The Month of May shifts into high gear today as the drivers of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES take on the GMR Grand Prix on the action-packed Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
It’s a picturesque day in Indianapolis. The socially distanced crowd in the stands and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES athletes that will take on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course are in store for a partly cloudy afternoon with highs near 70 and winds below 10 mph.
You can catch the action starting at 10:45 a.m. (ET) with the 30-minute warm-up, live on Peacock Premium. Then, tune in to the GMR Grand Prix at 2 p.m. live on NBC and INDYCAR Radio Network. You can listen to radio broadcasts live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 205, INDYCAR.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile App powered by NTT DATA.
Here’s what you need to know to get ready for today’s action.
Start Up Front, Stay Up Front
In four of the seven GMR Grand Prix events, the winner of the race started first.
Simon Pagenaud won the 2016 race from the pole, and Will Power has won each of his GMR Grand Prix trophies after starting first. He also won Race 2 of the INDYCAR Harvest GP last October from the pole.
So, if you’re looking for a driver to put some stock in for your INDYCAR Fantasy Challenge driven by Firestone team, look no further than pole sitter and rookie Romain Grosjean, who scored his first career NTT P1 Award in Friday’s GMR Grand Prix qualifying session in just his third start.
To be clear, a starting position anywhere other than first doesn’t mean failure. In fact, the last two GMR Grand Prix races have been won from outside the top five: Pagenaud won from the eighth starting spot in 2019, and Scott Dixon won last year’s race from seventh.
If you’re a fan of meaningless statistical trends, pay attention to Conor Daly, who starts sixth. 8 … 7 … 6 … get it?
Penske Perfect
Speaking of Pagenaud and Power, keep an eye on Team Penske drivers this weekend.
Only twice in any NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on the IMS road course has the winning car not been a part of Team Penske: in the inaugural event in 2014 when Pagenaud won for Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports, and in 2020 when Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing took the race, which was postponed until July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Team Penske made up for missing those two chances at victory last fall during the INDYCAR Harvest GP race weekend. Josef Newgarden scored his first INDYCAR win at IMS by taking Race 1, and Power got back to his ways at IMS by winning Race 2.
That means Team Penske drivers have won eight of nine races on the road course, and the organization itself has captured seven of nine.
Newgarden is leading his team today with a second-place start in the No. 2 Snap-on Team Penske Chevrolet, and rookie Scott McLaughlin will start fifth in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Pagenaud will start 10th in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, while Power rounds the organization out with a 12th-place start No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet.
Let History Repeat Itself
NTT INDYCAR SERIES fans remember last fall’s INDYCAR Harvest GP Race 1, which was a fast and furious race. With several battles throughout the field, and many for the lead, it served as one of the most exciting races of the season.
Good news, race fans. This year’s GMR Grand Prix, which was 80 laps last year, is 85 times around the track this year, just like Race 1 last fall. Ambient and track temperatures will be similar, too. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES raced on an October day with temperatures in the mid-60s, and today figures to be in the high 60s or low 70s.
Cara Adams, director of race tire engineering and production, Bridgestone Americas Motorsports, said Firestone brought the same tire compound and construction that was used at this track in 2020. The alternate tire compound was introduced last year to provide more durability than in previous seasons.
Each entry receives six sets of primary “black” tires, four sets of alternate “red” tires and five sets of rain tires if needed for today’s race. The fuel window for today’s race is 25 laps if using a three-stop strategy.