{"id":34235,"date":"2025-05-25T00:10:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T04:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=34235"},"modified":"2025-05-25T00:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T04:10:14","slug":"last-word-on-motorsports-shares-our-indianapolis-500-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/05\/25\/last-word-on-motorsports-shares-our-indianapolis-500-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Word On Motorsports Shares Our Indianapolis 500 Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The greatest spectacle in racing has arrived, the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. The Last Word on Motorsports team has made our picks for who goes into history as a winner of the Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_34237\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34237\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34237 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Pato-O_Ward-108th-Running-of-the-Indianapolis-500-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m107207-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Pato-O_Ward-108th-Running-of-the-Indianapolis-500-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m107207-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Pato-O_Ward-108th-Running-of-the-Indianapolis-500-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m107207-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Pato-O_Ward-108th-Running-of-the-Indianapolis-500-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m107207-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Pato-O_Ward-108th-Running-of-the-Indianapolis-500-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m107207-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Pato-O_Ward-108th-Running-of-the-Indianapolis-500-By_-Joe-Skibinski_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m107207.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34237\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pato O&#8217;Ward during the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Photo by Joe Skibinski, Penske Entertainment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>The Picks Are In; LWOS Picks for the 109th Indianapolis 500:<\/h2>\n<p>The biggest race in the world, the largest single-day sporting event, the Indianapolis 500, is the race every race car driver wants to win. Over 800 drivers have started this race across its 109 runnings, but only 75 have won the race. Who can join that few in history?<\/p>\n<p>We here at Last Word on Motorsports have compiled our picks for four categories. They are,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Overall Winner: The one who crosses the yard of bricks first and wins the race.<\/li>\n<li>Best Loser: Who has the potential to lead lots of laps, but not collect the checkered flag at the end of 200 laps?<\/li>\n<li>Dark Horse Winner: Who has been quiet all of the Month of May and is a contender for the win.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And something inspired by the <a  href=\"https:\/\/speedwaydigest.com\/index.php\/news\/nascar-cup-series-news\/475863-chevrolet-takes-the-2025-manufacturer-showdown-at-the-nascar-all-star-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2025 NASCAR All-Star Race<\/a>, a manufacturer&#8217;s challenge. Which of the two manufacturers, Honda or Chevy, will have the most cars in the top ten at the race&#8217;s end?<\/p>\n<p>IndyCar writers Isabelle Ferrante and Krysti Jaglal, along with NASCAR writer Kaleb Kraus, and I have all shared our picks for these four categories. Here are the picks&#8230;<\/p>\n<h3>Overall Winner of the Indianapolis 500:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Isabelle: <\/strong>Scott McLaughlin<\/p>\n<p><strong>Krysti: <\/strong>Pato O&#8217;Ward<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kaleb: <\/strong>Pato O&#8217;Ward<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hayden: <\/strong>Pato O&#8217;Ward<\/p>\n<p>The second-place driver has impressed the majority of us with his performance in 2024. On the final lap going into turn 3, O&#8217;Ward was overtaken by Josef Newgarden, who would win his second Indy 500 in a row. This year, O&#8217;Ward is starting third, and Newgarden has been relegated to a 32nd-place starting spot.<\/p>\n<p>Scott McLaughlin is another good pick by Isabelle. McLaughlin won his first oval race last year at Iowa and has said that with that win, he believes he has the knowledge to get it done at Indy.<\/p>\n<p>Great picks by the whole team.<\/p>\n<h3>Dark Horse Winner:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Isabelle<\/strong>: Nolan Siegel<\/p>\n<p><strong>Krysti:<\/strong> David Malukas<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kaleb:<\/strong> Kyle Larson<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hayden:<\/strong> Scott McLaughlin<\/p>\n<p>While we have all chosen different drivers, it is clear we all agree on one thing. We believe a Chevrolet will win this race. AJ Foyt, Arrow McLaren, and Team Penske are all cars that run up front at the Indy 500. While they don&#8217;t shine as bright as some of their teammates, these are cars with pace. Look out for these cars on Sunday with 25 to go.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/09\/10\/unfinished-business-kyle-larson-to-attempt-the-double-again-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Unfinished Business, Kyle Larson to attempt &#8216;The Double&#8217; again in 2025<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Biggest Loser of the Indy 500:<\/h3>\n<p>Isabelle: Felix Rosenqvist<\/p>\n<p>Krysti: Robert Shwartzman<\/p>\n<p>Kaleb: Alex Palou<\/p>\n<p>Hayden: Alex Palou<\/p>\n<p>A mixed bag for this category. Starting with Rosenqvist, Indianapolis is the track he has led the most laps at in his career. His best starting spot, 3rd in 2023, saw him lead 33 laps, but a crash would relegate him to a 27th-place finish. This year, he is starting fifth, we could see Felix get out front and lead, but not the lap that matters.<\/p>\n<p>Shwartzman has been the talk of the grid since last Sunday. The rookie, who had never qualified on an oval, took a car from a team that had never raced at Indy, to the 1st starting position. That #83 Chevy has lots of speed, but can the rookie tame it?<\/p>\n<p>While Alex Palou has dominated everything this season, I still believe that Palou has not mastered the ovals yet. He has had the most pace in multiple practice sessions, but we have seen this track bite Palou. I don&#8217;t think Indy has picked Palou to win just yet.<\/p>\n<h3>Manufacturer With Most Cars In The Top-Ten:<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Chevrolet, Unanimously<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, we all picked Chevy to have the most cars inside the top ten. Chevrolet has 15 cars on the starting grid, compared to Honda&#8217;s 18 cars. Chevrolet clearly has the most pace, 2\/3&#8217;s of the front row are bow-ties, but the manufacturers tie with 5 of each inside the top-ten. Chevrolet has won the last two Indy 500s with Newgarden, and based on our picks, we don&#8217;t think they&#8217;ll be stopping now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Will our picks be correct? Or will Indianapolis prove us wrong? Stay connected to Last Word on Motorsports to find out&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/05\/18\/robert-shwartzman-stuns-at-indy-500-qualifying\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Robert Shwartzman Becomes First Rookie Indy 500 Pole Sitter in 43 Years<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Photo:\u00a0<\/strong>James Black, Penske Entertainment<\/p>\n<p>Recording Date: 5\/27\/2024<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The greatest spectacle in racing has arrived, the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. The Last Word on Motorsports team has made our picks for who goes into history as a winner of the Indianapolis 500. The Picks Are In; LWOS Picks for the 109th Indianapolis 500: The biggest race in the world, the largest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4347,"featured_media":34236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1663],"tags":[1600,1656,582,62,1627,1824,237],"class_list":["post-34235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indycar","category-ntt-indycar-series","tag-alex-palou","tag-david-malukas","tag-indianapolis-500","tag-kyle-larson","tag-pato-oward","tag-robert-schwartzman","tag-scott-mclaughlin"],"modified_by":"Hayden Murdock","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4347"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34235"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34239,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34235\/revisions\/34239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}