It was certainly a new experience for the two-time WNBA All-Star Caitlin Clark when she got to be the grand marshal at the 2026 Indy 500 and deliver the famous four-word pre-race command: "Drivers, to your cars."

Clark did the honors in front of over 330,000 fans, as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was sold out for the Indy 500 for the second year in a row. Though the experience felt surreal to her, the Indiana Fever star surprisingly left the race early and didn't see it through to completion.

In an interview shared by The Athletic reporter James Boyd on X, when Caitlin Clark was asked about her first Indy 500 experience, she shared:

"Super cool. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a place that had so many people. Obviously, you know how many people are going to be there, but once we get out there in front of that many people, it's like, 'Oh my gosh! But really fun."

For reasons not revealed, Clark didn't stay back for the four-hour event. "Obviously, a really cool finish down the stretch. I'm not huge into racing, and I’m still learning about it, but I left before the race was over," she added.

Though she didn't experience the thrilling conclusion in person, Clark did watch it on TV.

"I was watching at home on TV, and I was screaming at the TV. So it was pretty fun and pretty cool," the Fever Guard continued. "And just the excitement from even like all of the fans and how excited they were that I was a grand marshal. It was really special. Definitely crossed it off my Indianapolis bucket list."

In the Indy 500's closest finish ever, Sweden's Felix Rosenqvist won by 0.0233 seconds over David Malukas. Clark enjoyed her experience of the Indy 500, which was her second IndyCar grand marshal honor after playing the same role at the 2023 Iowa race weekend, when she was still playing college basketball.

However, her focus will now shift back to the WNBA with a rematch against the Golden State Valkyries up next.

Caitlin Clark And Indiana Fever Ready For Valkyries Rematch

The Indiana Fever have been in incredible form as of late. The team is currently on a three-game win streak and has won four of the six games played so far.

Caitlin Clark has been the star player for the team, averaging 23.8 points, nine assists, and 4.4 rebounds, and has one steal and one block per game to accessorize the core stats. Though she has had some back issues, they don't seem to be of major concern just yet.

Another player showing consistency is center Aliyah Boston. She has been averaging 16 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game.

Fever will play Valkyries again on Thursday, having beaten them 90-82 in their previous game last week, with Clark scoring 22 points and making nine assists. For the Valkyries, Hayes and Chen performed well off the bench, but similar consistency is needed from the starters.

However, they have also gotten back to winning ways, with a dominant 97-70 win against the Connecticut Sun since their defeat against the Fever. The revenge game is assured to be a thriller.

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Yask Kotak