2017 Indy 500: Starting grid, green flag time for Sunday

The biggest day in American open-wheel racing is nearly here, with the Indianapolis 500 running on Sunday. The race features some of the best driving talent in the world, including pole-sitter and four-time IndyCar champion, Scott Dixon, as well as IndyCar “rookie” Fernando Alonso, a two-time Formula 1 world champion.

Television coverage of the Indy 500 will be carried by ABC and will begin with pre-race coverage at 11 a.m. ET. Proper race coverage begins at 12 p.m., and the green flag is set for approximately 12:17 p.m. Finally, the race can be streamed live online via WatchESPN on PC or various connected smart devices.

Alonso is impressing big time in his first time driving in IndyCar, qualifying in fifth place on the grid in the second row. He finished ahead of a ton of extremely talented drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves and others.

Widely considered to be one of the best drivers in the world in any discipline, Alonso is taking a break from the engine trouble suffered by McLaren-Honda, his Formula 1 team, by fulfilling his goal of racing in the Indianapolis 500.

Dixon qualified fastest with an average speed of 232.164 mph, the fastest time since the course record of 236.986 was set in 1996. Dixon won the Indy 500 from pole in 2008 and finished fourth from pole in 2015. Pole hasn’t been a huge factor in determining a winner in recent years, however.

Alexander Rossi, the defending champion, started from 11th in 2016. He qualified in third on the grid, while Ed Carpenter split him and Dixon with a second place start. The second row includes Takuma Sato, Alonso, and JR Hildebrand.

Alonso is one of the favorites to win the race despite being a “rookie.” He has as much or more experience than anybody else in the field when it comes to open-wheel racing, and he’s likely well used to the car by this point.

This year’s race is the 101st running of the 500, so things will probably be quite a bit less festive than 2016, the 100-year anniversary of the race. Still, around 300,000 people are expected to attend the race.

Below is all you need to know to watch Sunday’s action, and below that is the full starting grid for the action.

Date: Sunday, May 28

Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Time: 11 a.m. (pre-race coverage), 12 p.m. (race coverage)

Green Flag: Approximately 12:17 p.m.

TV: ABC

Online Streaming: WatchESPN

Row 1: Scott Dixon, Ed Carpenter, Alexander Rossi
Row 2: Takuma Sato, Fernando Alonso, JR Hildebrand
Row 3: Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Will Power
Row 4: Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ed Jones, Oriol Servia
Row 5: Mikhail Aleshin, Graham Rahal, Max Chilton
Row 6: Charlie Kimball, James Hinchcliffe, Juan Pablo Montoya
Row 7: Helio Castroneves, Jay Howard, Sage Karam
Row 8: Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Carlos Munoz
Row 9: Gabby Chaves, Conor Daly, Jack Harvey
Row 10: Pippa Mann, Simon Pigot, Buddy Lazier
Row 11: Sebastian Saavedra, Zach Veach, James Davison