Preview: The main players

Pros: He's starting from the pole, has won the last two 500s and has Tim Cindric, one of the best strategists in the business.
Cons: He's starting from the pole and has won the last two 500s. This race has been notoriously hard on recent pole winners, and nobody has won it three times in a row.


Pros: He's wickedly fast at this track, and tenacious as a bulldog. Plus he's starting on the front row, so he'll avoid any early mess.
Cons: He's still wounded. Kanaan has a broken wrist, but the real pain is in his rear, where he sustained a serious laceration when the A-arm pierced the tub in his crash in Japan.


Pros: Better in an Indy car than he is in a stock car, plus he has supreme confidence in his ability. Should have won the 1999 Indy 500.
Cons: Any delay in the 500 could seriously mess him up. If Indy is halted for any reason, Gordon is gone. His contractual obligation is to the Coca-Cola 600 later in the evening in Charlotte.


Pros: Understands the grand scheme of things, perhaps better than anyone in the field. He also has a keen awareness of what needs to be done to a car in the middle of a race.
Cons: Hard as it is to believe, he's a rookie at Indy. And, like Kanaan, he's wearing a cast from the crash in Japan.


Pros: He's won this race before, he's got a better piece now than when he won the race in '99, and he's extremely skilled at the tricks of saving fuel - an important piece of the Indy puzzle.
Cons: He hasn't shown the breathtaking speeds of his rivals at AGR, Penske and Ganassi in the weeks before the race.


Pros: He's the smartest and most patient driver in the field. In fact, Castroneves' two Indy wins easily could have been de Ferran's, especially the first one.
Cons: He's had two bad wrecks in the past eight months. He's recovered from the concussion in Phoenix, but this is a long race.


Pros: He's fast and fearless, and he led almost half of last year's Indy 500 before crashing out. He knows how to dominate at this track.
Cons: He has developed a reputation - one he disputes - for driving impatiently, eventually either breaking or wrecking the equipment. Word is he's on Ganassi's short leash.


Pros: He's extremely fast at Indianapolis, and always has been. Plus he's graduated from Chevy to Toyota iron this season, making Kelley Racing one of the few original IRL outfits that can hang with the newcomers.
Cons: He's starting farther back in the field - ninth - than he would like.


Pros: He's the pleasant surprise of the 87th Indy 500, the wise-cracking Brit who laid down ferocious laps day after day in practice. He's the not-so-secret weapon at Andretti Green Racing.
Cons: It's his first Indy, and this race isn't just about speed. It's about endurance and strategy and, yes, luck.


Pros: He has led enough laps at Indy - save two - to twice win the race flag-to-flag, yet he's never won it in 13 tries. Perfect time to end the Andretti curse.
Cons: He's starting 13th in his farewell race, and he's barely practiced at all leading up to it. Of course, none of that has ever bothered Michael.


Pros: His practice speeds have been the best and most consistent of anyone in the field aside from perhaps Wheldon, and he was widely praised in his first two seasons in CART.
Cons: His speed often was the result of a tow, and speed isn't the deciding factor at Indy.


Pros: Nobody ever seems to notice this guy, yet he's constantly in the mix in IRL races. He played a major role in last year's Indy 500, and he's more than capable of winning this one.
Cons: He has yet to show the extreme speed of teammate Tora Takagi.


Pros: While everyone was focused on rookie Dan Wheldon, they forgot about this rookie. Renna is quick, sharp and experienced in open-wheel racing.
Cons: He's not experienced at the Indy 500, a race that demands patience, a smooth line and adaptability.


Pros: His style suits this track. He drives deep into the corners while staying smooth, and he has unusual patience for a young driver.
Cons: He's driving a Chevy. He's giving up 10 to 15 horsepower to the Toyotas and Hondas. Something crazy or bad is going to have to happen for a Chevy to win.


Pros: He's a two-time winner, he looked strong at the end of last season, and he's in better shape - mentally and physically - than he has been in years.
Cons: He hasn't been as fast as his team-mates - Sharp and Tony Renna - and he's 41 years old now.


Pros: He's started from the front row four times at Indy, knows the place like the back of his hand, and his style fits the track.
Cons: His Access Motorsports is fielding a car on a fraction of the budget of other Honda teams; at times he didn't practice for financial concerns.