Caitlin Clark took over the start of the Indianapolis 500.
The Indiana Fever star was serving as Grand Marshall for the first time in one of the world’s most famous races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Clark was greeted by rows and rows of fans as she made her way to the stage to start the race, signing some autographs. The 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year stopped to take some photos of her own, donning a custom Indiana Fever helmet.
Clark got a raucous ovation from the more than 300,000 fans in attendance as she stepped to the mic, giving them a nervous wave and thumbs up for good measure.
“Drivers, to your cars!” Clark said before clapping.
She picked Marcus Ericsson, who took home the title in 2022, to do so again this year and even posted a photo from pit row to her Instagram Stories.
“Yes, I’m on the pit team,” Clark captioned the photo.
It was a nice break from the injury drama surrounding her and Fever, who are off to a 4-2 start.
The WNBA delivered a warning to the team after it failed to properly disclose Clark’s injury status before Wednesday’s game against the Portland Fire. Clark was ruled out two hours before tip with a back injury after not being on the injury report a day prior. By WNBA rule, an injury designation needs to be set for a play by 5 p.m. the day before a game to avoid a financial penalty.
Clark, who is coming back from multiple injuries that shortened her 2025 season, woke up stiff the day of the game, according to coach Stephanie White, who denied it was part of any possible load management of the star.
Clark, who is averaging 23.8 points. 9.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds in five games this season, later added that the at-home physical therapy was not enough to get it loose enough to play.
