107th Indianapolis 500 & Starting Grid

[Purple88]

Indy 500 starting lineup for May 28, 2023 race at Brickyard - NBC Sports

Above is a link to a decent article providing the starting grid for the 107th running of one of the greatest races in the world - The Indianapolis 500.

I have been watching and keeping up with this race since I was a kid.  Mario Andretti was my hero.  When he raced with the likes of AJ Foyt, Rick Mears, the Unser Brothers among others it was legendary for me, and as I think back on the crowds as I would go to Pole Day during these times to crowds nearly as big as the race day itself.  That changed with the selfishness of the split between the Indy Car and Kart leagues and pushed fans to Nascar.  

But through all that, this race, the Indy 500 remained as one of the biggest races of the year anywhere.

Gone are those legendary names of the past to new names that honestly I don't even know the majority of them anymore, as I've turned much more to F1 to scratch my racing itch.  EVEN through that, this race is definitely worth watching and BETTER YET putting on your bucket list of events to personally go to before you kick the bucket!  I'll be there for my 16th time on Sunday and am really looking forward to it.

We have pretty good seats; in the exit of Turn 1 in the North Chute where you can also see Turn 2 and it's exit along with a big Video Board in front of us showing the action on other parts of the track.

As for the Race, I think the favorite is Pole Setter Alex Palou, a Spaniard who races for Chip Gannassi Racing (who has won 3 straight poles at Indy).  He has a great car and is an aggressive driver.  His teammates will challenge him thought, as they also have really fast cars in veteran Scott Dixon (the 2008 winner), who has had so many opportunities to win at least 2 Indy 500s; 2-time winner Takuma Sato starting on Row 3; and Marcus Erickson starting on Row 4.  Arrow McLaren will be a strong contender as well with 4 contenders in the Top 9 qualifying drivers led by Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O'Ward.

But I'm going to be pulling for Santino Ferrucci, an American starting on the inside of Row 2 for AJ Foyt Enterprises.  This young, brash driver has no fear and if he can keep it between the ditches for the first couple laps and just not try to pass the field in 2 laps, has as good a shot as anyone.  This is AJ's best team car in decades.  Should be a great race.  Weather will be perfect!  Happy Memorial Day Weekend to all!

[theguru]

I am expecting a full report @Purple88!

I feel like I have been watching qualifying for a week...

[Purple88]

Some inside tips for @theguru and those planning to watch the race on Sunday:

I have watched more than a few less-seasoned drivers try to win the Indy 500 on the first lap, by lap 10 and then lap 50 of 200 overall laps.  That is why they wreck/blow their car up and you never hear from them again.

The guys who are in contention at the end are the guys who do the following:

1. First 100 laps, get a good feel for their car by working with their teams on adjustments they make on their first 2 pit stops especially.

2.  They save fuel.  They don't have to lead all the time early on.  They draft.  Not right behind a car in the dirty air (it's too hot there), but in the slipstream really saves fuel over 500 miles for these cars.  At the end, this matters.

3.  With 75 to 60 laps to go, you need to make your move into the Top 10 if you aren't there already.

4.  With 50 to go, you need to be in the Top 10 and tracking the guys you know you need to beat.

5.  From there, you need a little luck and hope the late wrecks don't collect you.

Gonna be a great race!

[theguru]

Who ya got P88?  I will take Scott Dixon. 

[Purple88]

1 hour ago, theguru said:

Who ya got P88?  I will take Scott Dixon. 

That is a great pick G!  He is steady as the day is long.  But also boring as white toast.

With that, my heart still goes with Ferrucci (mostly for AJ Foyt).

But my mind says Felix Rosenqvist on the outside of Row 1 for Chip Gannassi will get it done this year.

Wouldn't surprise me if Alex Palou went wire to wire from the pole either.  He's been good all year.

Hope there's alot of action and storylines this year.

Also pulling for Tony Kanaan, as this is his last 500.  Real crowd favorite.

Lastly, wouldn't hurt my feelings if Helio Castroneves ran well or even shocked the world and won for a record 5th time.  That record wouldn't be broken IMO.  Just too hard to win it that many times. He starts in 20th and would have to have A LOT fall his way to get that done, but you never know.

We have a tradition of drinking iced Tecate's and having a cigar at the car after the race to let the crowd thin out.  Always a good time!

[theguru]

5 minutes ago, Purple88 said:

That is a great pick G!  He is steady as the day is long.  But also boring as white toast.

With that, my heart still goes with Ferrucci (mostly for AJ Foyt).

