IndyCar: There's a new favorite to win the Indy 500, and it's not Kyle Larson

After running the second fastest lap in the recent abbreviated Indy 500 open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson's odds to win the race in his IndyCar debut shortened to the point where he was listed behind only reigning polesitter Alex Palou.

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, who is set to become just the fifth driver to attempt the Memorial Day Double this May, had been listed behind 12 drivers.

Instead, Larson left the test listed at +700, behind the man who has been the driver to beat at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval over the last three years.

Palou, listed at +550, finished runner-up behind four-time winner Helio Castroneves in 2021 and rallied from 30th after pit road issues (after front row starts) in both 2022 and 2023 to finish in ninth and fourth place, respectively.

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But now there is a new favorite -- co-favorite, technically -- to win this year's running of the 200-lap race, and it's not Larson.

Aside from the 27-year-old Spaniard, the only other driver Larson wasn't ahead of after the open test was the driver with whom he was tied, and that driver is one of his three Arrow McLaren teammates: Pato O'Ward.

O'Ward is now listed at +600, right on par with Palou after Palou's odds got slightly longer.

The 24-year-old Mexican's track record at Indianapolis speaks for itself. After failing to qualify in an underpowered Carlin car in 2019, he officially made his Indy 500 debut in 2020 and placed sixth.

He bettered that by two spots to fourth in 2021 and did so again in 2022 to finish in second. Battling for second after leading the most laps last year, he was involved in a late crash, and his race ended in turn three.

O'Ward and Palou as the co-favorites is fitting, given that both are now considered the top two "overdue" drivers to win the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" after Josef Newgarden, a 30-time IndyCar race winner and two-time series champion, finally scored his first Indy 500 win in attempt number 12 last year.

Larson remains listed third at +700, just ahead of Newgarden, who topped the speed chart in the open test, at +750.

Full odds can be found here.

Odds and availability are subject to change.

Indy 500 practice is officially scheduled to get underway on Tuesday, May 14, and qualifying is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19. The race itself is set to be shown live on NBC from Indianapolis Motor Speedway starting at 11:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 26.