IndyCar

Preview: Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis

Will Power grabs the lead at the start in 2015
Will Power grabs the lead at the start in 2015

Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course (clockwise)

Race distance: 82 laps / 200 miles

Entry List: Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis (PDF)

Push-to-pass parameters: 10 activations for 20 seconds each

Firestone tire allotment: Seven sets primary, three sets alternate (Note: An eighth set of primary tires is available to any car which completes five laps on one set of tires during the first 20 minutes of green-flag time during the opening practice session.)

Twitter: @IMS @IndyCar, #GPofIndy, #IndyCar

Event website: www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com

INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com

2015 race winner: Will Power (No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet)

2015 Verizon P1 Award winner: Will Power (No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet),1:09.4886, 126.357 mph

Qualifying lap record: Will Power, 1:09.4886, 126.357 mph, May 2015

ABC race broadcast: Saturday, May 14 (3:30 p.m. ET, live)

Allen Bestwick will be the play-by-play announcer for ABC's broadcast of the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis alongside analysts Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear. Pit reporters are Rick DeBruhl, Dr. Jerry Punch and Jon Beekhuis.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Radio broadcasts: The Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network is led by chief announcer Mark Jaynes, with analyst Davey Hamilton. All Verizon IndyCar Series races are broadcast live on network affiliates, Sirius 212, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app. Qualifying broadcasts are available on Sirius 212, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app. Practice sessions are on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app.

Video Streaming: All practice sessions and qualifying for the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis will be available on the INDYCAR YouTube channel www.youtube.com/indycar and RaceControl.IndyCar.com.

INDYCAR Mobile App: Verizon Wireless puts fans around the world in the driver's seat with its INDYCAR Mobile app. The app has been enhanced with new features to keep fans in the know of the latest race-day action. Exclusive features of the INDYCAR Mobile app for Verizon Wireless customers will stream live through the app and includes enhanced real-time leaderboard and car telemetry; the ability to follow the race in real time with the interactive 3D track; live in-car camera video streaming for select drivers during Verizon IndyCar Series races; live driver and pit crew radio transmissions during races and live Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network audio streaming during all track activities.

At-track schedule (all times local):

Thursday, May 12
11 a.m. -12:15 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #1, streaming on RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)
3-4:15 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #2, streaming on RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)

Friday, May 13
11-11:45 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice #3, streaming on RaceControl.IndyCar.com (live)
3 p.m. – Qualifying for the Verizon P1 Award (three rounds of Verizon IndyCar Series knockout qualifications), streaming on RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)

Saturday, May 14
11:30 a.m.-Noon – Verizon IndyCar Series warm-up, streaming on RaceControl.IndyCar.com (Live)
3:30 p.m. – ABC on air
3:50 p.m. – Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis (82 laps/200 miles), ABC (Live)

Race Notes:
* Simon Pagenaud continued his hot start to 2016, claiming his second win of the season at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 24. Pagenaud, who won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 17, increased his points lead over four-time series champion Scott Dixon to 48 heading into this weekend's race.

* The Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis will be the third Indy car event conducted on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course.

* Pagenaud and Will Power are the only drivers to have won on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Pagenaud won the inaugural race in 2014, Power won the race in 2015.

* Power and Sebastian Saavedra are the only drivers to have won the pole position on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Saavedra claimed the pole in 2014, while Power claimed the pole position in 2015.

* Power is the only driver to win the race from the pole, winning in 2015.

* Sebastien Bourdais and Charlie Kimball have finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the two previous races held on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

* Sixteen drivers have competed in every Indy car race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – Marco Andretti, Bourdais, Helio Castroneves, Dixon, Jack Hawksworth, James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan, Kimball, Juan Pablo Montoya, Carlos Munoz, Josef Newgarden, Pagenaud, Power, Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato. All are entered this year.

* Indy car veteran Alex Tagliani and rookies Matthew Brabham, Max Chilton, Conor Daly, Spencer Pigot and Alexander Rossi will compete in their first Verizon IndyCar Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Brabham, who makes his Verizon IndyCar Series debut, won an Indy Lights race on the track in 2014. Chilton, who leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by five points over Rossi and Daly, had a podium at IMS in Indy Lights in 2015.

* Dixon won at Phoenix earlier this season and is tied for fourth with Al Unser on the all-time Indy car victory list with 39.

