Indy 500 Lineup 2026, Full List of Drivers and Qualifying Times for Marquee Race

Alex Palou will attempt to become the second driver in four years to win the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years.

The Spaniard starts Sunday's race at the front after he won the pole position in an average speed of 232.248 miles per hour.

Palou is one of nine previous Indy 500 winners in the 33-driver field. Alexander Rossi, the 2016 winner, starts alongside Palou on the front row in second.

David Malukas, who is third in the 2026 IndyCar standings, is the other driver on the front row.

Palou is the driver to beat. He's the reigning Indy 500 champion, the leader of the IndyCar points standings and the winner of three races already this season.

2026 Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid

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Row 1: Alex Palou, Alexander Rossi, David Malukas

Row 2: Felix Rosenqvist, Santino Ferrucci, Pato O'Ward

Row 3: Kyffin Simpson, Conor Daly, Scott McLaughlin

Row 4: Scott Dixon, Rinus VeeKay, Takuma Sato

Row 5: Ed Carpenter, Helio Castroneves, Christian Rasmussen

Row 6: Marcus Armstrong, Marcus Ericsson, Christian Lundgaard

Row 7: Will Power, Nolan Siegel, Louis Foster

Row 8: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden, Romain Grosjean

Row 9: Kyle Kirkwood, Katherine Legge, Mick Schumacher

Row 10: Graham Rahal, Dennis Hauger, Jacob Abel

Row 11: Sting Ray Robb, Caio Collet, Jack Harvey

Full list of qualifying data can be found here.

Alex Palou Comes In As Clear Favorite

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Alex Palou is the clear favorite to claim his second straight Indy 500 title.

The Spaniard topped the qualifying chart and has been the best driver in the IndyCar Series in 2026.

Palou owns three race wins and two top-five finishes across his six races on the IndyCar circuit this year.

The four-time IndyCar series champion couldn't ask for better form entering the series' marquee event.

However, holding the pole position doesn't always correlate to winning at the Brickyard.

Palou was last on the pole in 2022 and he finished 10th. Only Simon Pagenaud in 2019 won from the pole position in the last 15 years.

Plenty of Challengers Throughout Field

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Eight other previous Indy 500 winners are in the 33-driver field.

Alexander Rossi is the closest starter to Palou on the grid among that octet of drivers, but he hasn't finished in the top five this season.

Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon are the previous Indy 500 winners to watch on Sunday if you're looking at season form to determine contenders. Newgarden has a race win and sits fifth in the IndyCar standings, one spot ahead of Dixon.

Kyle Kirkwood sits second in the IndyCar standings behind Palou. He hasn't finished outside the top 10 all season, but he has work to do at the Brickyard from his 25th starting position.

David Malukas and Christian Lundgaard, who are third and fourth in the IndyCar standings, are two of the other drivers to watch in search of their first Indy 500 title. Malukas took second to Palou last year at Indy.

Pato O'Ward is worth a look to pick as the winner as well. O'Ward placed inside the top five at the Indy 500 in four of the last five years.