What time does the Indy 500 start today? Full schedule & lineup for the 2020 race in Indianapolis

The start time for the Indy 500 in 2020 is a little ambiguous since the Greatest Spectacle in Racing features so much pre-race hoopla. Now on its new date after being postponed from May amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the Indy 500 at least remains an early afternoon event.

NBC, which will broadcast the Indy 500 for the second consecutive year, lists 1 p.m. ET as the start time for the 2020 Indy 500. Which is true for the network's coverage of pre-race festivities, but the green flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway won't wave until 2:30 p.m. ET.

MORE: Watch today's Indy 500 live on fuboTV (7-day free trial)

Marco Andretti won the pole for the 104th running of the Indy 500 with a four-lap average of 231.068 mph. He will lead the field to the green flag in what will be the first ever Indy 500 run in the month of August.

Below is all you need to know about the schedule for the 2020 Indy 500, including the actual start time and all the TV info you need to watch.

What time does the Indy 500 start in 2020?

• Race: 104th Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Date: Sunday, Aug. 23
• Start time: 1 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. ET green flag)
• TV channel: NBC
• Live stream: NBC Sports Gold | fuboTV

NBC will start covering pre-race Indy 500 ceremonies a full hour and a half before the green flag is scheduled to wave. The command for drivers to start their engines will come at 2:23 p.m. ET. (More on the full schedule below.)

NBC Sports is the exclusive home for the IndyCar Series in the United States for the second consecutive year, which is why the 2020 Indy 500 will be shown on broadcast cable network NBC. The Indy 500 had been shown on ABC for 54 consecutive years before NBC obtained the exclusive series rights with a three-year deal in 2019.

Mike Tirico will lead NBC's pre-race coverage from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and for the second straight year, he'll get help from retired IndyCar driver Danica Patrick.

NBC Sports’ lead IndyCar broadcast team of Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Townsend Bell (analyst) and Paul Tracy (analyst) will call the 104th annual Indy 500.

MORE: How much money does the Indy 500 winner get?

Indianapolis 500 schedule

The complete schedule for the Indy 500 technically includes seven practice sessions and two days of qualifying, all of which were completed before Sunday's main event.

The first six practice sessions took place from Wednesday, Aug. 12 through Sunday, Aug. 16. Baked into that schedule were qualifications on Aug. 15-16. The final practice session before the Indy 500, also known as Carb Day, took place Friday, Aug. 23.

Which sets up a long morning and early afternoon of waiting on Sunday, Aug. 23 before the 104th Indianapolis 500 takes the green flag at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Below is the complete schedule for race day.

Indy 500 lineup 2020

Something feels right about an Andretti being on the pole for the Indy 500. The 2020 running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing will start that way for the first time since 1987.

More than 33 years after his grandfather Mario won the pole for the Indianapolis 500, Marco Andretti finished last week's Fast Nine Shootout with the fastest lap times on the board, a four-lap average of 231.068 mph.

Andretti won the pole for the 2020 Indy 500 when he edged Scott Dixon by .017 mph, the third-closest margin in the history of Indianapolis qualifying. He did it Sunday after finishing Saturday's qualifying session with the fastest lap times and giving himself the final run for the Fast Nine Shootout.

The majority of the 33-car Indy 500 starting lineup was set Saturday, when all but the fastest nine drivers cemented their positions. Colton Herta qualified 10th and barely missed the cut-off for Sunday's Fast Nine Shootout.

Each of the top nine drivers qualified Sunday with four-lap runs. Including the results of both qualifying sessions, below is the complete starting lineup for the 2020 Indy 500.