PAGENAUD LOOKS FOR SECOND VICTORY
After a weekend off following a battle on the short oval at Phoenix Raceway, the Verizon IndyCar Series returns to action with a race on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Story lines to watch at Saturday’s IndyCar Grand Prix.
WILL THE FIRST- LAP “CURSE” REAR ITS HEAD AGAIN?
In its three- year history, no IndyCar Grand Prix has seen a clean first lap.
In the inaugural race, pole- sitter Sebastian Saavedra — who will be driving for Juncos Racing in the Indianapolis 500 this month — stalled and was hit by Carlos Munoz and Mikhail Aleshin.
In 2015, Helio Castroneves rammed into the back of Scott Dixon coming out of Turn 1 and caused a domino effect that Sebastien Bourdais would call “the massacre on Lap 1, Turn 1.”
Last year, Bourdais collided with Tony Kanaan in Turn 1, forcing Kanaan to exit the race immediately and Bourdais to retire later because of mechanical issues.
“It’s a long straightaway into a very slow corner,” Kanaan said Wednesday of the opening turn on the 2.4- mile, 14turn road course. “It’s a big potential for something to happen. You start so far back on the straightaway, you have so many options, and it’s so inviting to gain some positions, it’s tough. It’s just the nature of the track.
“I’m going to try not to be a part of that ( this year),” Kanaan added with a laugh. “I’d like to make it out of the first corner.”
WILL PAGENAUD CONTINUE TO DOMINATE?
Heading into last year’s Grand Prix, Simon Pagenaud was the series points leader. Heading into Saturday’s race, Simon Pagenaud is the series points leader. His lead this year is not as wide — 18 points ahead of Dixon — but like last season, the Team Penske driver arrives at the IMS road course coming off a win.
Pagenaud picked up his first career oval victory two weeks ago at Phoenix, and now the reigning series champion is looking to make it two wins in a row.
Pagenaud’s chances are among the best in the field. The Frenchman has won this race twice in its brief threeyear history, and he has proved strong on road courses throughout his career, with nine of his 10 career wins coming in non- oval races.
Pagenaud finished in the top five in each of the three street- and road- course races this season and earned top- five finishes in seven of 11 non- oval races last year en route to his first championship.
CAN HONDA BOUNCE BACK FROM A ROUGH WEEKEND?
After beginning the season looking like the dominant manufacturer — winning the first two races and scoring four of six podium spots — Honda has begun to cede ground back to Chevrolet. Chevrolet drivers, more specifically Team Penske, have won back- to- back races with Josef Newgarden winning on the road course at Alabama and Pagenaud cruising to victory at Phoenix.
Undoubtedly, fans of parity are enjoying 2017 more than the last couple of seasons. Bourdais of Dale Coyne Racing began the season with a surprise victory on the street course in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe followed it up with a win on the streets of Long Beach.
Heading into the IndyCar Grand Prix, there are six Hondas and four Chevro- lets in the top 10. And though Penske represents all four Chevys — 1. Pagenaud, 3. Newgarden, 6. Castroneves and 7. Will Power — Honda boasts drivers from four different teams. Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing ranks second, Bourdais fourth, Hinchcliffe fifth, Ganassi’s Kanaan eighth, Andretti Autosports’ Ryan Hunter- Reay ninth and Coyne’s Ed Jones 10th.
HOW MANY FANS WILL BE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY?
While the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 is expected to clear 300,000 in attendance, the Grand Prix has generally attracted about 40,000 fans.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway has done what it can to attract a larger audience, adding a new spectator mound at the exit for Turn 4, inviting fans for the first time to camp out on the infield and raising the age for children to attend free from 12 to 15.
IndyCar, coming off an underwhelming race weekend at Phoenix, would surely welcome a bounce back.
Of course, weather will play a significant role. Though most of May has been drenched in rain, the National Weather Service is predicting a sunny Saturday afternoon with a high near 70 degrees. That would be a welcome change from last year’s cold and damp race day.
WHO’S GOING TO WIN?
Pagenaud enters the weekend as the fa- vorite, but he likely won’t breeze to another victory.
Pole- sitters have won the last two races on the IMS road course, and that could give the advantage to Pagenaud’s Penske teammates Power and Castroneves. The pair have alternated sitting on the pole this season, which each winning twice.
All five Penskes are legitimate threats to seize the Grand Prix crown. Newgarden won this season’s only other roadcourse race, and Juan Pablo Montoya returns to Penske for the two Indianapolis races out to prove he has plenty left in the tank. Montoya won the Indy 500 twice ( 2000, 2015) and finished third in the 2015 IndyCar Grand Prix.
Dixon leads the way for Honda contenders. While 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 Hinchcliffe will also pose threats. Bourdais has finished fourth in two of the three races held on the Indianapolis road course, and Hinchcliffe finished third last year.
Andretti Autosports’ Ryan HunterReay, who finished second in 2014, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal, who was the 2015 runnerup, could also make noise.