Despite a threatening weather forecast in the days leading up to the event, the race ran its scheduled distance of 200 laps (500 miles) and was won by Japanese driver Takuma Sato of Andretti Autosport.

[15] Former Indianapolis 500 winners that were entered include Hélio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Buddy Lazier, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Alexander Rossi.

[17] On April 12, it was announced that two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso planned to drive a Honda with the support of McLaren for Andretti Autosport.

* Includes days where trackactivity was significantly limited due to rain A private manufacturers test for Honda teams was scheduled for Friday March 24.

[28] Marco Andretti started the day off, shaking the car down shortly after 9:00 a.m. Alonso took to the track and passed all three phases of his rookie test.

Due to rain approaching the area, the test schedule for the day was slightly compressed, in order to complete all three phases before the weather arrived.

Ed Jones passed his rookie test at 1:08 p.m.,[33] while Jack Harvey experienced gearbox trouble, which delayed him taking to the track for almost one hour.

[44] Despite Honda's dominance in the speed charts during the week, it was Chevrolet driver Ed Carpenter who turned the fastest attempt of the day, with a four lap average of 230.468 mph.

Joining him in the Fast Nine were Takuma Sato, Scott Dixon, J. R. Hildebrand, Alexander Rossi, Will Power, Fernando Alonso, Tony Kanaan, and Marco Andretti.

Early showers slightly delayed the morning warm-up session, but the skies stayed clear for the rest of the day and qualifying was run as scheduled.

No major incidents occurred during the session, though a few drivers, including Jack Harvey and Charlie Kimball, scraped the wall in turn 2 during their runs.

NOTE: Per INDYCAR Rule 8.4.9, Davison, who was ineligible to participate in qualifying, was classified by the Entrant Points of the #18 car during the current season.

Joining Dixon on the front row were Ed Carpenter, the highest qualified Chevrolet, and defending winner Alexander Rossi.

Takuma Sato had a potential front row starting position until his handling went away on his final two laps, and he subsequently brushed the wall in turn two.

In the second quarterfinals heat, Ed Carpenter was assessed a 5-second penalty due to an unsecured lug nut on the left-front wheel.

In the final round, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (James Hinchcliffe) faced Team Penske (Will Power) in a best two-out-of-three matchup.

Indy 500 rookie Fernando Alonso made a slow start, but quickly began moving his way back up to sixth by lap 19.

Two laps later came the race's second caution period, as Conor Daly lost control of his car in turn 3 and crashed into the outside wall while trying to make a pass.

[57] In the midst of the wreck, Jack Harvey spun attempting to avoid Daly's debris, sending him into the inside wall in the North "short-chute," taking him out of the race as well.

This green flag run was short-lived, though, as caution flew once again on lap 81 as a winglet from Marco Andretti's car broke off and landed on the course on the front straight.

However, Will Power, Max Chilton, and Hélio Castroneves elected to stay out having made pit stops only six laps earlier during the previous caution, thus placing the trio at the head of the race.

The gaps were erased on lap 122, when Buddy Lazier lost control of his car in turn 2 and hit the wall, bringing an end to the former winner's day.

However, pre-race concerns about Honda reliability came to fruition that same lap, as Hunter-Reay's engine suddenly began to smoke on the back straight before slowing and coming to a halt just before the pit entrance.

Several drivers elected not to pit during the period, including Max Chilton, Charlie Kimball, J. R. Hildebrand, James Davison, and Ed Jones.

Both Bestwick and Punch, and presumably the remainder of the contracted on-air crew, was officially terminated a week later after ABC's coverage of the Detroit Grand Prix.

However, on February 7, 2018, ESPN communications director Andy Hall announced that the full IndyCar broadcast team, Bestwick and Punch included, would return for the 2018 season.

[66] By contrast, viewership in Spain was significantly high due to Fernando Alonso's debut, with 443,000 viewers and a 3.6% share, higher than the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix that occurred earlier in the day.

Paul Page joined as a guest commentator in the booth, and Bob Jenkins appeared during the pre-race in a pre-recorded segment recapping the 25th anniversary of the 1992 race.

Among the guests in the booth was Governor Eric Holcomb, Mark Reuss (GM), Matt Davis (Advance Auto Parts/Carquest), and James Verrier (BorgWarner).

[70] 1070 The Fan broadcast nightly beginning May 8 with Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, followed by Donald Davidson's The Talk of Gasoline Alley.