Indianapolis – As we begin the month of May Indy…It’s time for the 1st race in the month of May.
It’s a action packed weekend at IMS
If you have never been to the Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway the first thing you may notice is cars are going backwards? Ok not literally but the configuration of the road course sends cars down the front stretch in the reverse direction than what you may be used to seeing on the oval.
The 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course incorporates portions of Turns 1 and 2 and the front straight of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and the remainder of the circuit is within the infield, allowing for great spectator viewing.
It’s the dream of every driver to race at the corner of 16th and Georgetown in Speedway Indiana, just to the west of downtown Indianapolis. This weekend the dreams of many drivers of the future will come true. As IMS will feature cars from the USF2000, Mazda Road, Indy Pro Mazda and the Indy lights series.
In the USF2000 you see drivers age 15 and up (with 14-year-olds eligible pending review and acceptance of a driving resume by the series and approval by INDYCAR). Can you imagine being 15 years old turning laps here at IMS
Drivers will tell you turn 1 is so tight…this is sure to see some action this weekend…Will we see the what is becoming known as the “1st Turn Curse” in the 3 years of the Grand Prix at Indy cars have never seen lap 1 without a caution. The inaugural race, pole-sitter Sebastian Saavedra —stalled and was hit by Carlos Munoz and Mikhail Aleshin. Last year, Bourdais collided with “TK” in Turn 1, ending Tony Kanaan’s day.
Another big story-line of the weekend will be a race between Sam Schmidt and Mario Andretti yes the same Sam Schmidt that crashed into the wall during a practice round at Orlando’s Walt Disney World Speedway leaving “SAM” paralyzed for life. He will race Indy Car Legend Mario Andretti using semi-autonomous cars.
The Corvette Z06s will be their cars which are developed by Arrow Electronics and are controlled by head motions. Steering with head tilt sensors, accelerate and break with a sip-and-puff device. They switch gears using voice commands. The race is at 12:35 p.m. Saturday; preceding the IndyCar Grand Prix at 3:50 p.m.
Fans can make a $10 donation and root for their favorite driver by texting either “Sam” or “Mario” to 50555 before or during the race. Proceeds go to Schmidt’s nonprofit Conquer Paralysis Now
This is a great weekend to come out to IMS and see a different race style without the “Indy 500” Crowd. Grand Prix has generally attracted around 40,000 fans. Looks like weather will not be an issue this year. We all remember the bitter cold rainy day last year. Also this month of May has seen its share of rain in the Indy area. So we welcome the sunshine.
Pagenaud the favorite to win this year, however he is going to have to earn it. Pole sitters have won the last 2 road course races at IMS, and if that holds true its looking very good for Penske teammates Power and Castroneves.
All of Penske are a threat to win the Grand Prix. Newgarden won this season’s only other road-course race, and Juan Pablo Montoya returns to Penske for Indianapolis races.
Scott Dixon leads the charge for Team Honda, yet he has never finished in the top five in the Indy road races, he and Pagenaud are the only drivers who have finished in the top five in all four IndyCar races this season.
Bourdais and the “The Mayor of Hinchtown” James Hinchcliffe will also be in the mix on Saturday
Other noise makers Andretti Autosports’ Ryan Hunter-Reay, who finished second in 2014, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal, who was the 2015 runner-up!
We are at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway so stick around this is about to get good!
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