With 100-plus years of history, there’s also plenty new for opening weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway?

Storylines abound with the new Dallara chassis, aerodynamic bodywork designed only for the 2.5-mile Speedway and Auto Club Speedway, engine manufacturer competition for the first time since 2005, the sound of turbocharged engines for the first time since 1996, those engines fueled by E85, past participants returning after long absences, a driver seeking a record-tying fourth victory, and rookies seeking to make their mark on the biggest motorsports stage in the world.

It all kicks off May 12 when the track will be open for practice. Public gates open at 10 a.m. Admission is $10 for adults, with fans 12 and under admitted free with an adult. Pole Day is May 19 and Miller Lite Carb Day, featuring the final practice, pit stop competition, the Freedom 100 Firestone Indy Lights race and mid-afternoon concert by Lynyrd Skynrd, is May 25.

“It’ll be all new to everybody,” said KV Racing Technology’s Tony Kanaan, who will attempt to make his 11th start in the race. “It’s a new aero kit and a new engine, and there’s so many things that can happen that are unknown, and this place makes it hard just being this place. I don’t know if I can describe how hard it’s going to be because there’s no easy time here at the Speedway, even with a 10-year-old car that you’ve run for 10 years in a row or with a new car.”

In the infield will be a display of classic/vintage and alternative-energy vehicles at the second IMS Celebration of Automobiles. The 40th anniversary of McLaren's first Indianapolis 500 victory will be commemorated by a special McLaren display. Also featured will be the No. 66 Sunoco McLaren M16B that Mark Donohue drove to victory in the 1972 Indianapolis 500. The victory marked the first of 15 Indianapolis 500 wins for car owner Roger Penske.

Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves will seek to join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as the only four-time winners, while former Formula One drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jean Alesi are first-year competitors. Other rookies include past Firestone Indy Lights champions Wade Cunningham and Josef Newgarden, and reigning USAC National Drivers Champion Bryan Clauson.

After six years of Honda supplying engines to the full Indianapolis 500 field, manufacturer competition returned to the series at St. Petersburg, Fla., in March with Chevrolet and Lotus joining Honda to supply the 2.2-liter, turbocharged V-6 engines.

INDYCAR announced May 10 that turbocharger boost levels will increase for “Fast Friday” and the two days of qualifications for the Indianapolis 500.

The standard boost level of 130 kPa (kilopascals) for superspeedways will be upped to 140 kPa for the May 18 practice session, Pole Day on May 19 and Bump Day on May 20. The increase will result in the addition of 40-50 horsepower.

The boost level will be 130 kPa for all other practice days and Race Day on May 27.

The only mandatory part of the Speedway aero kit that teams have to utilize is the new rear-wheel guards that are taller, lighter and have a slightly different shape than the sets being used on the road/street circuits and the oval races at Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile.

Teams can experiment with a rear-wing mainplane angle of between 0 and -10 degrees, underwing strakes and sidewall extensions (to keep air from becoming turbulent under the car), wickers on the front- and rear-wing mainplanes and the beam wing, and radiator inlet shutters.

The rear-wheel guard/wings work in combination with the other bodywork to create less drag and more downforce. The Dallara-designed and -produced components were tested in winter in both scale model and full size in the wind tunnel at the Auto Research Center in North Carolina in conjunction with INDYCAR in response to lap speeds and handling deemed inadequate the testing by Kanaan and Franchitti.

Teams tested the new car at the Speedway on April 4.

“If you look at the cars, they look slick,” Kanaan said. “They look a lot faster in the Speedway configuration. I have to say I like the new aero kit. It looks like the Batmobile and it’s kind of aggressive.”