INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020 – An annual Indianapolis 500 tradition will continue Saturday, Aug. 22 in a virtual manner.
All 33 drivers set to compete in the 104th Running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will participate in the Indy 500 presented by Gainbridge Virtual Drivers’ Meeting with BlueJeans by Verizon live from Pagoda Plaza. Fans around the world can view the event on IMS.com beginning at 10 a.m. (ET).
NTT P1 Award winner Marco Andretti of Andretti Herta Autosport with Marco & Curb-Agajanian will be one of the feature speakers as the pole sitter. Other speakers will include executives from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and INDYCAR. The public will not be allowed on site due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Drivers will be seated in a socially distanced manner in their traditional rows of three, arranged as they will start Sunday’s race (1 p.m., NBC, Pennzoil INDYCAR Radio Network).
Andretti won the first “500” pole of his career by .113 of a second over Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon in four-lap, 10-mile runs Sunday during Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying. Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing earned the final starting position on the front row, starting third.
Andretti follows his grandfather, the legendary Mario Andretti, as an Indianapolis 500 pole winner. Mario Andretti earned the race’s top starting position in 1966, 1967 and 1987.
This year’s “500” features eight former race winners and five rookies. Leading the first-time competitors is Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay, who will start fourth. VeeKay, 19, earned the best starting spot for a teenage driver in the history of the race, which started in 1911.
