2017 Indy 500: Start time, TV channel, and schedule

The biggest day in American open-wheel racing is here. The 2017 Indianapolis 500 is the centerpiece of Memorial Day weekend, filling a sun-drenched Sunday with the low hum of internal combustion and bright sponsorship decals blending into blurs at 225 miles per hour.

Scott Dixon will start from the top position after recording the fastest time in qualifying this spring. The four-time IndyCar champion has had luck operating from the pole in the past; his lone Indy 500 victory came from the No. 1 spot back in 2008. He’ll have to fend off a star-studded field if he wants to raise a cold bottle of 2 percent milk in the winner’s circle Sunday afternoon.

Dixon is the at the head of a lineup that includes past champions like Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Juan Pablo Montoya, Buddy Lazier, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and last year’s surprise winner Alexander Rossi will all navigate Indy’s 800 turns in hopes of having their visage molded onto the Borg-Warner Trophy. The 33-driver field also includes F1 standout Fernando Alonso, who is making his first appearance at the Speedway, and IndyCar standouts like Marco Andretti, Takuma Sato, and Will Power.

They’ll battle for position in front of an Indiana crowd that will be raucous, but likely fail to live up to 2016’s standard. Last year’s race was its 100th running, leading to a complete sellout of infield seats and a major markup for premium locations at the iconic track. Indianapolis Motor Speedway holds up to 400,000 people, though it’s likely this year’s event will fall a full 100,000 short of that upper limit.

Instead, it will be a humdrum crowd of 250,000+ surrounding the track as a field of 33 roars past under the Midwestern sun. Alonso had been an early favorite to become just the third rookie starter to take home the checkered flag since 2000, but has since been usurped by Dixon atop the betting odds. He’s followed by Power, Alonso, and Castroneves as the top picks, but don’t count out high-risk, high-reward bets like Graham Rahal (third place in 2011), J.R. Hildebrand (second that same year), and local favorite Ed Carpenter, who has the speed to compete with anyone but a historical record of being snake-bit at the legendary track.

The race officially starts at 12:17 p.m. ET, but no 500 is complete without the pageantry that precedes it. Balloons will be unleashed and “Back Home in Indiana” will be sung — this year, by Jim Cornelison — before the drivers begin the customary three-wide opening laps that precede the green flag. Here’s how you can catch all the action if you’re not among those lucky enough to be in Indianapolis Sunday afternoon.

Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Pre-race coverage: 11 a.m. ET

Race coverage: Noon ET

Green flag: 12:17 p.m. ET

TV: ABC

Online: WatchESPN