Indy 500 Schedule 2015: Start Time, Live Stream Info and Racers to Watch

Sunday marks one of the marquee events in all forms of auto racing, as 33 drivers will start their engines and vie for first place at the 99th edition of the vaunted Indianapolis 500.

With a cool bottle of milk, the Borg-Warner Trophy and major bragging rights on the line, it should be an entertaining Memorial Day weekend at the Brickyard. Last year's winner Ryan Hunter-Reay will certainly find it difficult to repeat as champion in such a crowded field.

The buildup to the big race has been nothing short of hectic. There have been four accidents in practice runs, three of them with cars going airborne, per CBS News' Jim Axelrod. Design changes could be to blame, but the show will most certainly go on, albeit with an air of caution after a harrowing week.

Here's a look at the event info and three of the top racers to watch at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.


Indy 500 Info

Date: Sunday

Start Time: 12:15 p.m. ET

TV: ABC

Live Stream: Indianapolis Motor Speedway's website

Racers to Watch

Scott Dixon

Odds: 9-2

Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Why wouldn't you want to watch the pole-sitter?

Scott Dixon won the 92nd Indy 500 from the pole position in 2008 and will look to repeat that success seven years later. Dixon has one win in five Verizon IndyCar Series starts this year, and he is coming off a 10th-place finish at the Angie's List Grand Prix and third-place run at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. A three-time winner of the IndyCar Series, it's little wonder the 34-year-old New Zealander is the odds-on favorite to win the Indy 500.

He'll have to fend off a stacked field to claim victory Sunday, and he is well aware the new superspeedway aero kits and the competition on hand could keep things close throughout the race.

“We've had a really smooth month,” he said, via MotorSportsTalk's Daniel McFadin. “The cars are different, the style of racing is different. The race this weekend is going to be on the edge-of-your-seat stuff. The draft is fairly big, it's going to be impossible to pull away from the field.”

Will Power

Odds: 6-1

Robert Laberge/Getty Images

There might not be a better name for a competitor than Will Power, and the 34-year-old Australian certainly lives up to his meaningful moniker.

Power may start in second place Sunday, but he finished the last IndyCar Series in first place, scooping up 54 points at the Angie's List Grand Prix. That race also took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which bodes well for Power's confidence and control Sunday.

"It would be very cool to get the double," Power said, via the News & Observer. "I came into this month determined to have a good month, and it's working out."

The 2014 series champion is currently second in the standings and is growing accustomed to top starting positions, having already won two poles on the season. 

Power has yet to win the Indy 500, but he's in fine form and a fine position to make 2015 his year at this event.

Helio Castroneves

Odds: 13-2

A three-time winner of the Indy 500—the most recent in 2009—and one of racing's most recognizable names, Helio Castroneves once again belongs in the pre-race conversation as a top threat to take the checkered flag.

The 40-year-old Brazilian has shown no signs of slowing down in his later years (from a perspective in sports, of course). His hold on third place in the IndyCar Series standings will attest to that, as will his fastest lap of the day during Saturday's practice (233.474 mph). His ability to shake off a frightening airborne practice crash will certainly be something to watch come race time.

Bleacher Report provided a look at the incident:

The Indianapolis Star's Gregg Doyel and Zak Keefer both picked Castroneves to win this year's edition of the Indy 500. Here is Doyel's quick summary of Castroneves' bona fides:

"With three wins, two seconds, a third and a fourth—12 top-10 finishes overall—in 14 Indy 500 starts, Castroneves is an IMS savant."

Castroneves and Power are both part of Team Penske, as is current series leader Juan Pablo Montoya, another top name bandied about in the race buildup. However, of the eight people polled by the Indianapolis Star above link, Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud were the only two Team Penske drivers actually picked to come away victorious.

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of 6 a.m. ET. Friday, May 22.