Indy 500 2015: Top Vegas Odds, Favorites and Sleepers for Marquee Race
All it takes is one special afternoon for a driver at the Indianapolis 500 and his or her name is forever cemented in the sport’s lore.
That is the power of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, and Sunday is the 99th running of the prestigious event. A single victory in Indianapolis would be enough to guarantee a successful season for most competitors, and this year’s field is loaded with elite drivers looking to add to their legacies.
Here is a look at the odds (per Odds Shark, as of Thursday at 6 p.m. ET), favorites and sleepers for the marquee race.
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Odds
| Scott Dixon | 9-2 |
| Simon Pagenaud | 11-2 |
| Will Power | 11-2 |
| Helio Castroneves | 13-2 |
| Tony Kanaan | 13-2 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | 7-1 |
| Marco Andretti | 12-1 |
| Carlos Munoz | 22-1 |
| Ed Carpenter | 22-1 |
| Josef Newgarden | 25-1 |
| Ryan Hunter-Reay | 25-1 |
| J.R. Hildebrand | 33-1 |
| Justin Wilson | 33-1 |
| Graham Rahal | 50-1 |
| Sage Karam | 50-1 |
| Sebastien Bourdais | 50-1 |
| Jack Hawksworth | 75-1 |
| Oriol Servia | 75-1 |
| Alex Tagliani | 100-1 |
| Carlos Huertas | 100-1 |
| Charlie Kimball | 100-1 |
| James Jakes | 100-1 |
| Simona De Silvestro | 100-1 |
| Takuma Sato | 100-1 |
| Townsend Bell | 100-1 |
| Bryan Clauson | 150-1 |
| Conor Daly | 150-1 |
| Gabby Chaves | 150-1 |
| Pippa Mann | 150-1 |
| Sebastian Saavedra | 150-1 |
| Stefano Coletti | 150-1 |
| Tristan Vautier | 150-1 |
Favorites
Scott Dixon
Scott Dixon is the pole-sitter for this year’s Indy 500 after an impressive showing during qualifying. All he did the last time he won the pole in Indianapolis was win the race (2008).
Dixon sits in fourth place in the standings and has a golden opportunity to make up ground on the leaders after his qualifying performance. He understands what it takes to win the Indy 500 and will have nothing but open track ahead of him Sunday.
Simon Pagenaud
Simon Pagenaud has trended upward since he won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award in 2012.
He took home two victories and a third-place finish in the championship in 2013 and added two more wins and a fifth-place finish in the championship in 2014. He doesn’t have an Indy 500 win yet, and it would be the signature victory of his career if he accomplished the feat Sunday.
Will Power
Will Power is a force of consistency on the race track.
He sits in second place in the 2015 standings with a win and two poles this season. He also won his first IndyCar championship last year and finished second in the standings from 2010-12. However, Power has never finished better than fifth place in the Indy 500.
He understands sustained success doesn’t mean anything during the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, per Brant James of USA Today:
"To me a championship was always a bigger deal to me. Always. It’s the best driver in a number of races. There’s no question, really. The best guys always seem to fight for the final championship.
Indianapolis is a different story. It’s definitely got to be your day.
"
Perhaps it will finally be his day in Indianapolis this time around.
Helio Castroneves
Helio Castroneves is a living legend and has three Indy 500 victories on his resume (2001, 2002 and 2009). A fourth title would tie him for the most of all time with Rick Mears, Al Unser and A.J. Foyt and give him 30 overall race victories in his career.
He is the only multitime Indy 500 winner in this year’s field and certainly won’t wilt under the pressure of the biggest race of the season.
Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya is the points leader this year, but he must overcome a lackluster qualifying effort that placed him in 15th on the starting grid.
Montoya won the Indy 500 in 2000 and finished in fifth place last year. If anyone in the field has the skill set and momentum necessary to overcome a less-than-ideal starting position, it is Montoya with his four top-five finishes and one victory in five starts this year.
Sleepers
Sebastien Bourdais
Sebastien Bourdais checks in with 50-1 odds, but he is ninth in the current standings. That is serious bang for your buck available with a top-10 driver.
Bourdais has five starts this season, with one top-five finish and four top-10 finishes. He has been one of the most consistent drivers all year, and an Indy 500 title is not out of the question. You can’t ask for much more from a sleeper in this race.
Graham Rahal
Graham Rahal is fifth in the current standings, but he checks in with favorable 33-1 odds.
He boasts two top-five finishes and three top-10 finishes in five starts this year and is also a threat to take home the title as a sleeper.
Chris Jenkins of USA Today noted that Rahal calmly evaded trouble when he finished in second place behind Power in the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis:
"Indeed, Rahal did make all the right moves during a chaotic start. Starting in row 9, and suspecting that there might be a big wreck in the first turn after the green flag, he kept his car far to the outside. So when the nearly inevitable happened — the field wadded up when Scott Dixon spun out after apparent contact with Helio Castroneves — Rahal was able to steer clear of trouble and gain several spots.
"
There will certainly be plenty of trouble spots in the Indy 500 as drivers fight for positioning and an inside lane. Rahal will likely need to avoid that again to walk away with a victory.
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