After bikes tangled and riders fell down in lap 81, Black Key Bulls dominated the rest of the way to finish as back-to-back winners in the 2025 men’s Little 500.
To start the race, Black Key Bulls held pole position in row one, with Sigma Alpha Epsilon in the middle and 3PH Cycling on the outside. Following in row two were Sigma Phi Epsilon on the inside, Forest Cycling in the middle and Chi Alpha on the outside. Row three consisted of Phi Delta Theta on the inside, Phi Gamma Delta in the middle and Sigma Nu on the outside, with the rest of the field bunched together behind them.
As the pace car pulled away and the green flag was waved, the riders were off. On turn four in the early stages of the race, three teams were involved in an early crash in the back half of the pack. Phi Sigma Kappa, Delta Sigma and Macro Cycling collided and fell behind. During the first 15 laps, six different teams held the lead.
After 60 laps, Phi Kappa Psi had a 4.7-second lead, with Delta Sig falling behind after serving a penalty.
With 119 laps to go, the yellow caution flag was waved as the riders went around turn one. The wipeout crash was caused by the Bears, and involved Forest, Phi Delt, CUTTERS, Sig Ep and FIJI, which all held strong positions in the race at that point.
Once the green flag was waved again with 116 laps remaining, Black Key Bulls, Delta Tau Delta, SAE, Chi Alpha and Human Wheels rounded out the top five.
Halfway through the race, Black Key Bulls, SAE and CUTTERS were all together in the top three with a healthy lead over the rest of the pack.
By lap 140, it was a two-team race between Black Key Bulls and SAE. CUTTERS was in third place, behind the top two by 11 seconds.
With 20 laps to go, the Black Key Bulls had a commanding 30-second lead over second place SAE, as it became a race for second and third place.
In the final laps, Black Key Bulls still held a significant advantage. SAE was behind first place by a full lap, but led third-place CUTTERS by two seconds with five laps to go.
Black Key Bulls senior captain Will Wagner crossed the finish line emphatically to secure a back-to-back win for his team. SAE, CUTTERS, Delta Tau Delta and Sigma Phi Epsilon rounded out the top five in the 74th edition of the men’s Little 500.
Black Key Bulls became the first back-to-back champions since CUTTERS in 2018 and 2019. The team will have a shot for a three-peat in the 75th edition of the men’s Little 500, set for 2 p.m. April 25.
This story was originally published in the Indiana Daily Student's spring 2026 Little 500 Guide.
