Indy 500 Favorites 2019

• We are getting close to one of the biggest car races in the USA. The 2019 Indianapolis 500 is on May 26th, so I think it’s time to explore the Indy 500 betting odds and see if there is any value available. In this Indy 500 betting preview, I’ll explore the prices for the outright.
• The 103rd Indianapolis 500 takes place on Sunday, May 26. This year’s Indianapolis 500 boasts 5 motorists. Check out our 2019 Indy 500 chances and a betting analysis of the field. 2019 Indy 500 Preview & Odds When: May 26 at 11:00am ET Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway TV: NBC Live Stream: NBCSports.com 2019 Indianapolis 500 Odds Josh.

The Indianapolis 500 has had 102 editions over more than a century since it was first run in 1911, interrupted only by things such as world wars.

On February 28, 2019, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced that they would once again return to run the Indy 500, retaining driver Sage Karam for the fourth consecutive year. On April 22, the team announced that J. Hildebrand would return to drive for the team at the Indy 500 for the second year in a row, this time driving with the No. 48 to honor Dan Gurney. The 103rd Indianapolis 500 takes place on Sunday, May 26. This year’s Indianapolis 500 boasts 5 drivers offering odds of less than +1000. Check out our 2019 Indy 500 odds and a betting analysis of the field. 2019 Indy 500 Odds & Preview When: May 26 at 11:00am ET Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway TV: NBC Live Stream: NBCSports.com 2019 Indianapolis Read More. Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power is joined by Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, and Simon Pagenaud as +800 co-favorites in this year’s event Power has failed to earn a win since claiming victory in last year’s Indy 500 but has reach the podium in this race twice in the past five years.

Indy 500 Favorites 2019

So, there should be plenty of evidence of how to pick winners, right? Not so fast, my friend (well, maybe like 230 mph, that's pretty fast).

The race has undergone a transformation over the past decade, becoming far more competitive. It's no longer a race of follow the leader. Going back to 2010, there's been a lead change each year during the final 10 laps; the average final lead change over those years has come with 4.2 laps to go. And in each of the past seven years, there's been at least 30 lead changes over the race's 200 laps. That happened once over the race's first 95 years.

So, while history might not offer a clear trend, there's no shortage of data. Although the IndyCar Series runs mostly on street and road courses, drivers spend two weeks getting ready for the Indy 500, and there are plenty of practice sessions and data to work with over the fortnight. Plus, we've seen many of these drivers run at the 2.5-mile oval before, so we can see how they work in race conditions.

There will be 33 drivers in the starting field, and the competition will be fierce. In qualifying, less than 3 MPH separated the fastest and slowest cars .

So, digging into a driver's track history and their performance over these last couple weeks, here's some of the best value plays in the field.

Drivers with short odds

Simon Pagenaud (6-1): It's easy to pick a pole sitter, and it's easy to pick the favorite. But that's not a reason to totally stay away, especially when you're getting somebody who doesn't have much shorter odds than the other front-runners.

Pagenaud finished sixth in this race last year and is driving Team Penske equipment, which has appeared to be the class of the field in practice. He was the fastest car in Monday's practice. The only drawback is a lack of success historically at the track. His sixth-place finish last year was his best in seven career starts in the 500.

Josef Newgarden (7-1): There's four Penske drivers in the field, and they all have a realistic shot of winning this race. You have Pagenaud on the pole, three-time winner Helio Castroneves, defending champion Will Power -- and then there's Newgarden, who gets somewhat lost in the shuffle considering he's the 2017 series champion.

Helio Castroneves (10-1): Castroneves is a three-time 500 winner, although his last win came in 2009. But it's not like he's been struggling in this race since then, finishing runner-up in 2014 and 2017.

The drawbacks are that he's 44 years old and hasn't been a full-time IndyCar driver in two years, but that could also be framed with that the entirety of his focus for the year is on this single race.

Medium odds

James Hinchcliffe (50-1): There's no doubt that Hinchcliffe's history at Indy makes him a sentimental choice. He nearly died following a practice incident at the track in 2015, then came back to win the pole in 2016. He failed to qualify in 2018, and nearly did so this year after wrecking his primary car in practice.

The nice thing about the build-up to the Indianapolis 500 is that you have some time to fine-tune your car. Hinchcliffe will start 32nd, but this is the best era in the 500 in terms of being able to practice. The team showed speed, putting up the third-fastest time in Monday's practice, and if he did that while not struggling in qualifying, you definitely wouldn't be able to get these type of odds.

Ed Jones (15-1): The three cars from Ed Carpenter Racing will start second, third and fourth on Sunday, but Jones gives you the longest odds among the three. Jones will be making his third start in this race. He wrecked out last year but finished third as a rookie in 2017.

Conor Daly (40-1): Daly is in solid equipment for the race, running for Andretti Autosport, and will start in 11th place. Unlike fellow 40-1 shot and teammate Zach Leach, Daly showed improvement through the first week of practice, pacing Fast Friday, However, he struggled to start the second week, as did his teammates. If Daly can regain that speed, he's worth a look. And you can ignore his previous five efforts at Indy, when he didn't finish any better than 21st, because he hasn't had the Andretti equipment under him like he'll have this year.

