2019 Indianapolis 500: Row-by-row race preview

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis 500 is auto racing’s equal to the Kentucky Derby, the Masters or the Winter Olympics. All of us tune in, even when we have not paid one little bit of consideration to horse racing, golf, determine skating or, sure, IndyCar racing, the opposite 50-something weeks of the 12 months.

Effectively, excellent news, informal Memorial Day weekend race followers. We’re right here for you, taking place the beginning grid with our row-by-row, easy-to-learn preview of the 33-car subject, full of seven former Indy 500 winners and 6 rookies. Be at liberty to memorize so you may impress your family and friends together with your sudden open ebook of open wheel racing information.

How one can watch
When: Sunday, midday ET
TV: NBC

Simon Pagenaud gained his first pole on the Indianapolis 500 for the 103rd operating of the race Sunday. Picture by Khris Hale/Icon Sportswire

Row 1

Simon Pagenaud
No. 22
Hometown: Montmorillon, France
Staff: Staff Penske
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Actually, actually yellow
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: He appears and feels like Jean Girard, Ricky Bobby’s “Talladega Nights” archnemesis. Heck, he even lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with all of the NASCAR drivers. However he is no joke, successful the 2016 IndyCar championship and simply two weeks in the past the Indy Grand Prix through a depraved transfer on the race’s closing lap … and he did it within the rain.

2 Associated

Ed Carpenter
No. 20
Hometown: Indianapolis
Staff: Ed Carpenter Racing
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Royal blue with silver trim
Milk selection if he wins: Complete (he desires buttermilk, the primary milk gulped in Victory Lane by Louis Meyer in 1936, however that is not a selection)
Why it is best to care about him: The beloved hometown hero is a three-time Indy 500 pole winner and final weekend got here inside .003 mph of a fourth. He’s Speedway, Indiana, royalty because the stepson of Tony George, who’s founding father of the Indy Racing League and a grandson of Tony Hulman, the person who saved Indianapolis Motor Speedway from break after World Struggle II.

Spencer Pigot
No. 21
Hometown: Orlando, Florida
Staff: Ed Carpenter Racing
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Black with orange lettering
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: His sponsor, AutoGeek, has a emblem on the aspect of the automotive of mentioned blonde-headed geek, elbow out the window and cruising down the street behind the wheel … and it coincidentally appears precisely like Pigot.

Row 2

Ed Jones
No. 63
Hometown: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Staff: Ed Carpenter Racing
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Purple high half, white backside half
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: Born in Dubai, he is technically British however lives in Miami and has a spot in Indianapolis. So, regardless of the place you are from, he is most likely from there, too.

Colton Herta
No. 88
Hometown: Valencia, California
Staff: Harding Steinbrenner Racing
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: White with inexperienced accents and lettering
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: Herta’s father, Bryan, was a racer and is now a group proprietor. Colton’s group proprietor is George Michael Steinbrenner IV, grandson of the risky late proprietor of the New York Yankees. He additionally makes use of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s trademark slanted No. 88.

Will Energy
No. 12
Hometown: Toowoomba, Australia
Staff: Staff Penske
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Actually, actually black
Milk selection if he wins: No choice (actually, dude?)
Why it is best to care about him: He is the defending Indy 500 champion, ending a protracted streak of exhausting luck to drink the milk one 12 months in the past. Plus, his title is cool.

Row three

Sebastien Bourdais
No. 18
Hometown: Le Mans, France
Staff: Dale Coyne with Vasser-Sullivan
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Assume bumblebee, black decrease half, yellow high half, black-and-yellow checkered nostril
Milk selection if he wins: 2 p.c
Why it is best to care about him: Certain, he is a lifelong racer, winner, and survivor. However most significantly his nickname is “Sea Bass.”

Josef Newgarden
No. 2
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Staff: Staff Penske
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: White with day-glo pink/orange trim
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: As a result of admit it, you thought that with that title, the 2017 IndyCar champion needed to be from some tiny village in Austria. Nope. He is from Music Metropolis and grew up close to Reba’s home.

Alexander Rossi
No. 27
Hometown: Nevada Metropolis, California
Staff: Andretti Autosport
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Royal blue and gold
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: When he shocked the racing world by successful the much-hyped 100th Indy 500 as a rookie, many groused that he wasn’t worthy of the achievement. He has used that criticism as gas, successful 5 extra races and practically successful the 2018 IndyCar title.

