Simon Pagenaud has won each of the last three races in the 2016 IndyCar Series. Pagenaud will attempt to win a fourth straight series race this Sunday in the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
2016 Indy 500 odds: Indianapolis 500 betting favorites include Pagenaud, Power, Montoya
Simon Pagenaud, Will Power and Juan Pablo Montoya lead the pack on the betting lines heading into the Indianapolis 500 this weekend.
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Pagenaud is one of three drivers atop the betting board at +600 to win the Indianapolis 500 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Will Power and Juan Pablo Montoya are going off at the same odds to win the race, and Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon aren't far behind each going off at +650.
Though the French driver has been dominant in the early stages of the season with three wins in the first five races, Pagenaud has never won the Indy 500. His Team Penske teammate, Montoya, won the first race of the 2016 season at St. Petersburg and is also the defending champion in this race after winning it in 2015.
Montoya will attempt to become the first back-to-back winner of the Indianapolis 500 since Helio Castroneves went back-to-back in 2001 and 2002.
Castroneves also went on to win the Indy 500 in 2009, making him one of only two drivers along with the retired Dario Franchetti to win this race three times in the INDYCAR era. The Brazilian veteran led the most laps in Long Beach but was eventually overtaken by Pagenaud.
Castroneves is searching for his first IndyCar Series win since 2014 this weekend.
Dixon has won the IndyCar Series twice in the last three seasons, narrowly edging out Montoya in the standings last year. Dixon won the second race of the series this season in Phoenix, and has an Indy 500 win under his belt from back in 2008.
Power finished atop the IndyCar Series standings in 2014, and his last win came in Indianapolis in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in 2015.
Other drivers looking to contend in the Indianapolis 500 include Tony Kanaan (+900), James Hinchcliffe (+1200), Josef Newgarden (+1200) and Sebastien Bourdais (+1600). Hinchcliffe earned pole position for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Pole Day earlier in the week.
