12. Kyle Larson, McLaren-Hendrick
The fans who thought Kyle Larson was going to show up and wax the field like he was competing in some local dirt track event got a rude awakening in 2024, but so too did the fans who thought he wasn't going to be fast. He overcame an early restart disaster to run in the top five and was well on course to finish there before a late pit road speeding penalty. With a year of experience under his belt, don't write him off (unless there's rain and Tony Kanaan has to fill in).
11. Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
I think everyone liked what they saw from two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato in the open test before his crash, and with him having become the first driver to win with the aeroscreen in 2020, there is some underdog-style hope that he can be the first driver to win with the hybrid in 2025. Will the backup car be just as quick, and will his team finally return to 2020 form?
10. Will Power, Team Penske
Will Power's Indy 500 resurgence was limited to a front row starting spot last year, as a crash kept him from recording his first finish higher than 14th place since 2019. He went on to score his first oval win since 2019 later in the year, so you can reasonably expect him and the entire Team Penske team to be fast again in 2025.