Inside Line: What Are You Watching This Week at Indy (Other Than Speed)?
Today's question: What are you watching during practice this week for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, other than the speed charts?
Curt Cavin: Doesn't it have to be Josef Newgarden? If the intrigue of the '500' realizing a three-peat isn't enough to draw interest, how about paying close attention to a driver who needs a positive result for the first time in this NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. In the races since finishing third in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding, Newgarden has an average finish of 15.5. That's not what a two-time series champion expects to have in a four-race stretch, and that figure is as good as it is because he battled back from an electronic issue at the start of last weekend's Sonsio Grand Prix to finish 12th. We're 30 percent of the way through the season and Newgarden is a staggering 152 points out of the lead. He almost certainly won't win the title, so winning Indy again will be the only thing that saves his season.
Eric Smith: My eyes are on Rinus VeeKay this week. He's had an excellent start to his first season driving the No. 18 askROI Honda for Dale Coyne Racing. VeeKay is 10th in points, with three top-10 finishes in five races. The reason to watch him is because he's been fast around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, but the car he's driving was the lone entry to not make last year's race. Nolan Siegel crashed in practice and during his final qualifying attempt. VeeKay, meanwhile, has a 3.8 average starting spot in five '500' attempts, with three front row starts in the last four years. He was also third fastest in the October test, his first time driving a DCR-powered entry, trailing only Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden. Can one driver really make that much of a difference here?
Arni Sribhen: Seven drivers are looking to make their first NTT INDYCAR SERIES start of 2025 at the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. And while Kyle Larson will get a lion's share of the attention focused on the non-regular INDYCAR SERIES drivers, I'm curious to see how the other six part-timers adapt to driving their INDYCAR SERIES cars on the IMS oval for the first time with hybrid technology. Granted, Ed Carpenter and Jack Harvey both raced on ovals with the hybrid technology in 2024, but this is the first chance Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Takuma Sato and Ryan Hunter-Reay will get to turn a lot of laps at IMS (even with Tuesday's weather delay.) Will any have speed to challenge for the Fast 12 and/or Fast Six for the NTT P1 Award? Will they focus on race setup runs with an eye on Race Day? Will any have trouble in the week that could put them in jeopardy of missing the show? Only time will tell.
Paul Kelly: I share the same focus as Arni, but my spotlight is tighter. I'm watching one of the part-timers, Helio Castroneves. It seems impossible that a four-time winner of the '500' can be flying under the radar, but I get that sense this week at IMS. There are so many other compelling storylines dueling for attention. We have Josef Newgarden going for an unprecedented third consecutive win in 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.' There's Kyle Larson attempting the 'Double' of racing the '500' and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, probably for the last time in the foreseeable future. There's Alex Palou's quest to continue steamrolling the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field this season by earning his first oval victory and a spot on the Borg-Warner Trophy in one Sunday drive, almost assuring his place among the sport's immortals. But we still have Helio driving ahead to become the first five-time winner of the world's greatest race, and at age 50, he also would become the race's oldest winner. He has a very good chance to pull it off, as Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian is a stronger team than when he won for it in 2021. Plus, Castroneves was sixth on the speed chart Tuesday on the opening day of practice, so the pace is there. It would be no surprise if the drive for five ended up on the Victory Podium on May 25.
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