It is the most famous IndyCar Race of the series, “The Greatest Spectacle In All of Racing,” the Indianapolis 500. It is time to continue our IndyCar odds series with an Indianapolis 500 prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The 500-mile oval race started in 1911, with its 100th running coming in 2016 after two hiatuses due to World War I and II. Greats such as A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., Rick Mears, and Helio Castroneves have conquered this track. Last year, Chip Ganassi Racing took two of the top three spots as Marcus Ericsson won and Tony Kanaan came in third. Arrow McLaren SP had a good showing with their Chevrolets with Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist finishing second and fourth in the race. Kanaan was not the only previous winner to finish in the top five, as Alexander Rossi took home a fifth-place finish in the race.

This year the top of the odds board is littered with men from the Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren SP teams. Five of the top nine guys on the odds board come from those two teams. Alex Palou enters as the favorite, but the margins between him and much of the field are slim, as he goes for his first Indy 500 win,

Here are the IndyCar Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

IndyCar Odds: Indianapolis 500 Odds

Alex Palou +600

Scott Dixon +700

Pato O'Ward +800

Takuma Sato +1000

Felix Rosenqvist +1100

Rinus Veekay +1200

Scott McLaughlin +1300

Alexander Rossi +1300

Marcus Ericsson +1400

Josef Newgarden +1600

Santino Ferrucci +1600

Will Power +1800

Tony Kanaan +2200

Colton Herta +2600

Kyle Kirkwood +3000

Romain Grosjean +4000

Helio Castroneves +4500

Marco Andretti +6500

How to Watch The Indianapolis 500

TV: NBC

Stream: Peacock

Time: 12:45 PM ET / 9:45 AM PT

*Watch Nascar LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Favorites To Win The Indianapolis 500

The favorite in the race is Alex Palou. First of all, Palou is the pole-sitter in this race, and it is because he broke the record for the fastest time in qualifying history. That right there is enough to pick him in the race. He has experience here as well. In his last two races, he has finished in the top 10, including a second-place finish in 2021. Last year he led 47 laps, but some unlucky breaks for him caused him to finish outside of the top five. Last month in Texas, he finished third, and earlier this month he won the GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis road course. He is racing well and should be a lock for a top-ten if not top-five finish.

Behind Palou in terms of odds is Scott Dixon. In last year's race, Dixon led the most laps with 95 and was the pole sitter going into the race. However, a major mistake on pit road cost him a chance to win the race. In 2021 Scott Dixon was sitting on the pole again. Dixon had a mistake in that race as well, as he ran out of fuel before the first pit stop, and when his stalled engine did not refire, he fell out of contention. The 2008 winner of this race has been in the position to win, but his own mistakes have cost him. This year, he needs to not make that crucial error if he wants to contend.

Pato O'Ward sits third on the odds board for this race. The oval track has been kind to O'Ward in his career. He has made 16 starts on oval tracks, with two wins and five second-place finishes. He is also getting better at every race here. Three years ago he finished sixth. Two years ago it was a fourth-place finish, and last year he was second. He nearly won the race as well, but he was held off at the end.  He starts in the fifth position this year, which is the same spot that Marcus Ericsson started from last year on his way to a victory.

While O'Ward is trying to get his first victory here, Takuma Sato is going for his second. Sato is also part of the Chip Ganassi team and one of the more aggressive drivers out there. Ultimately that will either leads to big things or a big crash. Sato has not had the best year and is currently 17th in points on the season. He has a lot of talent, but many times takes unnecessary risks that can cost him. Sometimes those risks do pay off though. He took a major one in 2020, he was leading but Dixon was on his tail. The caution flag came out and had it not, Sato would have most likely not had enough fuel to win the race.

Sleepers To Win The Indianapolis 5000

Further down the board sits Will Power. This year one thing that Power has been good at is moving up in races when starting in the middle of the pack. In four of his five races this year, Power started outside the first ten positions, in three of them he has moved into the top ten, including a third-place finish in Alabama. Power is starting 12th in this race, but that could be a good thing for him. He has said he likes his position, and the shape of his car is in. He is in a Penske car though, and those cars have not shown the raw speed that the ones from Ganassi or Arrow McLaren have shown.

The feel-good story would belong to Helio Castroneves. Helio has won four times at this race, including in 2021. He did just take the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona title, but he has not won in an IndyCar race since his 2021 victory here. He will be attempting to become the first man to win the Indy 500 for a fifth time, but it does look like a long shot.

Indianapolis 500 Prediction & Pick

The pole sitter has won just once in the last 13 times in this race. He has won just twice in the last 21. It has been very rare that the man on the poll has won this race.  The current best cars are also coming out of just two teams as well. That does not eliminate many guys from the picks but does help narrow it down. Scott Dixon has the best history here without a win, but he makes too many mistakes on the track. O'Ward continues to improve every time here. At some point, he is going to break through and win. That time is now.

Indianapolis 500 Prediction & Pick: Pato O'Ward (+800)