With the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 being tomorrow, it makes lots of people think about what comes into play.

Cautions

Cautions are definitely going to happen. When they occur can influence a driver’s race drastically, if the driver needs to pit for tyres and fuel soon after the caution flag comes out, they can cycle to the back. Or on the other hand, if they just pit just before the caution, they can cycle to the front. Cautions can save a lot of fuel too, which can delay pitstops, but also have teams change strategies.

Fuel Saving

Fuel-saving can make a difference in either finishing in the top five or finishing fifteenth. Even a little bit of a lift on the back straight can save a bit of fuel. When Alexander Rossi won the 2016 race, the competition had to pit for a splash of fuel while he limped across the yard of bricks to claim his first and only “500” win.

Pit Stops

Drivers are constantly next to each other and create back and forth battles. Even if a pit stop is a second slower or faster, a driver can lose or gain two places. Contenders take around 6 or 7 pit stops during the race, so there are plenty of places to gain, lose, or gain back during the 500 miles.

Experience

Experience can matter a lot, too. An experienced driver most likely knows what to do and how to do it. For example, Helio Castroneves knew some things that Alex Palou probably didn’t know to perform his last-lap pass to cross the line first and climb the fence

Who will get lucky in the race tomorrow? We’ll have to find out over the 200 action-packed laps.