The Pit Window by Mike Silver

Friday’s qualifying results created four storylines for today’s Sonsio Grand Prix, which starts at 4:30 pm Eastern on FOX.

Another Palou Beatdown?

Alex palou starts from the pole, and if he gets the jump on the field going into turn1, the rest of the field will be fighting for second place.

Palou is turning IndyCar into F1 light, which means fans have to adjust the way they view the races. I appreciate FOX showing the mid pack battles at Barber last week, and that is where viewers need to focus their attention. It would be nice to get a glimpse of the leader now and then.

Tire Twists

The new tire regulation for this race- each team must use two sets of primaries and two sets of alternates- was implemented in hopes of improving the racing. The rule rakes away gambling on a two stop race and should eliminate the chance of a fuel saving race.

But if there is an early caution (remember cautions?), I could see a dash to the pits for a tires only stop, followed by business as usual.

IndyCar will evaluate the rule after the race to see if tehy want to use it again.

How strong is RLL?

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has three cars in the top five starting spots. Can their race pace match their qualifying speed? Graham Rahal is known for his ability to move forward during a race. Will the team split strategies to get at least one lace on the podium?

Louis Foster starts a career best third, and Devlin DeFrancesco starts fifth. In 2023 DeFrancesco charged from fifth to the lead on the first laps of the road course race on Brickyard weekend. I don’t think we will see that again.

Movers

Five drivers who should be moving forward today- Pato O’Ward, Will Power, Colton Herta, Christian Lundgaard, and Scott Dixon.

Lundgaard starts 14th, and Dixon rolls off 16th. I expect both to end up in the top 10.

Herta is a wild card who should move if there are no issues in the pits which have hampered him this season.

Power and O’Ward start in row four these two could put on quite a battle this afternoon.

Barring a mechanical breakdown or something weird happening on a pit stop, I don’t see anyone beating Palou today, but it still should be a good race behind him.

From IMS:

INDIANAPOLIS- Information about Sonsio Grand Prix track activity Saturday, May 10 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: SCHEDULE (All times local): 9 a.m.-7 p.m.: Public gates open 9:30 a.m.: USF Pro 2000 Race 2 10:30 a.m.: USF2000 Race 2 11:32 a.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup 1:06 p.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone Race 2 (35 laps/55 minutes) 2:20 p.m.: USF Pro 2000 Race 3 4:52 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Sonsio Grand Prix (85 laps) TICKETS: $50 for General Admission. $64 for flex ticket seating in Northwest Vista (Sections 11-20), Southwest Vista (Sections 1-10), North Vista ADA (Sections 26-30), Tower Terrace (Sections 37-47, 75-79) and Paddock (Sections 9-14). Children 15 and under are admitted free with general admission or flex ticket paying adult. Reserved seats range from $59-$134. PUBLIC GATES OPEN (9 a.m.-7 p.m.): Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 3, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 9, Gate 10, Gate 10A, Gate 11A. PARKING: Paid public parking is available in Lot 1A, Lot 2, Lot 3P and Main Gate lots for $20. Gate 1 Lot parking is available for $50. Motorcycle parking is also available at South Carousel Lot for $20. Paid ADA parking is available in Lot 3P, Lot 2, Northwest Gravel Lot, West Museum Lot, Flag Lot and Tower Suites Lot for $20 and Gate 1 Lot for $50. Free parking and ADA parking is available on the North 40 (Lot 7). Infield parking is located inside Turn 3 with pre-purchased parking pass. CASHLESS OPERATIONS: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a cashless facility. Please be prepared to complete your ticket, credentials, parking, concession and merchandise purchases with ease during your event via debit or credit card.Tap-to-pay phone payments will be accepted, as will credit and debit transactions. Cash-to-Card machines, which convert paper money onto a temporary debit card, will be located in Pagoda Plaza and outside Turn 1 by concessions stand 7. These funds can be spent inside the venue, outside the venue, online or anywhere in the world where Mastercard/Visa debit cards are accepted. MUSEUM: The IMS Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission tickets are $25, seniors (55 and over) are $23, and military (former and active) are $18. Tickets can be purchased online at https://imsmuseum.org/tickets/.