But my mind says Felix Rosenqvist on the outside of Row 1 for Chip Gannassi will get it done this year.

Wouldn't surprise me if Alex Palou went wire to wire from the pole either.  He's been good all year.

Hope there's alot of action and storylines this year.

Also pulling for Tony Kanaan, as this is his last 500.  Real crowd favorite.

Lastly, wouldn't hurt my feelings if Helio Castroneves ran well or even shocked the world and won for a record 5th time.  That record wouldn't be broken IMO.  Just too hard to win it that many times. He starts in 20th and would have to have A LOT fall his way to get that done, but you never know.

We have a tradition of drinking iced Tecate's and having a cigar at the car after the race to let the crowd thin out.  Always a good time!

Formula 1 got me onto Tecate, love it!

And since you mentioned so many give me Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi, and Marcus Ericsson too. 🙂

[Jumper_Dad]

Ferruci, Kanaan, Power are my off the cuff picks. Wouldn't be shocked if Sato was in the mix at the end either.

Haven't been to the track in a couple of decades but always loved the week leading up to the 500. Had the opportunity to hang out in the suites in turn 2 during practice and qualifying a few times and had a ball sitting within arms reach of the fence. Met Mario one year as he was on the adjoining balcony. He sat down right next to me with only a thin rail between us. He had a stopwatch timing one of the young Andretti's laps. After he was finished timing he signed autographs and spoke to everyone for a few minutes. Along with AJ he is probably one of the two greatest American drivers of all-time.

[Purple88]

GREAT Story @Jumper_Dad!  I agree with you on Mario and AJ.  They won't be beat in my eyes, but they could be tied; just a different day now.

Sorry I'm late getting here, as I had to cook for about 30 people yesterday and after going to the 500 the day before I was pretty gassed!!!

This was a Wild race really.  The first 92 laps were like loading the car for Florida at midnight and hitting the gas.  They just turned laps for this initial stretch for what was the fastest 90 laps in race history.  But that started the first momentum change from there:

Lap 92: where Rookie Sting Ray Robb (best Indy Car name I can remember!) got into the marbles going into Turn 1 and hit the wall in the North Chutte!  That brought out the first caution of the race and most took advantage by going to the pits with generally the top qualifying cars still at the top.

Lap 126:  This was roughly the when the next pit stop for the leaders was scheduled and Romain Grosjean hit the wall and brought out a yellow flag.  The pits were full and Renus Veekay tried to get out before pole setter Alex Polou but he seemed to keep his foot on the gas coming out of his pit box too long and ended up crashing into Palou although Veekay somehow kept going.  Palou had to be pushed back into his pit box by his crew and Veekay was assessed a stop and go penalty which pushed both of them back to around 25th in the race.  Both would end up in the top 10 to finish the race, but had to feel for them a bit as they both had better cars than where they finished; but that is the mystique of the 500 as the best car doesn't always (and usually doesn't) win.

Laps 127 to 184 (out of 200 in the race) - SO many strategies here as some cars were trying to make their move into the top 10 and others were just trying to make fuel for the final home stretch.

Lap 184:  The race changes here with drivers really starting to make their move.  Joseph Newgarden passes Felix Rosenqvist in Turn 1 and got the Arrow McLaren driver loose and he crashed first in the North Chutte and then in Turn 2 and unfortunately took out Kyle Kirkwood who drove a great race.  Kirkwood's rear tire clipped Rosenqvist and jettisoned over the fence and thankfully didn't go into the stands, but instead hit and clobbered from what was said a safety truck in that area and then Kirkwood was toppled over onto the top of the car with sparks flying.  GREAT job by the safety crews to get him safe quickly and just a testament to the safety of the cars to be able to walk away from something like that.  

BUT the race was Red flagged (#1) at this stage "in an attempt to finish under green flag".

So the race resumed and you could feel the tension at this point as less than 15 laps remained by the time the green flag waived.

Lap 194: Pato O'Ward was in the Top 5 and charging to the front.  He was 3rd and tried to pass Erickson on the inside of Turn 3.  Their wheels touched and he spun out.  Not sure about this one; want to watch it again.  And then Rookie Augustin Canapino (from Argentina; he had a cool car painted like his country's flag!) apparently had a brake line fail and crashed into O'wards battered car.  

They red flagged again (#2).

Lap 195:  On the restart of the red flag, Ed Carpenter, RC Enerson and David Malukus crashed on the restart.  But controversy ensued as they didn't red flag initially this time and ran the field through the wrecked cars on the main straight.  But DID red flag (#3) with 2 laps to go.  Enough for a warm up lap and a one lap sprint to the end.

