This might be a good week to sign up for Peacock if you haven’t done so yet. All times Eastern
Tuesday Streaming on Peacock, 10-2, 3-6
Gates Open 9:00am 6:00pm
Indianapolis 500 Oval Veterans Practice 10:00am 12:00pm
Indianapolis 500 ROP & Refreshers 12:00pm 2:00pm
Indianapolis 500 Practice 3:00pm 6:00pm
Wednesday Streaming on Peacock 12-6
Gates Open 10:00am 6:00pm
Indianapolis 500 Practice 12:00pm 6:00pm
Thursday Streaming on Peacock 12-6
Gates Open 10:00am 6:00pm
Indianapolis 500 Practice 12:00pm 6:00pm
Fast Friday Streaming on Peacock 12-6
Gates Open 10:00am 6:00pm
Indianapolis 500 Practice 12:00pm 6:00pm
Qualifying
Saturday
Gates Open 8:00am 6:00pm
Indianapolis 500 Practice 9:30am 10:30am Streaming on Peacock 9:30-10:30
Indianapolis 500 Qualifying 12:00pm 5:50pm Streaming on Peacock 12-6
NBC will have a one hour live broadcast from 2-3pm
Sunday
Gates Open 9:00am 7:00pm
Last Chance Practice 11:00am 11:30am Streaming on Peacock*
Fast Nine Practice 11:30am 12:00pm Streaming on Peacock*
Last Chance Qualifying 1:15pm 2:30pm Streaming on Peacock 12-6
Fast Nine Qualifying 3:00pm 3:45pm
NTT IndyCar Series Practice 5:00pm 7:00pm
NBC will broadcast live from 2:30-4:30 pm
* Peacocok lists a one hour slot from 10-11, but the program description says you can watch both practice sessions. 10-11won’t do it for the practices. Only three hours of live television. Sad.
I just watched the replay of the NBC broadcast of the GMR Grand Prix. I thought it was great coverage. I like the graphic showing which tire each car was using at the time and laps since pitted information. More of that, please.
The VeeKay family celebration on the victory podium was heart warming. We don’t often see a driver’s family enjoy the fruits of heir sacrifices to get a driver to the top of his profession.
How no one got into the marbles and spun is miraculous. the track was one large used rubber pile. VeeKay’s tires at the end show how much wear everyone’s tires had. this is a screen grab from Victory lane.
Rinus VeeKay drove the wheels off the car yesterday. He drove between Jimmie Johnson and Alex Palou to take second, and made a great pass on Grosjean to be in position to assume the lead when Dixon pitted.
The Battle for the Title
Alex Palou is the only driver to have led at least one lap in each of the five races to date. We are looking at a championship battle between teammates. Scott Dixon leads Palou by 13 points. Each has won a race. Dixon holds the tie breaker if it should come to that based on his St.Pete finish. I predict Palou will be this season’s first repeat winner.
Last Thoughts
Maybe it was because yesterday was the first may race with fans in attendance since 2019, but yesterday was one of the best days I have ever had at IMS. I’ve been there a couple times, but Saturday just had a very special feeling about it.
How odd that Ed Carpenter Racing’s first win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway should come on the road course. Carpenter’s cars are always very good on the oval. Is there another win for the team coming in two weeks?
Back tomorrow when my coverage of the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 begins. Thanks to all of you for following this weekend.
Using my infallible wisdom, I said in my pre season preview that we were one year away from seeing the younger generation of driver begin to take over the series. Next year is right now. Rinus VeeKay’s win today in the GMR Grand Prix at IMS adds to the burgeoning list of drivers who entered 2021 with two years or less experience. How have they done? Four wins, including three first winners, three poles, including one first time polesitter. The scary part is we are only about a third of the way through the season, and I have a feeling this group is only going to get better.
The average experience of the five different race winners, based on experience through 2020 is 5.6 years. Scott Dixon’s 20 years of racing makes the average as high as it is. Usually in a typical season, most newer winners come early in the year, and bymid June, the veterans take over and dominate the rest of the schedule. I have a fe3eling that isn’t going to happen in 2021.
VeeKay drove a steady race in his victory today. Pole winner Romain Grosjean also had a very good drive, but VeeKay caught him and had the better car the ;last half of the race.
Romain Grosjean earned his first career podium in Indycar
Random Thoughts
You had to feel for Conor Daly. He started fourth with a decent shot of winning today. The first lap kerfuffle left him stranded in turn 2. He finished 50 laps behind.
Speaking of tough breaks, Jack Harvey has had issues two races in a row. A failed wheel bearing in Texas knocked him out of a strong finish. Today a bad pit stop followed by a flat tire quashed his hopes of being in the fight at the end. He would have been there. Harvey will be another first time winner at some point this year.
