INDIANAPOLIS — Track drying procedures have begun at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS President Doug Boles said he hopes to have the green flag for the start of the 108th Indianapolis 500 by 5 p.m. ET.
The race will remain on NBC and the central Indiana blackout has been lifted, so fans that had purchased tickets to the race, but had to leave, can still see the race live, but on television. The blackout has also been lifted on Peacock.
Per IndyCar and Arrow McLaren/Hendrick Motorsports spokespeople, Kyle Larson will stay in Indianapolis and race the 500-Mile Race instead of returning to Charlotte Motor Speedway to compete in the Coca-Cola 600. Because of that, the Hendrick 1110 will be the Hendrick 500 this year.
The traditional pre-race ceremonies will take place, but some have been shortened.
Fans were asked to clear the grandstands at 11:15 a.m. to move to a safer location because of a lightning storm that is approaching Indianapolis from the West.
The Indianapolis 500 was scheduled to start at 12:45 p.m. ET.
The goal is to get the entire 500-mile distance completed Sunday. More rain is expected in the area by 8:30 p.m., according to Boles.
“This is a challenging day for us,” Boles said. “We have a lot of passionate fans here. No matter the decision, the most important thing is thinking about the fans.
“The hope is that on the backside of (the storm), we can begin drying the track by 2:30 to 3 p.m. and still start the Indianapolis 500 and get the race in today.”
11:00 a.m.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles said if weather conditions continue as is, fans will be asked to clear the grandstands at 11:15 a.m. Eastern Time to move to a safer location because of a lightning storm that is approaching Indianapolis from the west.
The Indianapolis 500 was scheduled to start at 12:45 p.m. ET.
Boles said rain is expected to fall around 12:15 or 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time and once it hits, track drying procedures are expected to begin once the rain stops, expected to be 2:30 p.m. ET.
Pre-race ceremonies are already underway including the parade of former Indy 500 winners, but once the decision is made to clear the grandstands, the pre-race ceremonies will halt.
The traditional ceremonies leading up to the start of the race will take place once the track is dry and it’s safe to return to the seats.
Boles said once the race is restarted, the intention is to complete the full 500-mile distance.
The traditional cannon to open the gates was fired at 6 a.m. ET at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the signal to open the gates to the expected throng of 345,000 fans that hope to witness a full 500-miles of racing.
This is especially important to 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who is attempting to become the first driver since Kurt Busch in 2014 to compete in both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race in the same day.
There is a chance for weather to impact that race, also.
8:08 a.m. ET
Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles gave an update at 6:20 a.m. ET Sunday morning regarding potential severe weather that may impact the 108th Indianapolis 500.
He indicated that at one point he considered moving the starting time up to 12:15 from its scheduled 12:45 p.m. Eastern Time start, but that is about the time the worst of the storm may potentially hit, according to Boles.
“The first storm as early as noon, and we could get precipitation ahead of storm and could have lightning that may impact the 12:45 start time,” Boles said.
But the weather forecast for a full race looks precarious because rain is expected to fall shortly after 2 p.m. ET.
“As you can imagine, like all of you, I started getting questions about the weather three or four days ago,” Boles said. “The last 48 hours, we have really looked hard at it and began to have more conversations at 4:45 a.m.
“We are tracking the storm that is right now in St. Louis. We are looking at two different models and the time of this storm is not consistent.
“Our plan right now is to continue to monitor that storm, but we are going to get some weather at some sort of time today. Our biggest concern is lightning.
“We will continue to stay in contact with IndyCar and keep our customers safe.”
Boles indicated additional weather updates will be made as the situation continues to be monitored.
“We’re tracking the storm that’s in St. Louis and looking at two different models with timing not inconsistent,” Boles said. “We’re getting better sense of where we think the storm is going to be.
“The next couple of hours really define when the storm could hit Indianapolis. The next couple of hours have good definition.
“We will stay in contact with IndyCar.”
This story will be updated