The long shots

Charlie Kimball (150-1): Kimball's speed has zigzagged up and down. In the first week of practices, twice he was the eighth-fastest, twice he wasn't in the top 15. But to start the second week of practice, Kimball was the sixth-fastest. He has also shown that he can race with the leaders at Indy, finishing third in 2015 and fifth in 2016.

Jack Harvey (125-1): If a single 100-1-plus shot isn't enough odds for you, here's another shot at a big payout in the Englishman Harvey. Harvey was a respectable 13th in Monday's practice and 16th last year. He might be your best shot to turn a couple of bucks into a couple of hundred bucks.

The 104th edition of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for August 23, 2020 in Speedway, Indiana. The 500-mile race is one of the most prestigious in all of motor sports. Together with the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it forms the Triple Crown of Motorsport.

Best Indy 500 betting sites

Indy 500 Favorites 2019 2020

Indy 500 Odds 2019

Indy 500 betting odds 2021

Scott Dixon is the betting favorite at the Indy 500, but a group of drivers isn’t far behind at around +800 (8/1) odds. That cluster includes Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti, who held off Dixon in qualifying to win the Indy 500 pole. See below for betting odds to win the 2020 Indy 500.

How to bet on the Indianapolis 500

Betting on race cars bears some similarities to horseracing. So, if you are familiar with handicapping the ponies, there will be some familiar ground here.

Pick the Winner

The first and simplest type of Indianapolis 500 wager is to pick the eventual winner. Almost every site that offers betting on motorsports will have this kind of wager available.

The odds on these types of bets are usually fairly long, even for the favorites. There are simply too many variables in motorsports that can affect the outcome of a race.

As a result, even the favorites don’t less than 6-1 odds.

Even past winners, such as Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan, are available at odds higher than 10:1 right now. So, there is quite a bit of variance in these kinds of situations.

Top Three Finish

Those accustomed to betting on horse races will recognize this style of betting. For all intents and purposes, betting on a top three finish is the same as a win-place-show bet on a particular horse.

Basically, this type of bet means that the bettor believes the chosen driver will finish somewhere in the top three. Given how long the odds are for any of the drivers in the field, it’s understandable that bettors would want a bit of leeway in the finishing order.

Head to Head Matchups

Head-to-head matchups essentially reduce the entire race down to two drivers. A bettor wagers on which of the two will place higher, even if those places are the last two in the field.

These matchups actually use moneylines in order to identify the favorite and underdog in each pairing. So, hypothetically, Will Power could go off at -125 to Helio Castroneves at +145..and so on.

Futures bets

Functionally, a future bet is the same as a pick the winner bet. The bettor is choosing a member of the field to win the race.

However, the difference is time. These bets often occur weeks or months before the race itself.

As a result, they are subject to far more variation due to the risk of drivers suffering injuries, setbacks, or simply falling off their game in the interim time period. So, the odds for these bets can change quite a bit as race time approaches.

Proposition bets

Finally, a proposition bet on Indianapolis 500 tends to involve some sort of gimmick or angle to the wager. In other words, the conditions of the bet may only partially pertain to the driver’s actual ability.

So, a prop bet could be something like a wager on which former champion will place the highest, or perhaps a bet on the winner’s home country. In other words, a prop bet will have an element ancillary to the actual race itself that plays a part in the wager.

Indy 500 fast facts

For those in a hurry, here is a quick guide to the upcoming race:

• Date: Sunday, August 23, 2020
• Time: 12:30 p.m. Eastern
• TV: NBC
• Easiest way to watch online: Sign into NBC.com and submit cable subscription information
• Other online viewing options: Hulu, YouTube, Fubo, DirecTV, Sling, and IMS Stream
• Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana
• Distance: 500 miles (about 200 laps around the track)
• Surface: Asphalt and brick
• Race series: IndyCar
• Defending champion: Simon Pagenaud

A brief history of the Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500 ran for the first time in 1911, with Ray Harroun winning the inaugural race. Since then, both the race and the racetrack have become one of the most famous auto races in the world. The annual event is often dubbed “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

The 500-mile race takes place in an open-wheel, open-cockpit format, meaning that vehicles’ tires and drivers are exposed to the open air. This format has come to be known as “Indy Car Racing,” due to its presence at this event.

The track itself is a rectangular oval nicknamed “The Brickyard” for its partial brick surfacing. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world, with permanent seating for over 250,000 patrons. On race day, more than 300,000 will watch the race.

As with many venerated sporting events, there are several traditions associated with the Indianapolis 500. Before each race, race officials and a designated singer lead the crowd in a rendition of “Back Home Again in Indiana.”

The winning driver traditionally drinks from a bottle of milk to celebrate his victory. Below is a list of the most recent competitors to sample dairy products at the end of the race.

Recent Indianapolis 500 winners