Graham Rahal did a great job finishing fifth using an alternate strategy. The extra pit stop actually helped him gain ground.
It was nice to see Ryan Hunter-Reay leading some laps again. it has been a while. Andretti Autosport had one of their better days today. Alexander Rossi finished seventh, Hunter-reay 12th and Herta thirteenth.
This is the worst Grand Prix weekend at IMS I remember Will Power having. Power who usually is up front on this track, with multiple poles and wins, spun in qualifying and started twelfth. Power finished 11th but it wasn’t easy after several off track excursions.
I thought Juan Pablo Montoya was mostly in the way today. He held up the leaders a couple times, and showed very little speed.
Pato O’Ward had a weekend nearly as bad ashe did at St. Pete. the good news is that after his misadventure in Florida, he won at Texas. Could this pattern repeat?
Josef Newgarden seems to be lacking some pace this season. I’m not sure what the problem is.
I can’t recall another podium that had both a driver from Ed Carpenter Racing and one from Dale Coyne Racing.
I understand why IMS wants the winning car up on the podium, but the time it takes to get the car up there while the driver sits in it takes away from the spontaneity of he moment. Especially today, when we have a first time winner. I wanted VeeKay to jump out of the car imm3ediately and begin celebrating. The Victory Circle should not be staged.
Attendance was very good for the race today. I have never seen a crowd so happy. Racing at IMS returned to its proper May spot, and the fans were there. All seems right with the world tonight.
Thanks for following along this weekend. I will have a follow up story tomorrow.
Photo: Romain Grosjean will the field to the green today. Walt Kuhn, Indycar
Today’s schedule:
All Times Eastern
Saturday
7:30am 5:00pm Gates Open
7:50am 8:40am Indy Pro 2000 Race 2
8:55am 9:25am Indy Lights Qualifying 2
9:40am 10:20am USF2000 Race 3
10:45am 11:15am NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warm-Up Peacock
11:40am 12:30pm Indy Pro 2000 Race 3
12:45pm 1:45pmINDY LIGHTS Race 2 Peacock
2:39pm ‘Drivers Start Your Engines’ NBC
2:45pm GMR Grand Prix – Green Flag NBC
Welcome to the first May race day at IMS in two years where fans will be in the stands. This will be an interesting race with many of the favorites starting in the middle or back of the back. After yesterday’s wild qualifying and the way the season has begun, maybe it’s time to consider other drivers besides the usual favorites. Alex Palou and Jack Harvey deserve special attention today. Palou has already won on a similar course, and Harvey always does well at the IMS road course. Pit strategy and track position will be key as always at this track.
In the 2020 version of this race which was held in July, cautions played a huge role in the outcome. Graham Rahal was on an alternate pit strategy that appeared to be working out. The yellow flag dashed his hopes of winning.
Team Penske dominates the GMR Grand Prix and it looks like all four drivers could be contending today.
I think we will have the fifth winner in five races this season. The series has already seen five different drivers on pole, although two were by point standings,
Notes
Andretti Autosport regular drivers had a best qualifying of eighth with Colton Herta yesterday. Alexander Rossi led the first practice session, but faded in qualifying and will start 14th. It is puzzling what’s going on with the team.
Josef Newgarden’s Snap-On car is this weekend’s best looking livery.
, IndycarPhoto by Joe Skibinski
It was a decent sized crowd yesterday, and I will be interested to see how many attend today’s race.
Mask compliance was very high yesterday. The Speedway has hired Mask Ambassadors to give people gentle reminders to wear their face coverings. The ambassadors carry a fan like placard with the phrase “Face Coverings Required” I saw them remind some people of the requirement. certain other tracks I have been to this year could have use a system like this.
The race is on NBC with coverage beginning at 2:30 pm Eastern. Green flag is at 2:45.
I watched the replay of qualifying on NBCSN. The broadcast carried no graphics of any sort, and it was hard to follow the action during the rounds of qualifying. I heard graphics appeared on Peacock. Is NBCSN having a fire sale since they are 2winding down the network? This was a huge disservice to fans who don’t or can’t have Peacock for whatever reason. You still have a contract NBC. Honor it.
Photo: Romain grosjean hug chief mechanic Olivier Boisson after winning the pole. Photo by Mike Silver
Romain Grosjean leaping from his burning car in Bahrain is finally put away. Grosjean won the pole for tomorrow’s GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He did not win the pole by default. Grosjean had to hold off two time series champion and multiple pole winner Josef Newgarden to achieve the top spot for the race. The pole is just the third all time for Dale Coyne racing and the first on a natural road course. Sebastien Bourdais won a pole on the oval at Phoenix in 2018. Mike Conway took the pole for Detroit Race 2 in 2016.
