Ten-minute guide to the Indy 500

It's going to be tough to beat Helio Castroneves (right), Ryan Briscoe and Team Penske Sunday at Indy. Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

INDIANAPOLIS -- There are few sporting events that transcend sports and enter the mainstream. The Indianapolis 500 is one of them.

It doesn't take a horse racing fan to appreciate the significance of the Kentucky Derby. People who don't play golf will stop to watch The Masters. Someone who doesn't watch hockey all season knows the importance of the Stanley Cup.

While NASCAR has dominated the motorsports landscape in the United States and Formula 1 is the world's most-watched form of auto racing, the Indianapolis 500 rises to a level of interest far above that of the IndyCar Series.

For decades, hundreds of thousands of fans have flocked to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to take part in a great sporting tradition that dates back to the first 500-mile race in 1911.

Ray Harroun's name was immortalized when he won that first 500 and gave automotive technology one of its greatest safety innovations: the rearview mirror. Since it opened in 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been both a proving ground for automotive technology and the world's largest theater of human drama.

On Sunday, close to 300,000 fans will fill the Speedway to watch a sporting event that began before the NFL, NHL or NBA. The Speedway was 40 years old before NASCAR was even created.

The Indianapolis 500 is more than a race; it's a spectacle. It's color and pageantry and marching bands from all over the United States marching down the frontstretch at 8 a.m. It's the twinge that comes as the Purdue band plays On the Banks of the Wabash, while the cars roll onto the grid. It's the massive sea of humanity in the grandstands that greets the drivers as they walk out of Gasoline Alley.

It's the tension one feels in the moments leading up to the race, from Florence Henderson singing God Bless America to the invocation and moment of silence to honor those who have served in the military and those who have lost their lives in the race. It's the tears that run down the face and the lump that builds in the throat of a Hoosier native when Jim Nabors sings Back Home Again in Indiana.

The element of danger hangs heavily in the air at this event. Fear is evident, but these drivers are fearless. That's why the race is the massive event it is.

The 500 is also the shiver that runs through the body when you hear, "Ladies and Gentlemen -- Start your Engines!" followed by the loud ear-splitting roar that is a combination of the Honda Indy V8 engines coming to life and the spectators voicing approval.

It's the reaction to seeing the 33 cars race into the first turn at the drop of the green flag. Attend the Indianapolis 500 for the first time and it's likely you'll be hooked for life.

Some fans come to this race every year, and can recite past winners with ease. The majority of these fans may not watch another IndyCar Series race the rest of the season, but they won't miss the Indy 500.

Race fans in New Zealand will be tuning in to see if Scott Dixon can give the Kiwis a second consecutive Indy 500 win. Japanese journalists will be following Hideki Mutoh's every move. The United Kingdom will watch to see if Scotland's Dario Franchitti or England's Dan Wheldon can get their second wins there. Brazilians will focus on Helio Castroneves' effort to win his third Indy 500 or Tony Kanaan's attempt to win his first.

And the pride of the United States rides with Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal.

If the Daytona 500 is NASCAR's Super Bowl, the Indianapolis 500 is the Olympics. It's an international event hosted on American soil on the fertile grounds of what was once an Indiana cornfield.

And at the end of the day, the winner gets to celebrate with a bottle of milk.

What could be more homespun than that?

That said, here's SI.com's Guide to the this year's Indianapolis 500.

Five Things To Watch During The Race

Can Anyone Keep Up With The Penskes?

Team Penske drivers start at the front of the field with Castroneves on the pole and Ryan Briscoe in the middle of the front row. Not even the impressive Target/Chip Ganassi duo of 2007 Indy winner Franchitti and defending 500 champion Dixon has been able to keep up with the winningest team in Indy 500 history.

With tremendous resources and experience, look for Team Penske to regain that 'unfair advantage'.

Some Drivers Will Get Lucky With The Yellow Flag

The timing of pit stops is very important in this race, and on a track where it is difficult to pass, making a pit stop just before a yellow flag can be vitally important. Of course, there is no way to anticipate when the yellow flag will fly for debris, a crash or a car stalled on the race course, but this bit of good fortune can pay tremendous dividends for a driver and team in the race.

Youth Could Be Served

There are four drivers in the race 22 and younger, including 20-year-olds Rahal and Mario Moraes and 22-year-olds Andretti and Nelson Philippe. Rahal, Moraes and Andretti start fourth, seventh and eighth respectively and all have legitimate shots at becoming the youngest winner in Indy 500 history, a title currently held by 1952 winner Troy Ruttman, who was 22 at the time

The Emergence Of Graham Rahal

Starting on the inside of the second row, 20-year-old Rahal has been impressive so far in his second Indy 500 attempt. By sliding his car to avoid John Andretti's crashed car on May 10, Rahal proved he has luck on his side, too. Newman Haas Lanigan crew chief Mitch Davis has built a brand new IndyCar for Rahal that he calls "the Indy winner," so this is certainly a driver to watch in the race.

Leader With 10 Laps To Go Often Does Not Win

One of the great things about the Indy 500 is that the race winner is often determined in the final 10 laps. In 2006, the storyline changed dramatically in the five final laps as Michael Andretti was in front and appeared heading to his first Indy 500 win before he was passed by his son, Marco. Sam Hornish Jr., who had been penalized for leaving the pits with his fuel-hose attached -- causing a pit fire in the final portion of the race -- was able to chase down Marco and make a run at the lead with two to go before having to back off the throttle to keep from crashing.

With the race seemingly in Marco's favor, Hornish battled back and made the race-winning pass just a few hundred yards from the finish line in the most dramatic last-lap finish in Indy 500 history.