() The 109th Indianapolis 500 will take place May 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Doug Boles, president of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, joined ‘s “Morning in America” on Friday and said preparing for the race considered the world’s largest single-day sporting event is an 18-month process. Attendance is estimated at 350,000.
Two-time defending champion Josef Newgarden will be looking to take home the checkered flag for his third straight year.
Boles said in the race’s history, Newgarden is only the sixth driver to win back-to-back, and that everything would have to be perfect for him to win a third consecutive time.
“If he was to do it, it is a monumental task,” Boles said.
He said there could be another historic victory, pointing to Helio Castroneves, vying for his fifth Indy 500 win.
While the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been in operation for 116 years, Boles said this year’s race is the 109th due to time off taken during World Wars I and II.
