Everything To Know For Busy Month of May in Indianapolis

Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Speedway, Ind.) — Bring on May. The greatest month for racing in Indianapolis is upon us. It brings excitement and pageantry to a city known as the “Crossroads of America.” The road is moving fast toward the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 (May 24, 12:45 p.m. ET on FOX). Here’s a primer to get you up to speed in what will be an eventful month of racing action: What is the first race? The first race at the speedway is technically a foot race — the annual Indianapolis mini-marathon, which will run Saturday (May 2) and includes the 2.5-mile oval as part of the course. What is the first car race? The month opens on May 9 with the Indianapolis Grand Prix, an 85-lap race on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course that utilizes much of the frontstretch and parts of the backstretch and Turns 1-2. The cars go the opposite direction than what they do in the Indianapolis 500. Why the road-course race? It’s twofold. When INDYCAR needed races, this was an easy race to add as the course was already constructed for Formula 1. And practice and qualifying for the Indy 500 used to last two weeks — there were two qualifying weekends consisting of two days apiece — but that was condensed to one week of practice and qualifying and then race week. For those used to a full month of activity at the track, the Grand Prix weekend provides just that. So how many days are drivers on track? INDYCAR drivers will practice and qualify for the Grand Prix on Friday, May 8 with the race the next day. The facility will take two days to convert from the road course to the oval configuration with Indy 500 practice days on May 12, 13, 14 and 15, and then qualification days on May 16 and 17 (the pole will be determined May 16). Then there will be practice May 18, a short “Carb Day” practice (along with the pit-stop competition and the Wienie 500) on May 22 and then the 500-mile race on May 24th. Do the same drivers compete in both the Grand Prix and the 500? There are 25 full-time drivers (with car numbers) who will compete in the Grand Prix and then an additional eight drivers for the 500. The 25 full-time drivers: 2-Josef Newgarden, 3-Scott McLaughlin, 4-Caio Collet, 5-Pato O’Ward, 6-Nolan Siegel, 7-Christian Lundgaard, 8-Kyffin Simpson, 9-Scott Dixon, 10-Alex Palou, 12-David Malukas, 14-Santino Ferrucci, 15-Graham Rahal, 18-Romain Grosjean, 19-Dennis Hauger, 20-Alexander Rossi, 21-Christian Rasmussen, 26-Will Power, 27-Kyle Kirkwood, 28-Marcus Ericsson, 45-Louis Foster, 47-Mick Schumacher, 60-Marcus Armstrong, 66-Felix Rosenqvist, 76-Rinus VeeKay and 77-Sting Ray Robb. The eight drivers doing solely the Indy 500: 06-Helio Castroneves, 11-Katherine Legge, 23-Conor Daly, 24-Jack Harvey, 31-Ryan Hunter-Reay, 33-Ed Carpenter, 51-Jacob Abel, and 75-Takuma Sato. [INDYCAR POWER RANKINGS: Alex Palou Remains In Familiar Spot] Is there anything new with the track? The speedway removed and resurfaced an area between Turns 1 and 2 where a bump had started to impact the way the cars handle. Drivers reported no issues with the area during tests last fall nor during the open test on April 28-29. What was learned at the open test? It was learned that most drivers and teams seem relatively calm. There wasn’t much angst as they went through their testing plans. No cars hit the wall. With only five sets of tires, they could take their time and make adjustments when necessary. Daly and Harvey, driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, showed speed for a team that only does the Indy 500. A.J. Foyt Racing rookie Caio Collet was the fastest overall. As two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden said in a team news release after the test: “This is just the first step towards coming back here next month and trying to win another Indianapolis 500. Where’s NASCAR champion Kyle Larson? He’s not here. There are no drivers competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 this year as Larson attempted the past two years. Who is playing the concerts? Oh yes, the concerts. On Carb Day, Counting Crows and Switchfoot will take the stage. On race day, the Snake Pit concert will feature artist Zedd, joined by Crankdat, Wooli, it’s murph and Wax Motif. [INSIDE THE GARAGE: Attention Shifts to Upcoming Indy 500] What’s the vibe? The vibe is great. The track anticipates announcing a sellout within a week. The only thing different from last year is that the 500 isn’t sharing the stage with an Indiana Pacers team making a playoff run. Those hopes were dashed probably before the INDYCAR season began in March. Speaking of the season, is Alex Palou still the man to beat? Yes, Palou is still the man to beat. Palou, who has four INDYCAR titles including the last three, has won three of the five INDYCAR races this year, leads the point standings and is the defending Indy 500 winner. So is Palou going to win? This is the Indy 500. It’s unpredictable. It’s ruthless. And it’s exhausting. The buildup has begun as the monthly calendar flips. It’s the Month of May.