On May 9th, the Verizon IndyCar Series will return to the track for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. This racing event is in its second year, hosted at the beautiful Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The green flag waves at 3:30pm ET. What does this race have in store for IndyCar fans - other than the same confusion from 2014 about drivers headed in the wrong direction, of course.
Although the teams recently got their hands on the speedway aero kit design for the 2015 cars, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis takes the drivers back to a road course configuration on this specially designed race course.
Won in 2014 by Simon Pageneud, the Frenchman looks for his first win with Team Penske back at the race. Sebastien Savaedra took the pole in 2014 with just over 104 mph, and the new aero kits look to break speed records this weekend.
The 82-lap, 200 mile race boasts 25 entries, with three drivers making their debuts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Gabby Chaves, Stefano Coletti, and Luca Fillipi have all never raced at Indianapolis. The Grand Prix of Indianapolis also breaks other records, with Helio Castroneves making his 300th series start, the 7th driver to reach that milestone. The track features 14 turns and a long straightaway, making a variety of excellent passing zones.
This race last year in its inaugural running was exciting, with 12 lead changes across seven drivers; we can expect more of the same for 2015. One things fan won’t miss from 2014 is the disastrous standing start, where Savaedra’s car stalled on the green flag. The ensuing chaos is among the reasons fans haven’t (and won’t) see standing starts on the 2015 schedule.
Notable names on the entrants list include Justin Wilson, racing for Andretti Autosport; J.R. Hildebrand with CFH Racing; and Sebastien Savaedra with Ganassi Racing.
18 hours after the checkered flag flies at this, the second annual Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the speedway oval opens for the first practice in preparation for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 that will take place on May 24. With four different winners already in the 2015 IndyCar Series, the month of May will give race fans a chance to see two completely different races at the same iconic location.
The green flag will fly over the yard of bricks (as the cars come by in the opposite direction) at approximately 3:30 pm ET. Don't miss live tweeting on the official Twitter account of the VAVEL USA Racing section as well as the LIVE article that will bring minute-to-minute coverage of each of the 80 laps of the race.