Indy 500 2015: Full List of Drivers and Qualifying Times for Marquee Race

We're just two days away from the 99th running of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," the Indianapolis 500.

In front of over 200,000 fervid spectators, 33 drivers will compete for IndyCar's most coveted prize. 

Here's a look at the qualifying times and final starting grid for Sunday's race: 

Pos.	Driver	Average Speed (mph)	Row
1	Scott Dixon	226.760	1
2	Will Power	226.350	1
3	Simon Pagenaud	226.145	1
4	Tony Kanaan	225.503	2
5	Helio Castroneves	225.502	2
6	Justin Wilson	225.279	2
7	Sebastien Bourdais	225.193	3
8	Marco Andretti	225.189	3
9	Josef Newgarden	225.187	3
10	J.R. Hildebrand	225.099	4
11	Carlos Munoz	225.042	4
12	Ed Carpenter	224.883	4
13	Oriol Servia	224.777	5
14	Charlie Kimball	224.743	5
15	Juan Pablo Montoya	224.657	5
16	Ryan Hunter-Reay	224.573	6
17	Graham Rahal	224.290	6
18	Carlos Huertas	224.233	6
19	Simona de Silvestro	223.838	7
20	James Jakes	223.790	7
*21/33	*James Davison	223.747	11
21	Alex Tagliani	223.722	7
22	Sage Karam	223.595	8
23	Conor Daly	223.482	8
24	Townsend Bell	223.447	8
25	Takuma Sato	223.226	9
26	Pippa Mann	223.104	9
27	Gabby Chaves	222.916	9
28	Sebastian Saavedra	222.898	10
29	Jack Hawksworth	222.787	10
30	Stefano Coletti	221.912	10
31	Bryan Clauson	220.523	11
32	*Ryan Briscoe	217.405	11

*Note: Ryan Briscoe will replace the injured James Hinchcliffe and start from the final row.

*Note: IndyCar president Derrick Walker announced that all replacement drivers will start in the back row, so James Davison, who had his car qualified Sunday by Tristan Vautier, will also start in Row 11, per the Indianapolis Star's Curt Cavin.

I spoke with Daniel McFadin, writer for NBC Sports NASCAR Talk and MotorSports Talk, to get his take on some of the key storylines heading into this year's Indy 500.

Can Hunter-Reay Repeat?

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

We haven't witnessed a repeat winner since Helio Castroneves in 2001-2002, and before him, the last driver to accomplish the back-to-back was Al Unser in 1970-1971.

It's been accomplished just five times, proving how difficult a task it is. 

"Ryan Hunter-Reay, the defending champ, he's been almost nowhere to be found this year," McFadin said. "He's starting 16th, but he started back in 19th last year and won. Everyone gets up for the Indy 500, so even if they've been dogging you through the first three races, you never know."

Hunter-Reay is just 12th in the overall points standings and has only two top-10 finishes heading into this year's Indy 500.

He has an uphill climb, but as we all saw last year, that didn't prevent him from capturing the Borg-Warner Trophy.

End of the Andretti Curse?

Sam Riche/Associated Press

The Andretti's are the most widely known racing family in the United States, but name recognition alone doesn't earn you Indy 500 victories.

The Andretti's have just one to their name—patriarch Mario Andretti's 1969 crown.

Marco, the 28-year-old grandson of Mario and son of Michael, is hoping to break the curse this year in his 10th 500 start. But the 2006 runner-up isn't entering this year's race on anything resembling a hot streak.

"I don't think so; I just don't see [him winning]," McFadin said. "It would be nice; everyone wants to see that curse ended. But he's had a quiet month of May, and it'd be a real shock."

Andretti sits 13th in overall points standings, his best race of the year an eighth-place finish at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. 

Even so, hope remains for IndyCar's most notorious streak to finally meet its demise. 

"It would be great for us as a team and great for us as a family, but I also think it would be great for the series, as well," Michael Andretti, father and race strategist to Marco, told USA Today's Jeff Olson. "I think it would be a big news story because of the so-called Andretti Curse. I think it would make the front page of all the newspapers. It would be huge for that to happen.”

Will Power's Final Crown Jewel

AJ Mast/Associated Press

There's just one thing remaining for Will Power to accomplish in his IndyCar career. He lusts for the single-race crown jewel, one that will cap one of the most successful IndyCar careers in recent memory.

Will Power enters this year's Indy 500 second in points after winning last year's title. He's poised, focused and ready.

"You can't discount Will Power," McFadin said. "He's very focused on finally winning the Indy 500. It's the only crown-jewel race in Indy car that he hasn't won yet, and he's won a lot of races. Coming off winning the championship last year, this is very much what he's been focused on this entire season."

"His goal entering the month of May was to control practice, get the pole for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, win the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He just missed out on the pole for the Indy 500. So he'll be eager to get to the front and stay there as long as possible. He wants the win badly."

Worries Regarding Safety

Jamie Gallagher/Associated Press

One of the more pressing stories leading up to this year's Indy 500 is safety concerns. 

No one has ever mistaken racing at speeds in excess of 190 mph to be a safe profession, but the proliferation of crashes this year have once again brought safety to the forefront of the IndyCar conversation.

James Hinchcliffe's crash was the most egregious, with his car losing control, spinning hard into the wall before sliding back and nearly flipping over. He had to be replaced by Ryan Briscoe after suffering severe injuries. 

Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden and Ed Carpenter all went airborne in their crashes, though none were seriously injured and will still race on Sunday.

Even with the intensified media scrutiny over the crashes, particularly Hinchcliffe's, drivers aren't expected to approach the race any differently. 

"I don't expect the crashes to affect how anyone drives this weekend," McFadin said. "I interviewed Justin Wilson and Scott Dixon, they both said all four wrecks were the result of four completely different things. I believe only one of them was actually related to the configuration of the car itself."

"Wilson just told me, once they put the visor down, the mindset is completely different. It's all about the race, not about what came before that."

Chances for the Rookies

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

A rookie hasn't won the Indy 500 since Castroneves in 2001. Don't expect either of the two neophytes in this year's field to end that drought.

"I don't expect [Stefano] Coletti to enter the top 20," McFadin said. "But [Gabby] Chavez, he's the defending Indy Lights champion. He won at IMS last year, so I think you'll hear his name a couple times. I don't think he'll be in serious contention unless something weird happens or if there's some very strange pit strategy. I think he'll last all day."

Chavez qualified 29th, while Coletti qualified 32nd, leaving both with plenty of ground to make up in their inaugural 500.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.

You can follow Daniel McFadin on Twitter @danielmcfadin and find his work at NBC Sports MotorSports Talk and NASCAR Talk.