2025 Indianapolis 500

Veteran drivers that have not competed in an IndyCar oval race since the previous year's Indy 500 are required to take a refresher test.

[40] A private Rookie Orientation Program session was held October 10, 2024 for Nolan Siegel of Arrow McLaren.

[41] Siegel had passed ROP the previous May, however, he failed to qualify for the race, necessitating a re-take of the rookie test.

Eleven teams were in attendance to evaluate the hybrid energy recovery system powertrains which were adopted midway through the 2024 IndyCar season.

On Thursday, Josef Newgarden (Team Penske), Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren), and Álex Palou (Ganassi) primarily conducted tire tests for Firestone.

[3] On January 14, 2025, FOX announced their primary broadcast team for the full IndyCar season, with Will Buxton serving as lead commentator and James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell retaining their analyst roles they had previously held with NBC.

Josef Newgarden enters as the two-time defending winner, having won in both 2023 and 2024
Four-time race winner Hélio Castroneves ( 2001 , 2002 , 2009 , 2021 ) has the most previous starts in the field with 24.