Sunday will mark the long-awaited return of the Indianapolis 500. This year’s race will be officially titled the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge and will have a lineup of 33 drivers. As the premier event of the IndyCar series, the 2021 Indy 500 will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.
Drivers will be competing in a 500-mile race over the course of 200 laps for a chance to win the Borg-Warner Trophy. The Borg-Warner Trophy has honored the winner since 1936 and has been a staple for a majority of the race’s 105-year history. The winner will also receive a $10,000 bonus from the Indiana Dairy Association if they include milk in their post-race celebration. The milk celebration has been a staple of the event since 1956.
Due to the pandemic, last year’s race was postponed from May 24 to August 23 and was held without spectators. As things are slowly returning back to normal, this year’s race will be open to 40% capacity with 135,000 fans (with face coverings required) are expected to attend the event. For those who are not going to be in attendance, they can find out how to watch every single lap of the 2021 Indy 500 below.
When to watch the 2021 Indy 500
The green flag will signal the start of the 2021 Indianapolis 500 at 12:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 30, on NBC.
Pre-coverage of the event will start at 9 a.m. ET on NBCSN. Coverage will transition to NBC at 11 a.m. ET for the race and the post-race show will begin at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Below is the projected scheduled lineup of the event.
- Scheduled Lineup of the Event (Times are subject to change)
- 5 a.m. ET: Garage opens
- 6 a.m. ET: Gates open
- 6:30 a.m. ET: Tech inspection
- 8:15 a.m. ET: Cars pushed to pit lane
- 10:30 a.m. ET: Cars on the starting grid
- 11:47 a.m. ET: Driver introductions
- 12:38 p.m. ET: Command to start engines
- 12:45 p.m. ET: Green flag for the 105th Indy 500
How to watch the 2021 Indy 500
It has never been easier to watch the Indianapolis 500 on any streaming device as plenty of services carry the networks airing the race. Check out the list below to find out which services are available to watch all of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
- AntennaWeb is a great tool you can use to find out what NBC channel is available in your area with an antenna.
- Locast: Viewers in over 30 markets can watch their local NBC affiliate for free with Locast
- NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com: will have a stream of the race.
- fuboTV has NBC covered with the fuboTV Family plan for $65/month.
- Peacock Premium: Peacock Premium will have exclusive coverage for $4.99/month
- Hulu with Live also carries NBC, and NBCSN for $65/month.
- AT&T TV includes NBC, and NBCSN in its Entertainment package for $69.99/month.
- YouTube TV includes NBC, and NBCSN with a $65/month subscription
- Sling TV includes NBC, and NBCSN in their Sling Blue package for $35/month.