A news conference with a list of details about the month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway began with recognition of the most important and welcome recent development.
Track president Doug Boles was overwhelmed by Monday’s Verizon IndyCar Series open test as 21 new-look Indy cars turned 1,820 laps on the 2.5-mile oval, the fastest at 226.181 mph. A day later, the always enthusiastic Boles couldn’t wait to solicit the opinion of Jay Frye, INDYCAR president of competition and operations.
“For a brand new car, for its first time kind of out in a big group where they’re really starting to get after it, it was a really good top speed,” Frye said, referring to Tony Kanaan’s fastest lap in the No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet.
“The drivers at the end were running together a lot and the rate of closing on each other I think is pretty spectacular, so it’s something we’ll keep an eye on. It was a really good first day.”
It was the kind of performance that can only raise anticipation for an even more competitive 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on Sunday, May 27 – if that’s even possible considering the intensity of the competition in the past few years.
Four races into this season, Frye and Boles are pleased with the parity among race teams as well as engine manufacturers. Chevrolet and Honda have split the race victories.
“It looks like it’s going to be very competitive,” Boles said of the Indy 500, “just like the season has been so far.”
The 2018 car features the universal aero kit that debuted this season and is used by all entries following three years of Chevrolet and Honda providing competitive aero kits. Frye has been encouraged by seeing how all the cars have been performing with the universal kit, not just the fastest.
“From first to 20th, the 20th-place car ran 220 mph,” Frye said of Monday's test. “It’s a really good group. I think this year’s field will be as strong as it has been in a long time, front to back throughout the field.
“The new car has almost twice as many passes (in the first four races) as we had last year at this time. And that’s something that’s throughout the field, not just for the lead. Data-wise, it’s providing everything we thought it would, and then some.”
Boles and Frye are also pleased with how the cars look, which is always of particular interest to diehard Indy 500 fans.
“That’s how this thing got started,” Frye said of the redesigned car. “We wanted to get our identity back, what Indy car is proper, what is it supposed to look like. We got a lot of input from the fans, a lot of input from the paddock, all the teams, and we came up with what we did.
“We’re really proud of where we’re at right now. The car, everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve checked the box. The thing has checked the box everywhere we’ve tested, everywhere the manufacturer has tested, and we checked a big box (Monday in the open test).”
Boles spoke later about how the Indy 500 gained momentum in 2016, carried it through 2017 and is continuing this year.
“Our ticket sales for 2018, again ahead of 2017,” Boles said. “As you recall, our 2017 number was ahead of 2015. We're excited about all this momentum. It's a combination of this community continuing to embrace the Indianapolis 500, and all the work that Jay and his team and the drivers and the participants in the Verizon IndyCar Series have brought to us.”
Allison Melangton, senior vice president of events for IMS, leads the charge of engaging the regional community in building excitement around the month. From signage around Indianapolis to Indy 500 porch parties to downtown streets being renamed for the competing drivers, the growing enthusiasm is palpable.
“We want to make sure that we are portraying the greatest city in racing in addition to hosting ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,’” Melangton said. “That is to make sure that while everything is operating well here at the speedway … we have to make sure that the community, state and region feel connected to the race.”
Frye likes the overall direction of the Verizon IndyCar Series, which added four teams the season.
“We’ve added new teams this year, which is great. If you think of as a whole in motorsports, there’s not a lot of that happening right now,” Frye said. “I think the next couple years, we’ll see even more coming. So that’s really helped with the field for the ‘500.’”
Adding to the excitement is the expected return of two things not seen at the Indianapolis 500 since 2011: Danica Patrick and drivers being bumped from the 33-car field in qualifying. Patrick was scheduled to turn laps this afternoon in a veteran refresher test as she looks to conclude her racing career at “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on May 27. This year’s entry list features 35 car/driver combinations.
“The storylines of Danica, the storylines of bumping not just for the Fast Nine but to get into the entire field, gives us an opportunity to talk about what we love so much,” Boles said. “That's the activity on the racetrack as we lead into the Indianapolis 500.”
Official practice for the Indianapolis 500 begins Tuesday, May 15, with two days of qualifications on May 19-20.
Ahead of that, however, comes the fifth annual INDYCAR Grand Prix weekend, May 11-12 on the IMS road course. Tickets for all May activities at the track are available at IMS.com.