Indy 500 Preview: The Legendary 108th Running of The Brickyard

There are only a few races all motorsport fans come together and watch The Daytona 500 in NASCAR, The 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Silverstone Grand Prix in Formula One, and this weekend The Indy 500. 107 times before this weekend the bravest of drivers risk all for the title of Indianapolis 500 Champion. This weekend a name will be forever etched into history. Indy is where the top teams duke it out for the opportunity at Immortality once again or a small underfunded team can play spoiler and put their team and themselves on the map. Anything and everything will happen on the 2.5-mile speedway.

Indy 500 Qualifying

The legendary Team Penske locks out the front row for the Indy 500 with Scott McLaughlin on pole with a speed of 234.220 mph, the fastest qualifying run in the 108-year history. Starting second and third are his teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden respectively. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson doing the “Memorial Day Double” running in the Indy 500 and then the Coke 600 on Sunday will roll off fifth.

Arrow Mclaren Driver Alexander Rossi who captured the Indy 500 Championship his rookie year in 2016 will roll of 4th. Indycar Legend and 4-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves rolls off  20th in a one-off event, with seven-time Indycar Champion and 2008 winner of the 500 Scott Dixon in 21st. Fan favorite young guns Pat O’Ward, Colton Herta, and Alex Palou (Who won the road course at Indy) will roll off eighth, thirteenth, and fourteenth respectively.

Palou looking to accomplish to “Month of May Sweep” by winning the Indy road course and the oval in the same month. That feat has been accomplished twice by Will Power in 2018 and Simon Pagenaud in 2019 since they began the tradition of running the road course before the 500 in 2014. However, the Chevrolets have had the better cars of the two manufacturers in INDYCAR the first Honda Takuma Sato rolling off tenth.

Kyle Larson Pulling Double Duty

Kyle Larson the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion is going to race the Indianapolis 500 and then the Coke 600 on the same day. 1,100 miles of racing in one day. Since 1994 four guys have attempted the feat. John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch. Stewart had the most success in 2001 finishing sixth in the 500 and third in the 600.

The logistical nightmare that is pulling double duty, in normal circumstances modern travel advances would make it easier but since the speed of the 500 has picked up. INDYCAR has moved the Indy 500 back from its traditional timeslot of 11 am Eastern back to 1 pm Eastern time to increase viewership. The original promoters wanted the race to end before dinner time for maximum viewership at the end of the event and the average race at the time lasting 5-6 hours.

Larson (assuming he finishes the 500) will have approximately two and a half hours to get out of the car in Indy and climb into his cup car in Charlotte. The Indy 500 starts at 12:45 Eastern and traditionally takes three hours. The Coke 600 is scheduled to wave the green flag at 6:21. A flight from Indianapolis to Charlotte takes a little over an hour leaving Larson with a little over an hour of leeway should the Indy 500 run long not including the helicopter flights from the track to airport and airport to track.

The History Of the Indy 500

The track was built in 1909 by Carl G. Fisher not only to race cars but also to give manufacturers open roads to test their vehicles before going to market. Fisher proclaimed in 1907 standing on the ground what would eventually be Indianapolis Motor Speedway:

Indianapolis is going to be the world’s greatest center of horseless carriage manufacturer, what could be more logical than building the world’s greatest racetrack right here?

Indy got the nickname “The Brickyard” because when paving the track Fisher saw that bricks held up better than asphalt which was a new concept in 1909 and very few roads were paved. Fisher worked with five Indiana manufacturers to produce 3.2 million ten-pound bricks to make up the 2.5-mile speedway. Now only a 3-foot wide strip of the original bricks remains near the start/finish line.

The first Indy 500 came in 1911. With an average speed being a “blazing” 74.06 miles per hour. After six hours and 42 minutes, Ray Harroun racing for Nordyke & Marmon Company and coming out of retirement for this race won the inaugural Indy 500. Harroun would go right back into retirement in the winners’ circle after the race.

Pit Strategy and Race Trend and Time

INDYCAR the fuel run is approximately 30 laps. The Indy 500 is a race you don’t want to lead until the final stint. The car in front is burning the most fuel while everyone behind is using the draft to save fuel extend the stint and try to make it a six-stop race instead of a seven-stop race. A green flag pit stop will cost drivers 39 seconds or a lap. Mike Hull the Strategist for Chip Ganassi Racing said his least favorite lap is lap 159.

Lap 158-160 always seems to be a caution according to Hull. It is a tough spot to have a caution for strategists because it is far enough to the finish to not be able to make it on fuel but close enough to make with a caution or two. The race always comes down to fuel milage and hoping there’s a caution in the final 35-40 laps allowing the drivers to save enough to make it to the finish.

The Indy 500 will be on NBC & Peacock coverage beginning at 11:00 am Eastern right after the F1 race at Monaco that starts at 9 am Eastern time on ABC. The green flag will come at for the 500 will come at approximately 12:45 Eastern. The Coke 600 will start at 6 pm Eastern on FOX.