 spectators.
+Race schedules — May 2021SunMonTueWedThuFriSat 9 10 11 12 13Road to Indy 14Road to IndyIndyCarQualifying 15Road to IndyGMR Grand Prix161718Practice19Practice20Practice21Practice Fast Friday22Time Trials23Time Trials24 25 26 27 28Carb Day29Legends Day30Indianapolis50031MemorialDay Color Notes Green Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where trackactivity was significantly limited due to rain
Source: 2021 Indianapolis 500 Event Schedule
Entry list
The entry list for the 2021 Indianapolis 500 was released on May 12, 2021. Thirty-five entries appeared on the list, including nine former race winners and three rookies.2021 Indianapolis 500 Official Entry List With thirty-five entries, bumping returned for the first time since 2019. An expected 36th entry for driver Cody Ware set to drive for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing was withdrawn shortly before the entry list was released due to lack of sponsorship. All entries utilized the Dallara DW12 chassis with the Universal Aero Kit 18, with Firestone tires. The nine former Indy 500 winners making the field the most since there were ten in 1992.
Driver Team Engine1 J. R. Hildebrand A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet2 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet3 Scott McLaughlin Team Penske Chevrolet4 Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet5 Patricio O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet06 Hélio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda7 Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet8 Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda10 Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda11 Charlie Kimball A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet12 Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet14 Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda16 Simona de Silvestro Paretta Autosport Chevrolet18 Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda20 Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet21 Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet22 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet24 Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet25 Stefan Wilson Andretti Autosport Honda26 Colton Herta Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian Honda27 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda29 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda45 Santino Ferrucci Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda47 Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet48 Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Honda51 Pietro Fittipaldi Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing Honda59 Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet60 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda75 R. C. Enerson Top Gun Racing Chevrolet86 Juan Pablo Montoya Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet98 Marco Andretti Andretti Herta-Haupert Autosportwith Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian HondaOFFICIAL REPORT Former Indianapolis 500 Winner Indianapolis 500 Rookie
Testing and Rookie Orientation October 2020
An offseason test was scheduled at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the last week of October after the conclusion of the 2020 season. On Wednesday, October 28, Takuma Sato (Rahal) and Josef Newgarden (Penske) conducted test runs utilizing new aerodynamic pieces and configurations. Rain delayed the start of the session from 11 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m. Rookie Scott McLaughlin (Penske) completed the mandatory Rookie Orientation during the afternoon.
Track activity for Thursday, October 29 was rescheduled to Friday, October 30 due to a poor weather forecast.
On Friday, October 30, Sato and Newgarden were joined by Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti), Ed Carpenter (ECR), Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren SP), and Scott Dixon (Ganassi). The six-car session primarily focused on evaluation of new aerodynamic configurations in traffic. Cool temperatures delayed the start of track activity until approximately 12:15 p.m. No incidents were reported.
Engine hybridization test A special oval test was held on Friday, March 26 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was originally planned for earlier in the week, but poor weather pushed it to Friday. The series oversaw test runs to attempt to replicate the effects of racing with KERS, which will be part of the new hybrid engine package scheduled to debut in 2023. Four entries, two Chevrolet and two Honda, took laps in choreographed sessions. The KERS simulation was implemented utilizing the existing Push-to-pass system. The drivers and teams involved were Scott Dixon (Ganassi), Josef Newgarden (Penske), Alexander Rossi (Andretti), and Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren SP).
No incidents were reported. Following the test, reactions from the drivers were mixed to negative. The horsepower increases were in the range of 50–60 HP, resulting in straight-line speed increases of 5–7 mph.
Open test — Thursday, April 8
Weather: , wind up to 21 mph, rain showers in afternoon