The stage is set, with 33 cars ready for 200 laps of intense competition. One glass of milk awaits.

Who will get to the Yard of Bricks first in Sunday’s 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge (10 a.m. ET, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network)?

There are plenty of storylines entering the race. How about NTT P1 Award winner Robert Shwartzman? The odds are stacked against him. Just 10 rookie drivers have won in over a century. Only three of those 10 have been since 1967, the last Alexander Rossi in 2016. Shwartzman, Nolan Siegel and Louis Foster are making their “500” debuts.

What about Helio Castroneves’ pursuit of a record-setting fifth “500” or Josef Newgarden vying to become the first driver to win three in a row?

Castroneves starts 22nd in the No. 06 Cliffs Honda for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian and Newgarden 32nd in the No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet.

We’ve seen 37 straight races where the winner came from 19th or better here, but this is Indy, and this place picks its winners.

Favorites

Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet)

McLaughlin is quietly becoming one of the most dangerous oval racers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and he may just put it all together Sunday. His 556 laps led on ovals in 2024 were the most in the series by a massive margin. Teammate Will Power’s 240 was his closest competitor. McLaughlin led a race-high 66 of 200 laps in last year’s “500” but finished sixth. He mentioned he learned a lot and the experience sharpened his tools for Sunday. He also had two oval victories last season, at Iowa Speedway and Milwaukee Mile.

Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)

Eventually, the Arrow McLaren driver is going to win this race. O’Ward has had two runner-up finishes in the last three years, with four top-six results in five tries. He starts third, from where the “500” winner has come 14 times. Only the pole winner has won more, 21 times.

Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

Dixon is overdue, with his last “500” victory coming in 2008. The six-time series champion has three top-six finishes in the last five tries and was fourth, fourth, second and second, respectively, in practice last week.

Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

Yes, he’s 0-for-27 on ovals, but it would be poetic justice for his first oval victory to come in the Indy 500. Palou led 35 laps but was “taken to school” by Helio Castroneves in his runner-up finish in the 2021 Indianapolis 500. In 2022, Palou started second, led 47 laps but suffered heartbreak in event for second consecutive year as he got caught coming to pit road just as caution came out on Lap 69 and was dealt a drive-through penalty for taking emergency service in closed pit, which he couldn’t overcome. In 2023, he started on the pole, led 36 laps but was dealt an unfortunate blow when Rinus VeeKay’s car made contact with his machine on pit road on Lap 94. Palou restarted 28th on Lap 100 and rallied to fourth. Last year, he climbed from 14th to finish fourth.

Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Allegra Honda)

Other than last year’s first-lap crash, Ericsson has had two top-two finishes in the last three years, including his victory in 2022. He starts ninth with what he described as a car that will be in contention to win Sunday.

Sleepers

David Malukas (No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet)

The AJ Foyt Racing driver is typically in contention on ovals, and in his first season with the team, Malukas qualified seventh.

Santino Ferrucci (No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet)

In six Indianapolis 500 starts, the AJ Foyt Racing driver has never finished outside the top 10. He led 11 laps in a third-place effort in 2023 and finished eighth last year.

Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet)

The Danish driver was the top-finishing rookie last season in 12th. In last week’s practice, the Ed Carpenter Racing driver was 11th, 10th, eighth and 14th, respectively on the speed charts.

Takuma Sato (No. 75 AMADA Honda)

How does the second-place starter land as a “sleeper?” For starters, a part-time driver has only won this race once since Dan Wheldon achieved the feat in 2011 -- Helio Castroneves in 2021. Also, Sato has an average finish of 15th over the last four years despite starts of 15th, 10th, eighth and 10th, respectively, in that span. However, Sato earned his third top-five qualifying effort last week by starting a second. The previous races he did so, he won. He started fourth in 2017 with Andretti Global and was victorious. He qualified third for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the 2020 victory. Trends signal Sato becoming the 11th driver in “500” history with three or more wins, joining Louis Meyer, Wilbur Shaw, Mauri Rose, Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Unser and Dario Franchitti with three victories each.

Conor Daly (No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet)

Daly said this is the best race car he’s had in the “500” since finishing 10th in 2019 with Andretti Global. He was fifth, third and eighth, respectively, last week in practice and starts 13th. Daly has three consecutive top-10 finishes in the Indy 500, including 69 laps led.