Caitlin Clark Reflects on Giving 2026 Indy 500 Start Command in Video, 'I'm Usually Not Nervous'

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark gave the command for drivers to go to their cars during Sunday's Indianapolis 500.

As she told reporters on Sunday, it was a bit of a nerve-wracking responsibility.

"Well they had me standing there for a really long time, so I was getting nervous," Clark said. "And then like, they told me that the guy was going to say, like, 'And here to give the command...' and he never said that. So I was like, awkwardly kind of waiting for a second. And I was like, 'You know what, whatever. I'm just gonna go for it. They can adjust.' And it turned out fine. The crowd was cheering anyway so it just kinda seemed like I was giving them a second to cheer. It turned out well. I was definitely a little nervous. I'm normally not nervous when there's a microphone in my face, but when you get in front of 300,000 people and on live television, that's a lot. I didn't want to mess up my four words. But it was still super cool."

Felix Rosenqvist went on to win the race in the tightest finish in Indy 500 history, edging David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds after overtaking him on the final lap.

It ended in drama, and it started with Clark's nervy four words.