Mario Andretti’s grandson, Marco, is trying to win at Indianapolis 50 years after his grandfather did. Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports activities

Row four

Marco Andretti
No. 98
Hometown: Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Staff: Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb-Agajanian
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Stable pink
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: The month of Could has celebrated the 50th anniversary of Mario Andretti’s Indy 500 win. Since 1969, Mario’s two sons, nephew and now grandson Marco have did not deliver a second win to the household reunion. We’re all sick of listening to in regards to the Andretti Curse. It might be nice to see Marco lastly finish it.

Conor Daly
No. 25
Hometown: Noblesville, Indiana
Staff: Andretti Autosport
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: U.S. Air Drive grey and blue with superior shark enamel on the nostril
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: As a result of he was superior on Season 30 of “The Wonderful Race” with teammate Alexander Rossi.

Helio Castroneves
No. three
Hometown: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Staff: Staff Penske
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Yellow. Like, tremendous yellow. They even name it the Yellow Submarine.
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: He has been caught on three Indy 500 wins for a decade. If he will lastly be part of A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and mentor Rick Mears as the one four-time winners, the 44-year previous must hurry up. And, oh yeah, he additionally gained “Dancing with The Stars.”

Row 5

Marcus Ericsson
No. 7
Hometown: Kumla, Sweden
Staff: Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Black with gold pinstripes
Milk selection if he wins: Fats free
Why it is best to care about him: His automotive proprietor, Sam Schmidt, is without doubt one of the most inspirational tales in IndyCar historical past. A quadriplegic since a racing crash in 2000, he has change into a tireless advocate for the paralyzed and even managed to get again behind the wheel of custom-built race automotive.

Takuma Sato
No. 30
Hometown: Tokyo
Staff: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: White high, blended pink and yellow nostril and sidepods
Milk selection if he wins: 2 p.c
Why it is best to care about him: His thrilling Indy 500 win in 2017 set off an epically insane celebration all through Japan. Think about that occuring once more, however now with David Letterman as his automotive proprietor.

James Davison
No. 33
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Staff: Dale Coyne Racing
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Stable black with a pink stripe down the backbone
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: His Indy 500 helmet options the insignia of the Royal Air Drive to pay Memorial Day tribute to his grandfather, Tony Gaze, who gained the Distinguished Flying Cross thrice throughout World Struggle II and went on to change into Australia’s first jet fighter pilot and first F1 driver.

Row 6

Tony Kanaan
No. 14
Hometown: Salvador, Brazil
Staff: A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Purple, white and blue
Milk selection if he wins: 2 p.c
Why it is best to care about him: If IndyCar’s hottest present driver wins his second Indy 500 whereas driving for IndyCar’s all-time hottest driver, A.J. Foyt, partying followers would possibly burn Speedway, Indiana to the bottom.

Graham Rahal
No. 15
Hometown: New Albany, Ohio
Staff: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Darkish blue backbone, white nostril and sides
Milk selection if he wins: 2 p.c
Why it is best to care about him: When drivers had been requested this week whom they’d like see win the race in addition to themselves, the commonest solutions had been the final title legacy children: Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal, son of 1986 winner Bobby.

Scott Dixon
No. 9
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
Staff: Chip Ganassi Racing
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Burnt orange and blue
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: As a result of he is the best IndyCar racer of his technology, maybe of all time, with 43 wins and 5 championships.

Oriol Servia’s helmet options a picture of Invoice Murray from “Stripes.” Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports activities

Row 7

Oriol Servia
No. 77
Hometown: Paris, Spain
Staff: MotorGator Staff Stange Racing w/Arrow
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Racing inexperienced and black
Milk selection if he wins: 2 p.c
Why it is best to care about him: His helmet carries the picture of Invoice Murray’s “I Need You” Uncle Sam level from the film poster for “Stripes.” Why? As a result of he thinks Murray is superior.

Charlie Kimball
No. 23
Hometown: Camarillo, California
Staff: Carlin
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Yellow nostril with a blue stripe up the center and white sidepods
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: He is a Kind 1 diabetic who makes use of his racing to point out fellow diabetics they should not let their situation be an excuse to take a seat on the sidelines.

JR Hildebrand
No. 48
Hometown: Sausalito, California
Staff: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Darkish blue with sky blue highlights
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: He might lastly erase recollections of essentially the most heartbreaking loss in Indy 500 historical past, hitting the wall within the closing nook of the ultimate lap and handing the would-be win over to Dan Wheldon in 2011.