In a qualifying session which saw points leaders Scott Dixon and Pato O’Ward struggle and pokle master Will Power cause a red flag in Round 2, Grosjean joined three other fast six newcomers- Conor Daly, Alex Palou, and Scott McLaughlin to fight for the pole along with Jack harvey and Newgarden.
“Amazing,” Grosjean said. “When I saw the (first qualifying) group I was in, I was like, ‘Oh, dear, if we can get out of the first group, we’re going to be OK,’ and we did. That last few laps, we were on it. What a day for us.
“I’m happier than I have been in a very long time.”
In the only other natural road course run this year, at Barber, Grojean started 10th and finished seventh. His getting to the Fast Six wasn’t much of a shock, but earning the pole was.
Notes on a Strange Day
The wierdness wasn’t reserved for qualifying. The practice sessions had some odd happenings as well. In session 1, Alex Palou’s team discovered a water leak before he got on the track. Palou missed the entire session. Palou bounced back to get in the Fast Six.
During the first practice we learned that Max Chilton and Carlin Racing withdrew from this weekend. Chilton was unable to return from England because of a travel issue. Today’s issue has no effect on their 500 entry.
Scott Dixon developed a clutch issue during the afternoon practice, Unlike Palou, he did not recover in qualifying and will start 16th. two spots ahead of Pato O’Ward. Dixon and O’Ward are first and second in points. Newgarden and Palou,, third and fourth in points, start second and fourth.
Juan Pablo Montoya looked quite uncomfortable in the third Arrow McLaren SP entry. He struggled to get the car through the final turns.
Conor Daly made the Fast Six for the first time. It has been a long time since Ed Carpenter racing has been in the Fast Six.
Newgarden and Palou were the only members of the Fast Six who have won a race. The series is on about as level a playing field as it has ever been.
Team Penske still does not have a pole this season.
A. J. Foyt Racing had a promising beginning to the season. All thee cars will start 20th or worse tomorrow.
Josef Newgarden led the final practice round before qualifying for the GMR Grand Prix at 4: 30. Newgarden edged Rings Veekay and teammate Will Power in a Chevy sweep of the top 3. All four TeM Penske cars finished in the top 10, with Scott McLaughlin fifth and Simon Pagenaud eighth.
Pato O’ Ward struggled for most of the session but salvaged a ninth place at the flag.
Scott Dixon had a clutch failure and ended 23rd.
Juan Pablo Montoya struggled the entire practice period and was the slowest car
Not a surprise, but good t6 know early. I look fo r a double header at either Mid Ohio or Portland. The official announcement from Indycar:
2021 Schedule Update
INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May 14, 2021) – Due to ongoing restrictions in Ontario focusing on COVID-19 health-and-safety measures, organizers for the Honda Indy Toronto and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES jointly announce that this year’s event, July 9-11, will no longer be a part of the 2021 schedule.“The NTT INDYCAR SERIES race around Exhibition Place and Princes’ Gates is a hallmark of our summer schedule,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said. “To have that void for a second straight year is heartbreaking. We deeply miss our fans there and urge them to remain safe during these unprecedented times. INDYCAR looks forward to a high-powered return in 2022 and for years to come.”The festival atmosphere on the Streets of Toronto has been a staple of the INDYCAR SERIES since 1986. The list of champions includes legendary names such as Bobby Rahal, Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser Jr., Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.INDYCAR is considering various scenarios for the remainder of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar as it relates to the cancellation of the event on the Streets of Toronto.The current mid-summer portion of the schedule will resume Sunday, Aug. 8 for the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville, with live coverage on NBCSN. That event is the first of three races on consecutive weekends for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, with the Nashville race followed by another historic NASCAR-INDYCAR weekend Saturday, Aug. 14 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and then the exciting oval at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, Aug. 21.
Good morning from the cozy confines of the IMS Media Center Northwest Annex at 71st and Michigan Road.The Pit Window will soon be heading to its annual opening day staff breakfast at Charlie Brown’s (table for 1, please.)
Two practice sessions and qualifying are on tap for Indycar today.
1:00pm 1:45pm NTT INDYCAR Series Practice 2 Peacock
2:10pm 3:10pm INDY LIGHTS Race 1 Peacock
3:25pm 4:05pm USF2000 Race 2
4:30pm 5:45pm NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qual. / Firestone Fast 6 Peacock (live)
NBCSN– 6 pm ET (Delayed)
Today is a day for reunions with friends and to scout viewing spots for tomorow’s race if you have a flex ticket. If this your first time at the track since 2019, take some time to notice the improvements Roger Penske has made. They are noticeable and impressive.
I will post brief reports on session results and have a full wrap up later tonight. Enjoy the day;.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 