But controversy didn't end here as "review" of the running order "at the time of the yellow flag" was made and moved Joseph Newgarden, a Penske car (owner owns the track) from 4th to 2nd, which is the prime spot to be in with so few laps to go.

Lap 198: So they let the cars in the back that were just cycled at the head of the field go through and to the back of the pack and set the stage for a warm up lap and WILD one lap run to the end.

Marcus Ericson, last year's race winner, took off in the middle of the south chutte and honestly thought that was too early, but no time to waive it off, so it was on.  With that jump Newgarden was not able to catch Erickson on the main straight but closed to his car very well and after a great run off Turn 2 used Erickson's slipstream to catapult into the lead going into Turn 3.  It was a wild run to the checkered flag from there with Newgarden dipping down like he was going to pit trying to break his slipstream from Erickson.  But Erickson just didn't have enough room to get a final pass done and Joseph Newgarden wins his first Indy 500!

The crowd was going wild!  It was the most fans I've ever seen at Indy in my 16th time going to the track.  The fans were there earlier than ever before.  

After the race, Newgarden stopped his car on the row of bricks on the main straight.  Got out of his car, found a hole in the fence; climbed through and started celebrating with the fans.  Never seen anything like that and the cheers were pretty loud.  You could tell it obviously meant alot to him and I think that resonated with the crowd.

After the race, Erickson was pretty salty and said he didn't think it was safe.  I understand this as you want to win, but glad he didn't win it.  He won last year.  Newgarden in his lap in the pacecar around the track to wave to the fans was so humble and thankful that I'm now a Newgarden fan.  Just don't see that a whole lot anymore.

One of the absolute best weather days I can ever remember at INDY.  About 75 degree, some overcast with a great breeze.  And the people watching was unmatched!  Those Tecate's at the end didn't disappoint!!!  Hope to make it next year too!

[theguru]

On 5/30/2023 at 8:33 AM, Purple88 said:

GREAT Story @Jumper_Dad!  I agree with you on Mario and AJ.  They won't be beat in my eyes, but they could be tied; just a different day now.

Sorry I'm late getting here, as I had to cook for about 30 people yesterday and after going to the 500 the day before I was pretty gassed!!!

This was a Wild race really.  The first 92 laps were like loading the car for Florida at midnight and hitting the gas.  They just turned laps for this initial stretch for what was the fastest 90 laps in race history.  But that started the first momentum change from there:

Lap 92: where Rookie Sting Ray Robb (best Indy Car name I can remember!) got into the marbles going into Turn 1 and hit the wall in the North Chutte!  That brought out the first caution of the race and most took advantage by going to the pits with generally the top qualifying cars still at the top.

Lap 126:  This was roughly the when the next pit stop for the leaders was scheduled and Romain Grosjean hit the wall and brought out a yellow flag.  The pits were full and Renus Veekay tried to get out before pole setter Alex Polou but he seemed to keep his foot on the gas coming out of his pit box too long and ended up crashing into Palou although Veekay somehow kept going.  Palou had to be pushed back into his pit box by his crew and Veekay was assessed a stop and go penalty which pushed both of them back to around 25th in the race.  Both would end up in the top 10 to finish the race, but had to feel for them a bit as they both had better cars than where they finished; but that is the mystique of the 500 as the best car doesn't always (and usually doesn't) win.

Laps 127 to 184 (out of 200 in the race) - SO many strategies here as some cars were trying to make their move into the top 10 and others were just trying to make fuel for the final home stretch.

Lap 184:  The race changes here with drivers really starting to make their move.  Joseph Newgarden passes Felix Rosenqvist in Turn 1 and got the Arrow McLaren driver loose and he crashed first in the North Chutte and then in Turn 2 and unfortunately took out Kyle Kirkwood who drove a great race.  Kirkwood's rear tire clipped Rosenqvist and jettisoned over the fence and thankfully didn't go into the stands, but instead hit and clobbered from what was said a safety truck in that area and then Kirkwood was toppled over onto the top of the car with sparks flying.  GREAT job by the safety crews to get him safe quickly and just a testament to the safety of the cars to be able to walk away from something like that.  

BUT the race was Red flagged (#1) at this stage "in an attempt to finish under green flag".

So the race resumed and you could feel the tension at this point as less than 15 laps remained by the time the green flag waived.

Lap 194: Pato O'Ward was in the Top 5 and charging to the front.  He was 3rd and tried to pass Erickson on the inside of Turn 3.  Their wheels touched and he spun out.  Not sure about this one; want to watch it again.  And then Rookie Augustin Canapino (from Argentina; he had a cool car painted like his country's flag!) apparently had a brake line fail and crashed into O'wards battered car.  

