2025 Indy 500 on FOX posts race’s highest viewership in 17 years

A whole lot of you turned into the first running of the Indianapolis 500 to ever air on FOX. In fact, the race had its best viewership in nearly two decades as Alex Palou won the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500.

7.05 million people watched the Indy 500 on Sunday, making it the most-watched Indianapolis 500 in 17 years, FOX Sports announced on Monday. It also marks a 40% increase in viewership from the 2024 Indy 500, which averaged 5.024 million viewers.

Viewership peaked in the 4:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ET window, with 8.4 million viewers tuning in to watch Palou put the finishing touches on his historic win. 

Palou’s victory in Sunday’s race, his first win at the Indy 500, was an eventful one. He took the lead from Marcus Ericsson entering Turn 1 with 14 laps remaining before driving to victory, capturing his fifth win in six races this season.

Preceding Palou’s surge to the top of the leaderboard, there was plenty of chaos in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Rain caused the start to be delayed for nearly an hour and Scott McLaughlin, who was viewed as one of the favorites to win the race, crashed before the green flag even flew. 

Josef Newgarden’s quest to three-peat at the Indy 500 was derailed when his car had a fuel pressure issue, causing him to leave his car with 64 laps to go. There was also a fire involving Alexander Rossi, who held the lead early in Sunday’s race. As he drove to pit road with his car smoking, Rossi’s car lit on fire when his team added fuel to the car. Rossi’s fuel man also caught on fire, but he and the rest of his team were safe. 

FOX Sports’ broadcast of the 2025 Indy 500 also marked a viewership high for INDYCAR’s first season on FOX. All 2025 INDYCAR races will continue to air on FOX as the season continues with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, June 1, at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app. 

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