This is it. This is the Indy 500. It’s probably one of the most revered races in all of motorsport. Right up there with the Daytona 500, the Monaco Grand Prix (also this weekend), the 24 Hours of Le Mans, etc. It’s the second oldest racing event in the country, with only Pikes Peak being older. And on top of all of that, this is the 99th running, making it pretty damn important. 33 cars will take the starting flag this Sunday, and everyone and their brother will be watching, either in attendance at the circuit, or on television, obviously. It’s a big deal. It’s a lot like the Kentucky Derby, even people who don’t care about horse racing watch that race. So, here’s why you should be watching, and why you should care, and everything you need to know in order to follow along easily. Eric Rood and I can bring you up to speed with this audio guide. Just for fun, we also give our predictions of who might take that win after 500 miles of racing.

The Cammed and Tubbed Podcast – The Indianapolis 500 Preview

More after the jump:

Important Links

Live Timing and Scoring

Race Broadcast: Sunday 5/24 on ABC starting at 11AM Eastern Standard

Race Spotter’s Guide

For further live updates, follow the race on Twitter using the official hashtag #Indy500 and the official twitter feed @IndyCar.

Here are a few videos to bring you up to speed.

1. Three incidents in practice during the week leading up to qualifying. This resulted in qualifying being mandated to run in race trim (lower boost pressure and more downforce), which slowed times in qualifying by about 8 miles per hour average lap.

Helio Castroneves –

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQZ0mnJKllU[/youtube]

Josef Newgarden –

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THfIvk628eo[/youtube]

Ed Carpenter –

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaZ8QbTZbb0[/youtube]

2. In the preview, we mention this penultimate lap shemozzle involving Takuma Sato and Dario Franchitti from 2012.

3. And if you’re feeling bored this week, here’s the entirety of the 2014 running of the race in gorgeous HD.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-pF0nWGw9U[/youtube]

 

Thanks for listening. Enjoy the race!