Photo Credit: IndyCar
With at least 33 cars now confirmed with the revelation that the Lazier Partners Racing Chevrolet-powered entry for 1996 Indy 500 champion Buddy Lazier is now a go, it is time to look ahead to the upcoming five days of on track activity at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the countdown to the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil is entering the homestretch. Although the biggest action related to time trials weekend will occur on Fast Friday, when the Verizon IndyCar Series officials increase the boost pressure settings on all the entries to qualifying mode, the early focus will be centered on two major issues.
The first is whether Honda will be able to close the gap between themselves and Chevrolet in both qualifying and race trim. The latter fact could start to manifest as early as Monday afternoon as drivers may attempt to run in tighter packs in advance of race day. Although some experts believe that the gap between the two engine/aerodynamic kit manufacturers is not as wide as some forecasted it would be following the Phoenix Grand Prix, the question about all out pace at Indy is still a question mark. While Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti topped the recent open test at the 2.5 mile oval last month, the beliefs of the Chevrolet teams sandbagging, ran rampant after the action closed.
Included among the sandbagging claims accusation was frustration over the mandate by INDYCAR toward the addition of the dome skids to the cars for Indianapolis, an attempt by the league to prevent the airborne accidents that occurred four times during practice last May. The latter of those accidents led to James Hinchcliffe’s absence from the Indy 500 and the remainder of the 2015 season. While most top drivers from the Honda camp were quick to disapprove of them, the majority of Chevrolet runners seemed content with their addition. Of course, the question of how the new device will affect the race itself on May 29, is unknown for now. Multiple on track lead changes has become the norm at the Indianapolis 500 since the introduction of the current Dallara DW12 chassis in 2012, with an all-time race high of 68 lead swaps occurring in the 2013 event won by Tony Kanaan. Some teams and drivers have been concerned that the ability to overtake as easily as in recent years could be affected by the new skids, although some of those mentions have been quickly denounced or silenced since the start of May.
The other concern is also whether Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud will be able to continue his current dominance on the road courses when the circuit shifts to oval track mode starting on Monday. Those hoping for a more open competition at the front, could be disappointed as the Frenchman has shown marked improvement on the high speed tracks over the past year, including a solid performance in both qualifying and the first three quarters of last year’s Indianapolis 500. Pagenaud during the 2015 month of May at the Brickyard posted quick times on both Thursday and Friday leading to qualifying and then backed up the early returns by securing a spot on the outside of the front row. In the 500-mile race a week later, the veteran led 35 laps and if not for suffering damage to his front wing late in the event, he likely would have placed higher than the tenth place finish he earned. Pagenaud further showed his improved oval racing skills earlier this season at Phoenix, when he finished second to Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon.
Of course, even if Pagenaud is unable to pocket the $100,000 dollars for the Verizon P1 Award this upcoming Sunday on Pole Day, expect a member from either his own Team Penske squad or Chip Ganassi Racing to claim the honor. The two teams not only qualified upfront last year at Indy, they also controlled the action for a majority of the race distance, with the remainder of the field unable to keep pace. In addition to Pagenaud, former Indy 500 champions Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya should be factors, along with last year’s runner-up Will Power. The same front running outputs should also be expected from Chip Ganassi Racing’s own two former Indy champions Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan, with last year’s third place finisher Charlie Kimball also a potential challenger. Although CGR’s rookie driver Max Chilton may not be as strong a candidate to run among the top guns on race day, he did show enough pace at Phoenix to possibly join the conversation if potential is shown over the practice week.
The questions about a third party crashing the battle upfront in 2016 could include the presence of fellow Chevrolet entrants Ed Carpenter Racing and if Honda proves capable of matching pace, from any of the five-car Andretti Autosport drivers as well as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal, who finished fifth at Indy a year ago, tops among Honda-powered entries.
Regardless of the answers to the story revealed in the days ahead, it should provide the same amount of excitement as the previous Indy 500s of the 2010s decade have been able to produce.
