For the second straight year, the Verizon IndyCar Series will kick off the month of May in Indianapolis with the Augie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The event takes place on the Indianapolis 2.439 mile road course, the same facility that will host the Indianapolis 500 on the oval later this month.
Simon Pagenaud was the driver that came out more successful in the inaugural event, capturing the checkered flag. He enters this year’s event with momentum on his side following the strong start to the season for his Team Penske team. Currently sitting ninth in points, Pagenaud has shown speed all season long despite not reaching the podium yet. The french driver enters this week riding off a pair of top-10 finishes, with a fourth at Long Beach and a ninth in the Grand Prix of Alabama.
“It’s such a great feeling to go into the month of May as a member of Team Penske,” Pagenaud commented. “Everyone knows the history that the team has at Indianapolis. I’m very excited to get to work with my new sponsors, DeVillbiss and Avaya for both the GP of Indy and the Indianapolis 500. The No. 22 team is ready to break out with a win and I would love to do that this weekend at the GP of Indy. My win in the inaugural race last year was definitely one of the highlights of my career. It’s a beautiful track, one that all the people at Indianapolis should be proud of. This race has just added another level of excitement to the month.”
While Pagenaud is feeling confident, it’s Josef Newgarden that has the most momentum as he used a combination of speed and strategy to score his first career victory a couple weeks ago. Newgarden has gotten stronger with each season, and the partnership between Sarah Fisher and Ed Carpenter seems to be the perfect ticket. If you add the fact that Chevrolet has displayed the best package to date, Newgarden has all the pieces there to improve on last year’s 17th place finish.
You could also say that the momentum is with Juan Pablo Montoya as he has had a strong start to the season, leading the points after four races to start the season. Unfortunately, a penalty resulted in a 14th place finish in the Grand Prix of Alabama. He will be looking to be bounce back on the 14-turn circuit that saw him finish 16th last year.
“The Indianapolis road course is a cool track and last year’s race was amazing,” Montoya commented. “With the long straights and the drafting they create, it gives the drivers an opportunity to put on a great show. I really feel like we let one slip away here last year. Unfortunately, we had a part break on the car, but we were good enough with the Verizon Chevy to win the race. With a year of experience under our belt, I expect us to have a great car again. A win on the road course would be a good way to start the month of May and keep the points lead.”
His teammate Helio Castroneves is also looking to bounce back following a 15th place finish at the Grand Prix of Alabama. Castroneves had success last year at Indianapolis, finishing third. Entering the weekend only three points out of the lead, a victory would be a huge boost entering the month. It would be an even bigger story since this weekend will mark Castroneves’ 300th Verizon IndyCar Series start.
“What a special moment for me to wake up every day and do something that I love 300 times,” he commented. “It’s fantastic and it’s a blessing. I’m just a person living out my dream and I’m very fortunate to be able to keep doing it with the same enthusiasm that I had in my first race. I can still recall that first race at Homestead in 1998. I was just hoping to make it to 50 starts or 100 starts. To have this type of longevity means that I’ve been fortunate to have a great team around me. We have been able to do a lot of special things and we still have plenty more to do. Hopefully we end the day on Saturday with a big celebration because that will mean we have put the No. 3 Verizon Chevrolet in Victory Lane at Indianapolis again.”
While the Chevrolets has visited victory lanes in three of the four races, the Hondas only have visited victory lane once this year with James Hinchcliffe. There will be a bunch of drivers looking to change that, highlighted by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal.
Hunter-Reay finished second in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis last year before going on to win the Indianapolis 500. He is coming off of his first top-five finish of the season two weeks ago at the Grand Prix of Alabama. Currently sitting 13th in points, he will be hoping to make up ground quickly.
“It’s really great to be back in Indy and get the grand prix going this weekend,” Hunter-Reay said. “Last year’s grand prix was good start to the month for us; we finished second and then went on to win the ‘500.’ I’m hoping to one better with the grand prix this year for the DHL Honda and keep the momentum going through the month.”
Rahal is coming off an impressive runner-up finish two weeks ago at Alabama as he continues to get stronger with each passing week this season. In the four races thus far, Rahal has finished in the top-11 each week, a big difference from last year’s issues throughout the year. It would be huge for Rahal to get back to victory lane for the first time in a couple of seasons.
“I hope a lot of the (car) setup for Barber (Motorsports Park) works for the (Angie’s List) Grand Prix of Indianapolis,” he said. “We’re going to start from a pretty similar setup as we did there. Barber went so well for the Steak ‘n Shake team, I don’t know why you would change the car so much. We were pretty competitive on the Indy road course last year and had a solid baseline setup, so that will help as well. Last year, we had run in the top five or six and then (Juan Pablo) Montoya, who was a lap down, hit us on a restart and ended our day with plenty of racing to go. I hope we can have a really good weekend this year.”
The Augie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis is set for the green flag on Saturday afternoon at 3:50 pm. It will carried live on ABC.
