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The IndyCar Series moves to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday for the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Green flag for the 108th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to drop shortly after 12:30 p.m. ET (NBC). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the 2024 Indianapolis 500 odds, and make our expert picks and predictions.

2024 Indianapolis 500: What you need to know

Weather is an issue for Sunday’s race as scattered thunderstorms, including some potentially severe with hail, are in the forecast from 11 a.m. through 3 a.m. Monday. The chance of precipitation is 50 percent or greater for a better part of Sunday
Arrow McLaren driver Kyle Larson is attempting to become the 5th driver to start the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. The weather might negate those plans, however
Larson was impressive in qualifying, challenging for the pole in the Fast Six, before securing the 5th starting spot after he posted a speed of 232.846 mph
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin is on the pole, starting from the inside of Row 1. His teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden, the 2023 Indy 500 winner, are alongside him on the front row
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, who sits atop the IndyCar Series standings with 152 points and 4 top-5 finishes, will go off from the middle of Row 5
2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson is in the middle of Row 11, the final row, in between Katherine Legge and Graham Rahal
2-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato (2017, 2020) goes off from the inside of Row 4

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2024 Indianapolis 500 – Expert pick

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:27 a.m. ET.

WILL POWER (+725) goes off from the middle of Row 1. The Team Penske driver sits 2nd in the IndyCar Series standings, and the Indianapolis 500 would be the perfect place for Power to get his 1st victory of the 2024 schedule.

While Power has been unable to secure checkers, he has 3 top-5 finishes, and 4 finishes inside the top-10. He has been very consistent, and he understands how to get to the milk on the bricks at this track. Power won the 2018 Indianapolis 500 in his Dallara DW12-Chevrolet.

2024 Indianapolis 500 Long shots

ALEX PALOU (+1300) has some rather long odds given the fact he sits on the perch of the IndyCar Series standings. Palou leads all drivers with 4 top-5 finishes, and he is 12 points clear of Power.

Palou will have to work his way up the grid as he starts in the middle of Row 5 between COLTON HERTA (+950), another long-shot bet worth a look, and Callum Ilott.

Herta is tied for 3rd in the series standings with Scott Dixon (127 points), and Herta has managed a pair of top-5 finishes and 4 runs inside the top-10.

It’s a good idea to back HERTA TOP-5 FINISH (+130) and PALOU TOP-5 FINISH (+170), too.

2024 Indianapolis 500 Prop picks

WILL POWER (-145) BEST FINISHING POSITION over Kyle Larson (+110)

There is a chance this bet turns into “no action” if Larson elects to leave Indy for Charlotte early Sunday because of weather and the start of the 500 is delayed. If Sunday’s race is a complete washout and postponed to Monday, Larson will very well likely return to Indy.

If Larson races Indy, backing a former Indianapolis 500 winner in Power over a 1st-time starter in Larson, albeit a talented one not entirely new to open-wheel racing, is the move.

Sunday 3-race parlay

MAX VERSTAPPEN to win Monaco GP (+800), POWER to win Indy 500 (+725), and TYLER REDDICK to win Coca-Cola 600 (+1000) pays 815.75 to 1 at BetMGM Sportsbook. It’s a long-shot, sure, but that’s what makes it fun. A simple $2 bet would profit $1,623.50. That’s worth a roll of the dice.

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2023 Indianapolis 500: What you need to know

Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson won the Indy 500 last season for Chip Ganassi Racing, the 1st victory for the team since Dario Franchitti won in 2012. He’ll go off from Row 4 Sunday

Helio Castroneves, the 4-time Indy 500 winner from Brazil, will go off from the middle of Row 7 in his Dollara-Honda after a qualifying speed of 231.954 mph

Brazil’s Tony Kanaan, the winner of the 2013 Indianapolis 500, announced earlier this year that this will be his final run at the venerable track. The 48-year-old starts on the outside of Row 3

Alex Palou is on the pole after a qualifying speed of 234.217 mph. His 4-lap average was the 2nd-fastest in Indy 500 history behind Arie Luyendyk’s 236.896 mph back in 1996

Palou is looking for the Indy double, after posting a victory on the Indianapolis road course in the GMR Grand Prix

Japan’s Takuma Sato, winner of the 2017 and 2020 installments of the Indy 500, starts between Alexander Rossi and Kanaan on Row 3

France’s Simon Pagenaud, the 2019 Indy 500 victor, starts on the inside of Row 8 after a qualifying speed of 231.878 mph

Pato O’Ward, 6 points back of Palou for the IndyCar Series points lead, is set to start in the middle of Row 2 next to 2022 pole sitter Scott Dixon

2023 Indianapolis 500 – Expert pick

PATO O’WARD (+500) is a solid value to win his 1st Indianapolis 500. He sits 2nd in the points race, and that’s apropos. He has finished 2nd in 3 of his 5 starts so far this season, posting runner-up finishes at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the Grand Prix of Texas and the Indianapolis road course event 2 weeks ago.

He has led just 2 laps in the last 3 races, but overall he has been in front of the pack for Team McLaren for 116 total laps in 5 races this season. The Monterrey, Mexico-born O’Ward was a runner-up last season at the Indy 500 behind Ericsson, too.

2023 Indianapolis 500 – Long shots

HELIO CASTRONEVES (+4000) is worth a roll of the dice. He won the Indy 500 at the Brickyard, sipping milk on the bricks in 2001, 2002 and 2009 for Team Penske. Not many saw his 2021 victory coming with Meyer Shank Racing, however.

It will be an uphill climb for the 4-time winner, as he starts in the middle of Row 7 after a qualifying speed of 231.954 mph. He could reach Indianapolis immortality, breaking a tie with A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser Sr. with his 5th checkered flag. He has just a single top-10 finish, and he hasn’t led a lap in 5 races this season, but the 48-year-old is still an attractive small-unit play at this price point.

If you’re a little less risky, check out Rinus VeeKey (+1300) and Felix Rosenqvist (+1400). Both have moderate odds, and each go off from Row 1 with the pole sitter Palou.