Row eight

Ryan Hunter-Reay
No. 28
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Staff: Andretti Autosport
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Darkish yellow with pink trim
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: In 2012, he gained the Indy 500 and the IndyCar title however has struggled to repeat both since.

Santino Ferrucci
No. 19
Hometown: Woodbury, Connecticut
Staff: Dale Coyne Racing
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Stable white with a black backbone
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: Should you like sports activities dangerous boys, then that is your man. Whereas racing in Europe he was fined for, amongst different issues, texting whereas driving … his race automotive.

Matheus Leist
No. four
Hometown: Novo Hamburgo, Brazil
Staff: A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Purple, white and blue
Milk selection if he wins: 2 p.c
Why it is best to care about him: Leist, 20, likes to agitate teammate Kanaan, 44, and boss Foyt, 84, about their age. He not too long ago requested Kanaan what it was like racing within the inaugural Indy 500 in 1911.

Row 9

Jack Harvey
No. 60
Hometown: Bassingham, England
Staff: Meyer Shank Racing
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Scorching pink with black sidepods
Milk selection if he wins: 2 p.c
Why it is best to care about him: He is an enormous Star Wars fan who likes to sport a T-shirt with a Stormtrooper’s face painted over with the Union Jack within the type of The Who.

Jordan King
No. 42
Hometown: Warwick, England
Staff: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Black decrease half, white high half
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: He is in his third completely different race automotive this month, driving an endurance sport automotive in France, F2 in Spain and now IndyCar in Indiana.

Ben Hanley
No. 81
Hometown: Manchester, England
Staff: DragonSpeed
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Complete Evel Knievel, white with starry blue stripes
Milk selection if he wins: 2 p.c
Why it is best to care about him: Should you like underdogs, DragonSpeed are your dudes. That is their first oval race entry, and when the France-based group left for Indy earlier this month, a lot of the crew was grounded entry as a consequence of visa points. So, they employed a bunch of native mechanics upon arrival to Indy.

Row 10

Zach Veach
No. 26
Hometown: Stockdale, Ohio
Staff: Andretti Autosport
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Black with royal blue and yellow trim
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: In 2011, at age 17, he wrote a ebook “99 Issues Teenagers Want They Knew Earlier than Turning 16.”

Felix Rosenqvist
No. 10
Hometown: Vamamo, Sweden
Staff: Chip Ganassi Racing
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: White with blue backbone and sidepods
Milk selection if he wins: 2 p.c
Why it is best to care about him: He had the IndyCar tweet of 2019 when the collection posted video of a super-frightening close-call near-crash within the St. Petersburg, Florida, season opener, replying, “Needed to pit for brand new underwear.”

Pippa Mann
No. 39
Hometown: Ipswich, England
Staff: Clauson-Marshall Racing
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: A crisscross quilt of blue, inexperienced, silver and orange
Milk selection if she wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about her: She’s the one lady within the 2019 Indy 500, the final remaining feminine from the record-setting days earlier this decade when 4 ladies made the sphere three completely different occasions.

Late sponsors are nonetheless coming in for underdog story Kyle Kaiser. Thomas J. Russo/USA TODAY Sports activities

Row 11

Sage Karam
No. 24
Hometown: Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Staff: Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: Black and darkish yellow
Milk selection if he wins: 2 p.c
Why it is best to care about him: If this steel-jawed blonde appears acquainted, it is since you’ve most likely seen his modeling work for the likes of Categorical for Males and Saks fifth Avenue.

James Hinchcliffe
No. 5
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Staff: Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Engine: Honda
Automotive colour: Stable black
Milk selection if he wins: Complete (additionally needs he might go along with buttermilk like Meyer)
Why it is best to care about him: The perpetual jokester often known as Hinch has spent the final 12 months alongside his expensive buddy Robert Wickens, the 2018 Indy 500 Rookie of the 12 months who has been wheelchair-bound since a crash at Pocono Raceway final August. “I’ve had a lot help,” Wickens mentioned this week. “However Hinch was within the accident with me and now he is within the restoration with me.”

Kyle Kaiser
No. 32
Hometown: Santa Clara, California
Staff: Juncos Racing
Engine: Chevy
Automotive colour: TBD
Milk selection if he wins: Complete
Why it is best to care about him: That is the man who knocked F1 world champ Fernando Alonso and McLaren out of the Indy 500. Why is his paint scheme TBD? As a result of new sponsors, impressed together with his David vs. Goliath story, hold rolling in.