They red flagged again (#2).

Lap 195:  On the restart of the red flag, Ed Carpenter, RC Enerson and David Malukus crashed on the restart.  But controversy ensued as they didn't red flag initially this time and ran the field through the wrecked cars on the main straight.  But DID red flag (#3) with 2 laps to go.  Enough for a warm up lap and a one lap sprint to the end.

But controversy didn't end here as "review" of the running order "at the time of the yellow flag" was made and moved Joseph Newgarden, a Penske car (owner owns the track) from 4th to 2nd, which is the prime spot to be in with so few laps to go.

Lap 198: So they let the cars in the back that were just cycled at the head of the field go through and to the back of the pack and set the stage for a warm up lap and WILD one lap run to the end.

Marcus Ericson, last year's race winner, took off in the middle of the south chutte and honestly thought that was too early, but no time to waive it off, so it was on.  With that jump Newgarden was not able to catch Erickson on the main straight but closed to his car very well and after a great run off Turn 2 used Erickson's slipstream to catapult into the lead going into Turn 3.  It was a wild run to the checkered flag from there with Newgarden dipping down like he was going to pit trying to break his slipstream from Erickson.  But Erickson just didn't have enough room to get a final pass done and Joseph Newgarden wins his first Indy 500!

The crowd was going wild!  It was the most fans I've ever seen at Indy in my 16th time going to the track.  The fans were there earlier than ever before.  

After the race, Newgarden stopped his car on the row of bricks on the main straight.  Got out of his car, found a hole in the fence; climbed through and started celebrating with the fans.  Never seen anything like that and the cheers were pretty loud.  You could tell it obviously meant alot to him and I think that resonated with the crowd.

After the race, Erickson was pretty salty and said he didn't think it was safe.  I understand this as you want to win, but glad he didn't win it.  He won last year.  Newgarden in his lap in the pacecar around the track to wave to the fans was so humble and thankful that I'm now a Newgarden fan.  Just don't see that a whole lot anymore.

One of the absolute best weather days I can ever remember at INDY.  About 75 degree, some overcast with a great breeze.  And the people watching was unmatched!  Those Tecate's at the end didn't disappoint!!!  Hope to make it next year too!

30 people, wow, no thanks!

Sting Ray Robb kept wrecking yesterday too, come on Rookie!

The tire going over the fence was terrifying, it had death written all over it, thank God no one was hurt.

The crowd did look off the hook and I was going crazy at home watching every second of the race.

Thanks for the GREAT recap P88, you have a beautiful mind. 

===============

IndyCar raced a street course at the Detroit Grand Prix yesterday and the top five were:

1. Alex Palou

2. Will Power

3. Felix Rosenqvist

4. Scott Dixon

5. Alexander Rossi

I liked the course, it was a good day of racing.

[Purple88]

17 hours ago, theguru said:

30 people, wow, no thanks!

Sting Ray Robb kept wrecking yesterday too, come on Rookie!

The tire going over the fence was terrifying, it had death written all over it, thank God no one was hurt.

The crowd did look off the hook and I was going crazy at home watching every second of the race.

Thanks for the GREAT recap P88, you have a beautiful mind. 

===============

IndyCar raced a street course at the Detroit Grand Prix yesterday and the top five were:

1. Alex Palou

2. Will Power

3. Felix Rosenqvist

4. Scott Dixon

5. Alexander Rossi

I liked the course, it was a good day of racing.

I didn't get to watch Detroit, as it's Graduation Party season, but sounded like a fun race.

Not sure anyone has anything for Palou this year overall.

[theguru]

Alex Palou won at Mid-Ohio last week and he is the points leader with a big lead over second place driver Scott Dixon and third place driver Josef Newgarden.  The title is Palou's to lose. 

[Purple88]

17 hours ago, theguru said:

Alex Palou won at Mid-Ohio last week and he is the points leader with a big lead over second place driver Scott Dixon and third place driver Josef Newgarden.  The title is Palou's to lose. 

Good points G!  But he didn't win the BIG one on Memorial Day Weekend!

[theguru]

4 hours ago, Purple88 said:

Good points G!  But he didn't win the BIG one on Memorial Day Weekend!

Tru dat.  Since I don't follow Indy Car like I do the others winning the Indy 500 has always felt like the champ to me.  I think Indy Car does a poor job of integrating the standings with the races.  Either way, this is the most I have enjoyed Indy Car.