Indianapolis Motor Speedway released the following statement just after 11 a.m. EST in anticipation of the storms moving in:
"Given the proximity of lightning moving toward Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a decision has been made to pause pre-race ceremonies for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and move fans out of the grandstands and the Snake Pit.
"Spectators are encouraged to follow the instructions of IMS team members. They should exit the grandstands in an orderly fashion and implement their personal safety plans.
"The start of the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge also will be delayed. Additional updates on timing will be communicated."
This could throw a wrench into Kyle Larson's plan to run both the Indy 500 and Coke 600 today. He is hoping to join an exclusive list with John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, and Kurt Busch as drivers who attempted 'The Double.' It's been a full decade since it was last done with Busch in 2014.
NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 600 goes green just at 6:22 p.m. EST. He qualified fifth for the Indy 500 and will start tenth in the 600. He currently leads the regular season standings in NASCAR, but is already locked into the playoffs via two race wins. It's unclear if the sanctioning body would grant him a waiver if he misses the start of the 600. Justin Allgaier is on standby for him at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
When the 500 does go green, Scott McLaughlin will lead the field off 33 across the bricks. He will line up alongside Will Power and Josef Newgarden as Team Penske locked out the front row for the first time since 1988.
Last year, Newgarden won the Indy 500 with a last-lap pass on Marcus Ericsson.
The Indianapolis 500 has only been completely postponed to Monday three times in the previous 107 races and it hasn't happened since 1997. The event hasn't been rain-shortened since 2007, which has happened a total of seven times.
