The Indy 500 race is this Sunday May 29th, 2016, considered part of the triple crown in motor sports, it is by far the most important event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Indianapolis 500 earned the nickname of the “greatest spectacle in racing” back in 1955 when the phrase was used to break to commercials during the uninterrupted radio broadcast.

Basic Information on Indy 500

The event as its name suggests, consists of 500 miles accomplished in 200 laps around the speedway. Each lap has a distance of 2.5 miles and the design of the track, which remains the same since 1909 when the track first opened, consists of 4 separate turns and straightaways.

The field consists of 33 cars aligned in a starting grid of 11 rows of 3 cars each. This number was adopted after the Contest Board of the American Automobile Association (AAA) determined that the safest distance between each car was 400 feet. The order in which the cars start is determined by the qualifying rounds which take place the weekend before the race.

The cars used for this race all use a 2.2L V6 twin turbo charged engines that have an output of 500 – 700 horse power. All engines utilized in this race are manufactured by either Chevrolet or Honda and all the tires are supplied by Firestone. This standard guarantees that no car has an edge or unfair advantage over the rest and it is the skill of the driver that makes the difference.

Some advice if you are planning on betting the Indy 500

The favorite to win this year’s Indy 500 is Simon Pagenaud of team Penske. Simon Pagenaud has had an incredible season and won the 1^st position in the starter grid for Sunday’s race. He is accompanied by Scott Dixon of Team Chip Ganassi Racing; Dixon was the pole sitter last year and has a pretty impressive performance record in the Indianapolis 500, so he is definitely someone to watch out for.

Rounding up the first row is Colombian racer Juan Pablo Montoya who also races for team Penske. Montoya won his rookie year in 2000 and is only one of two drivers to have raced in the Indy 500, Brickyard 400 and United States Grand Prix.

Fellow team mate Will Power placed a disappointing 10^th, after being the fastest driver on the final day of practice before qualifying. Despite this he is still considered a front runner in the race, so don’t discard him yet.

The Indianapolis 500 is a very long race and anything can happen in the course of those 200 laps, however the front runners have been decided during the qualifying and history has shown that it is unlikely for a serious dog to upstage any of them. Check out the odds to bet on Indy 500 at Ace Sportsbook, prices are competitive and it wouldn’t hurt to spread your money over several drivers but make sure you bet one or more of team Penske drivers, this is the team to beat.