From IMS

Friday, May 9

INDIANAPOLIS (Thursday, May 8, 2025) – Information about Sonsio Grand Prix track activity Friday, May 9 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: SCHEDULE (All times local): 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m.: Public gates open 7:55-8:25 a.m.: USF2000 qualifying8:40-9:10 a.m.: USF Pro 2000 qualifying 9:30-10:50 a.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 1 11:05-11:55 a.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone practice 1 12:10-12:50 p.m.: USF2000 race 11:10-2 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 2 2:30-3 p.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying3:20-4:10 p.m.: USF Pro 2000 race 1 4:35-6 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying/Firestone Fast Six 7:06 p.m.: INDY NXT by Firestone race 1 (35 laps/55 minutes) TICKETS: General admission tickets are $20 for Sonsio Grand Prix practice and qualifications. Children 15 and under are admitted free with a paying adult. PUBLIC GATES OPEN (7:30 a.m.-8 p.m.): Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 9, Gate 10, Gate 10A. PARKING: Paid public parking is available in Lot 1A, Lot 2 and Main Gate parking lots for $10 and Gate 1 parking for $20. Paid ADA parking is available in Lot 2 and in Gate 1 parking. Free parking is available in Infield Turn 3 and Lot 7 (North 40). Free motorcycle parking is also available in the South Carousel Lot via Gate 2. CASHLESS OPERATIONS: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a cashless facility. Please be prepared to complete your ticket, credentials, parking, concession and merchandise purchases with ease during your event via debit or credit card.Tap-to-pay phone payments will be accepted, as will credit and debit transactions. Cash-to-Card machines, which convert paper money onto a temporary debit card, will be located in Pagoda Plaza and outside Turn 1 by concessions stand 7. These funds can be spent inside the venue, outside the venue, online or anywhere in the world where Mastercard/Visa debit cards are accepted. MUSEUM: The IMS Museum is open from 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. General admission tickets are $25, Seniors (55 and over) are $23, and military (former and active) are $18. Tickets can be purchased online at https://imsmuseum.org/tickets/

A race that began in 2014 as an experiment to try to draw more fans to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during May has turned into a popular, well attended event.

Now known as The Sonsio Grand Prix, the road course race kicks off the month of May at the Speedway. The speedway counts 20 races on its road course, including the two Harvest Classic races during the pandemic, the season opener in 2020, and the second race which ran during Brickyard weekend.

Team Penske, as expected, has won eight times on the circuit which winds through the infield, although Alex Palou has won the last two years, and is a heavy favorite to win again.

If you’re looking for a different type of race than the processional caution free shows the season has presented so far, I suggest you wait another couple of weeks. In the past two years, there has been one caution each in 2023 and 2024. Last year the caution lasted two laps in the last third of the race. In 2023 the only yellow came on lap 2 and lasted three laps. Coincidentally car 51 was involved both years.

The best races have been when the track was wet. Colton Herta’s win in 2022 on a very rainy day was one of my favorite races anywhere. Simon Pagenaud chased down Scott Dixon to win in 2019 on a damp track where tire strategy played a huge role.

In an attempt to put on a better show, IndyCar has modified the tire requirements for this weekend. Teams must use two sets of the alternate tires and two sets of the primary tires. The requirement to use a sticker set of alternates is not in effect. Teams have five sets of primaries and four sets of reds.

Will it help? Possibly. The race is normally a three-stop event, so the rule is not adding a stop, but it might take away a fuel saving attempt. I’m optimistic but should there be an early caution a tire only stop is possible.

It would be easy to concede the win to Palou, but I think his spell will break Saturday. Christian Lundgaard is coming on strong, and I think he just might be standing on top of the podium at the end of the day.

Other questions to ponder during the two day event-

Will Team Penske get back to their usual selves at a track they have dominated? Can Kyle Kirkwood rebound from his worst showing of the season last Sunday? Does Rinus VeeKay give Dale Coyne Racing another top 10? VeeKay has won on this track.

I will be on site this weekend. look for throughout each day leading up to the race. I can’t wait to get back to IMS and start the month of May.