IndyCar President shares his feelings as JW Marriott continues special Indy 500 tradition

JW Marriott Hotels have supported IndyCar's premier race in the month of May by bolstering huge logos of the race at the hotel in Downtown Indiana, continuing an almost decade-long tradition. Subsequently, IndyCar and IMS President, Doug Boles shared his feelings on X (formerly Twitter) on JW Marriott building up the hype for the race.

The prestigious hotel in Downtown Indiana has featured an Indy 500 logo since 2016. This tradition of the race being publicized by one of the most important sights in the city has continued in 2025 for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Appreciating the effort by JW Marriott, Boles wrote on X:

"This has become an awesome tradition!"

Meanwhile, the elusive race can witness some drivers creating history at the track.

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IndyCar drivers are gearing up for the upcoming Indy 500

The 106th Indianapolis 500 Open Test - Source: Getty

Over the years, the grid for the Indy 500 has been jam-packed with more than 33 cars attempting to qualify for the race. With the fabled event having a heritage of over a century, drivers line up to take the event head-on.

Last year's pole sitter, Scott McLaughlin, looks over to take home the victory of the 109th Indy 500. However, an intra-team clash might happen at Team Penske as Will Power aims to end his pole-less stint at the Indy 500, despite being the record holder for most pole positions in IndyCar.

Sharing his thoughts at the Indy 500 open test, Power said (via IndyCar):

"I think the longer I've done it, the more I've appreciated it. The amount of media attention over the month, how hard it is to get a pole position here. I'm the all-time pole position holder for INDYCAR, and I don't have a pole at this place. I've (started) on the front row, and I've (started) on the back row."

"It's much harder doing the four laps to just get in the field than the four laps I did last year to get on the front row. It gives you a lot of respect for the place. It can certainly bite you," he added.

On the other hand, Helio Castroneves can become the first driver in the history of the sport to clinch five victories at the elusive race. The Brazilian deemed his start to the open test as "flawless" and is on the lookout for the victory next month.

However, one storyline has dominated since the start of the season. Team Penske's Josef Newgarden could write history on May 25 by becoming the first driver to complete a three-peat at the Indy 500.

In his preparations for the race next month, the 34-year-old revealed that he had not brought his last year's Indy 500 winning car, and said in the same interview:

"The last one was a one-and-done. We'd like to do that again."

So, an interesting catalog of drivers can fight for the race win at the upcoming Indy 500, with many attempting to break existing records or forge new ones.