Two weeks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway feature a successful inaugural road course weekend and a qualifying weekend, while different than any session ever held before, produce a pole winning speed of 231.067 MPH and the fastest field in Indianapolis 500 history. Twenty-seven drivers look to cement their legacy while six others look grace the Borg-Warner Trophy one more time.
Coverage
TV Channel: ABC
Time: Coverage begins Sunday May 25th at 11:00 a.m. ET. Green flag will be at 12:12 p.m. ET.
Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Scott Goodyear, Eddie Cheever. On the pit lane Rick DeBruhl, Jamie Little, Dr. Jerry Punch and Vince Welch.
Are There More Records In Store?
Sixty-eight lead changes and and an average speed of 187.433 MPH were record breaking feats in 2013. One year later and it appears both record could be in jeopardy of being broken once again. The field qualified faster than it ever has before and only two drivers (Jack Hawksworth and Kurt Busch) had an accident all month. Meanwhile, it appears the cars still punch massive holes in the air, allowing for seamlessly unstoppable drafting on the straightaways.
Where Will The Winner Come From?
There have been four Indianapolis 500s since the last time the pole-sitter won. The average amount of races between the pole-sitter winning is 3.666667 races.
The last two years the winner has come from 16th and 12th. On only three occasions has three consecutive winners come from outside the first three rows. It actually occurred in five consecutive races from 1924 to 1928. Bill Cummings, Kelly Petillo and Louis Meyer all won from outside of row three in 1934, 1935 and 1936 respectively. Team Penske three-peat from 2001-2003 all started with drivers starting outside the first three rows. Hélio Castroneves started 11th and 13th in 2001 and 2002 while Gil de Ferran started 10th.
The last winner from each row (Starting Position in parenthesis):
Row One- 2010, Dario Franchitti (3rd).
Row Two- 2011, Dan Wheldon (6th).
Row Three- 1999, Kenny Bräck (8th).
Row Four- 2013, Tony Kanaan (12th).
Row Five- 2002, Hélio Castroneves (13th).
Row Six- 2012, Dario Franchitti (16th).
Row Seven- 1987, Al Unser (20th).
Row Eight- 1935, Kelly Petillo (22nd).
Row Nine- 1974, Johnny Rutherford (25th).
Row Ten- 1936, Louis Meyer (28th).
Row Eleven- No driver has ever won from row eleven.
Road to Indy
All three series are in Indianapolis, two at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
U.S. F2000 and Pro Mazda join USAC at the Night Before the 500. R.C. Enerson has won three of six races in 2014 and leads the championship. He did not start in the U.S. F2000 race at IRP last year. Peter Portante is the top finisher from 2013 returning as he finished third last year.
Spencer Pigot won the first four races of the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship before scoring a pair of eighths during the Grand Prix of Indianapolis weekend. Scott Hargrove swept the races on the IMS road course and finished fifth at IRP last year in U.S. F2000 with Neil Alberico getting the win. Matthew Brabham won the Pro Mazda at IRP last year with Pigot finishing second and Shelby Blackstock in third.
The Firestone Freedom 100 takes place on Carb Day. Gabby Chaves finished second by 0.0026 seconds to Peter Dempsey in a four-wide finish last year with Sage Karam and Carlos Muñoz finishing in third and fourth. Zach Veach leads the points and finished fifth last year. Luiz Razia is five points back of Veach as he will run his first oval race. The Firestone Freedom 100 can be seen at noon ET on Friday May 23rd on NBCSN.
It'd Be Good To Know...
That this race pays double points (100 for the winner, 80 for second, etc.)
All restarts will be single-file.
Eighteen Hondas and fifteen Chevrolets comprise the starting grid.
This is the first Indianapolis 500 without a car #4 since 1985.
This will be the 35th and final time Jim Nabors sings "Back Home Again in Indiana."
Simon Pagenaud, Marco Andretti and Sébastien Bourdais are all looking to join Alex Lloyd as the only drivers to win on both the oval and road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The starting grid features:
Eleven Americans.
Four Britons.
Four Colombians, an Indianapolis 500 record for most Colombian in one race.
Three Canadians, the most since 1995 when Jacques Villeneuve, Paul Tracy and Scott Goodyear all started.
Three Australians, tying the 1981 Indianapolis 500 for most Australians in field of 33.
Two Brazilians.
Two Frenchman.
One New Zealander.
One Spaniard.
One Japanese and...
One Russian.
Mikhail Aleshin becomes the first Russian driver to start the Indianapolis 500 and Russia becomes the 28th different nation to have a representative in the Indianapolis 500.
Fun Facts
The last six Indianapolis 500s have been won by international drivers, a record. The previous record was five consecutive from 1999-2003.
Chip Ganassi Racing has won the last three races to occur on even years. The last non-Ganassi driver to win on an even year: Sam Hornish, Jr. in 2006.
Four times has the Indianapolis 500 occurred on May 25th (1975, 1997, 2003, 2008). Bobby Unser, Arie Luyendyk, Gil de Ferran and Scott Dixon were the winners in those respective years.
The last native Hoosier to win the Indianapolis 500 was Wilbur Shaw in 1940.
Sarah Fisher would become the second female car owner to win the Indianapolis 500 should Josef Newgarden or Alex Tagliani end up in victory. Maude Yagle was the winning car owner of the 1929 Indianapolis 500 with Ray Keech as her driver.
Hélio Castroneves needs to lead 11 laps to join Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Michael Andretti and Al Unser as the fifth driver in the 5,000 laps led club.
Ryan Briscoe needs to lead 70 laps to become the twenty-seventh driver to join the 1,500 laps led club.
Prediction
I'll be honest, this is the race I hate predicting the most. Maybe because I don't want to get it wrong. Maybe because I don't want to feel like I jinxed a driver. Maybe because out of 33 cars, I think 24 could win. I'll keep my predictions vague. There won't be a record set for most lead changes or fastest race this year. I don't envision many accidents. Pit stops will take a key driver out of contention. There will be a first time winner in the Indianapolis 500.
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