Team Penske's Josef Newgarden has been the betting favorite to win the 109th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for much of the offseason.
But with under a week to go until the start of the 2025 IndyCar season on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, two new drivers are now listed as co-favorites, along with the two-time reigning winner of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing".
Newgarden is listed by FanDuel Sportsbook at +750 (bet $100 to win $850), and he is now joined by Arrow McLaren teammates Pato O'Ward and Kyle Larson.
O'Ward, Larson listed as Indy 500 co-favorites with Newgarden
O'Ward has been a contender for the Indy 500 for four straight years, but he has simply come up short on each occasion. He placed fourth in 2021 and second in 2022 after failing to get around Marcus Ericsson on the final lap, and then he crashed while battling Ericsson for second in 2023. In 2024, he was passed by Newgarden on the final lap.
There is no reason to expect O'Ward not to be in the hunt again in 2025. The question is whether or not he can finally get over the hump that has left him with a better knowledge of the feeling of "oh-so-close" than anybody else in the field of 33.
As for Larson, he had an impressive debut last year, qualifying fifth and running toward the front before a late pit road speeding penalty mired him back in 18th. He wasn't really a factor in the battle for the win anyway, but without that penalty, he easily could have been in play for a top five finish, even after an early restart hiccup set him back.
While everybody wanted to bill Larson as a "favorite" last year amid the hype surrounding his Memorial Day Double attempt, the reality was that the 2024 edition of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Speedway, Indiana oval was more of a learning experience for him than anything.
It's why he took on a two-year program when it was announced in January 2023 that his NASCAR Cup Series team, Hendrick Motorsports, had partnered with Arrow McLaren to field his McLaren-Hendrick entry 16 months down the road. 2025 was always going to be the one he had circled.
Full odds can be found here.
The 109th running of the Indy 500 is set to air live on Fox from Indianapolis Motor Speedway starting at 10:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 25, while the 2025 IndyCar season opener is set to be shown live on Fox from the streets of St. Petersburg beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 2. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!