What's it take to win the Indy 500? Perfection according to the drivers who have done it

INDIANAPOLIS – Will Power, Helio Castroneves and Takuma Sato all compared the Indianapolis 500 to a game of chess. All former winners of the world’s biggest race, these three IndyCar legends know it takes a perfect race to take the top spot in Victory Lane.

“I don’t play chess,” Castroneves said. “But I do drive well.”

The 108th Indy 500 will be the first time the Brazil native competes during the 2024 IndyCar Series season, but he said he feels no pressure heading onto the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval track.

This isn’t a new situation for Castroneves. In fact, he was in the same one three years ago.

The result? His fourth Indy 500 win.

“It is a new car and it is a new crew, but it's the same old driver,” Castroneves said.

While he hasn’t competed in any races, he has traveled with his Meyer Shank Racing team throughout the season. In terms of mental preparation, Castroneves said he has learned from teammates Felix Rosenqvist and Tom Blomqvist from the sidelines, and on the physical side of things, he has been weight training consistently to work on grip strength to help with the tense pull of an Indy car.

Power, the 2018 Indy 500 winner, has not won an IndyCar Series race since June 2022. That same year, he won the series championship.

Despite sitting in second place of the 2024 IndyCar Series standings behind Álex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing, Power said he feels the same way he did in 2022: confident and focused. In fact, Power said the best way to mentally prepare for a race the size of the Indianapolis 500 is to take a step back and remember that, as far as points go, it’s just another race.

Power went into his first Indy 500 about as inexperienced as he could be, having never raced on an oval track before his first time at IMS in 2008. From an off-track perspective, Power also didn’t grasp how big the event was on a worldwide level before competing in it.

Things finally started to calm down for him once he earned his celebratory bottle of milk in 2018.

“I try to be calm about it,” Power said. “It can weigh you down otherwise. The enormity of it, the pressure, the torque, the leadup … it got harder as you didn’t win and the pressure mounted.”

After winning the Indianapolis 500, Power realized one of the keys to victory on the oval track at IMS was winning the battle of positioning. The other factor? Having a perfect day when it came to pit stops, communication with the pit crew and in-car strategy.

After competing in just five of 17 IndyCar Series races in 2023 and none of the first five races in 2024, two-time Indy 500 winner Sato is returning to the track for his 15th consecutive Memorial Day weekend race. Representing Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing once again, Sato said Bobby Rahal called him numerous times leading up to the biggest racing event on the calendar, trying to convince him to compete.

“You want to see what is possible for your sake, but at the same time, if you really want to be back here, why not?” Sato said.

Proudly displaying his 2017 and 2020 Indy 500 championship rings, Sato said the event is more than just a race.

“It’s just so spectacular, so unique, so different,” Sato said.

While the Japan native admitted he is moving into the stage of his career where the Indianapolis 500 is the only race he competes in each year, he also acknowledged how hard that one race can be. Although the first day of practice only lasted 23 minutes before inclimate weather forced a delay and eventually a postponement, Sato didn’t skip a beat during his limited time on the track. He finished the day with the third best lap time, topping out at 225.551 mph.

Sato gave credit to the state of the art racing simulators Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing provide, but he said nothing can compare to the feeling of racing nearly 230 mph in real time.

“I could cope with the speed, but I was surprised how much the body was pulling,” Sato said. “It just feels a little dizzy after that. I was delayed for four months compared to other guys, but I'm getting used to it and after a full day, no problem.”

Now more familiar with IMS’ oval track than almost any of the 33 drivers competing in the 2024 Indy 500, Sato realizes how unique the course truly is. He compared each turn as “four high-speed corners,” whereas he said oval tracks on the IndyCar circuit in Illinois or Iowa are more traditional.

Because of this and the expanded field of drivers, Sato said the Indy 500 is perhaps more competitive than any other race on the IndyCar Series calendar. His advice to the seven 2024 rookies: Respect the track.

“Don’t underestimate that you’re cruising on a speed of 230 miles per hour,” Sato said. “On a road course you can control the car, but here you’re a passenger. By the time you realize it, it may be too late.”

The 108th Indy 500 is set for Sunday, May 26 at IMS, with start time scheduled for 12:45 p.m.

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or on X @KyleSmedley_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Castroneves, Power and Sato on how to win the Indy 500