Opening Odds to Win 2020 Indianapolis 500 – Power and Newgarden Favored

• The 2020 Indianapolis 500 will take place on May 24th at 12:45 pm EST
• Fernando Alonso will be eyeing the motor racing triple crown. Can he get the final piece with a win at the 2020 Indy 500?
• See the odds and early predictions for the Indy 500 below

This year’s edition of the Indianapolis 500 will take place Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana on May 24, 2020. We’ll have a surprise entry in the field as Formula One driver Fernando Alonso will join the fray but it’s Will Power and Josef Newgarden who are posted as the favorites. With the odds now up, let’s take a closer look at this epic race.

Odds to Win 2020 Indianapolis 500

Odds taken Feb. 26th

Newgarden, Power Favored At +750

Newgarden is the defending Indy champ as he took the top spot last season by finishing with the most points. It was a somewhat tight race as Simon Pagenaud and Alexander Rossi also finished with over 600 points but Newgarden still had a comfortable buffer at 641.

What’s interesting is that while Newgarden is favored, he actually placed fourth at the Indy 500 last year. It was Pagenaud who won it but his odds are a touch lower at +900. Newgarden has actually never won the Indy 500 and his fourth was his second-best result. He’s never finished better than third, so that’s a concern.

As for Power, he has had an up-and-down history at the Indy 500 as well but at least he has a win. He placed fifth last year and won in 2018. He has a stronger history than Newgarden and I expect Power to be the sole favorite eventually as he has five Top 10’s in the last six runnings of this race.

Alonso’s Odds Will Shorten

Fernando Alonso has reunited with McLaren to make an attempt at the Indy 500. Alonso is a two-time Formula One champion and he’ll now have to do his best at the 104^th Indianapolis 500. He’s still a bit of a longshot since Arrow McLaren Racing SP runs two other full-time drivers in Pato O’Ward and Oliver Askew but they’ve added a third car for Brickyard.

This isn’t the first time he’s made an attempt at the Indy 500 as he entered in 2017. He actually led that race for 27 laps but finished 24^th after his engine failed with just 21 laps to go. He’s trying to accomplish the motor racing triple crown, which is winning the Indy 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix.

He already has wins at the other two. He’s a fan favorite and given the success he had at the Indy 500 last time he raced, I’d expect the two-time Formula One champ’s odds to shorten down from +1600.

Rossi Could Be Favored

One other move I’m expecting – albeit not a big one – is for Rossi to move into the favorite’s role. He’s not far off as is but I see Newgarden moving back a bit and Rossie joining Power as the favorite.

With Rossi, you simply can’t deny the results. We’re looking at driver who has finished no worse than seventh at the Indy 500, winning once while placing second (2019) and fourth (2018) in the last two years. And that’s with some bad starting positions as he started 32^nd in 2018 and 11^th in 2016 (when he won).

I see him and Power as being the two from the top tier that see the most action as of right now. Of course, keep in mind lots might change as the season has yet to get underway. As we work our way through the races leading up to the Indy 500, we’ll have a better idea of how everyone looks.

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