* Kanaan seeks to start his 254th consecutive race, which would extend his Indy car-record streak that began in 2001 at Portland. Teammate Dixon has made 195 consecutive starts, which is the third-longest streak in Indy car racing.

* The 2016 season is the second in which aerodynamic bodywork component kits are used. The aero kits, produced by engine manufacturers Chevrolet and Honda for their respective supplied teams, are the latest technical innovation to enhance on-track performance through competitive aerodynamic development. Each manufacturer produces two kits for teams – one for short ovals/road courses/street courses and another for superspeedway ovals – but within each kit, teams have multiple component options available.

* The second season of aero kit competition complements the fifth year of engine manufacturer competition between Chevrolet and Honda with their 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engines. It will be another season testing speed and durability to determine the manufacturer champion.

ANGIE'S LIST GRAND PRIX OF INDIANAPOLIS PRE-EVENT QUOTES:

Montoya and Power on the podium in 2015
Montoya and Power on the podium in 2015

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "The month of May is special in Indy car racing. Every team focuses on it and puts a lot of effort into it. Last year at the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, the Verizon Chevy team did a great job with a podium finish. We had a little bit of a roller coaster ride at Barber, so we need to get that evened out this time. The road course at Indianapolis is smooth and flat, which really lets us be aggressive with the cars. And it's Indy, so I expect everyone to bring their best and really fight hard."

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 hum by Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "It's May! I love May. First, we have the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. We've had a couple of good finishes in the grand prix, but not quite good enough to win. I'm really excited to drive the No. 3 hum Team Penske Chevy. That's a new, innovative product from Verizon and it would be great to get them to Victory Lane. I like when we have new paint schemes. It feels like the car is brand new and adds to the excitement of the event. We've had a decent start to the season, but now it's time to pick it up a little bit and reel off some better results."

JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "It's always great when we get to race at IMS, regardless of the configuration. The Angie's List Grand Prix has been a cool event from the start. The layout is really fun for us drivers and I think we put on a good show for the fans. It hasn't been the best event for me to date, but coming off two strong weekends with top-10 finishes in the No. 5 Arrow Electronics car, hopefully we can buck that trend and get May off to a good start."

JR HILDEBRAND (No. 6 Preferred Freezer Fuzzy Vodka Chevrolet): "I can't wait for the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, not only because it's my first time back in the car this season, but because I really enjoyed the track and event last year. It's a great way to kick off the month. Even though the other guys will be coming in with a little more recent seat time, I expect to be competitive very quickly with a good car from the Ed Carpenter Racing boys."

MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda): "The GP of Indy track is awesome. It's very smooth and nice, like European style. But at the same time, it has some narrow and technical places – the first couple of corners – and it's a track where you can definitely overtake. I'm ready to go so we can get some good points this weekend in the No. 7 car."

MAX CHILTON (No. 8 Gallagher Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): "I'm really excited to run in the Angie's List Grand Prix. Even though the track seems flat, I really enjoyed racing on it last year in Indy Lights. The atmosphere is always good and builds and builds until the 500, which is really cool. I'm hoping we can have a great result in the Gallagher car and build momentum for the 500."

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series champion): "The Angie's List Grand Prix is one of the newer events on the calendar and it's a home race for the teams and a lot of the drivers. I like the idea of getting another race in to start the month of May before the Indianapolis 500. I think having a road course, and then, of course, the oval race really gives race fans a good sampling of a few of the different disciplines we have to tackle as INDYCAR drivers."

TONY KANAAN (No. 10 NTT Group Chevrolet): "It's hard to believe that it's already May, but I couldn't be happier to be back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the month. We've had a strong start to the season with four top-10 finishes in as many starts and one top-five finish, but we're still looking for that first victory of the 2016 season. I love that we begin the month with a road course race at IMS – I think it really starts everything out the right way. I've had some solid results the last two years at the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis with two top-10 finishes, but we'd really like to add a win at the road course for NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Team EUROPA – KVSH Chevrolet): "I like the design of the Indy road circuit. There are a couple of good passing zones, but like all the road and street courses on the schedule, qualifying will be very important. We have finished fourth in the Indy Grand Prix the last two years and last year it was our first top-five finish of the season. Hopefully we can at least do that again this year. The EUROPA – KVSH Racing team has shown good pace, but we haven't achieved the results we wanted so far this season. We just have to keep working and have a good race this weekend for the team and our sponsors."

WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, 2015 Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis winner): "If we can duplicate the results of last year's Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, then I'll be just fine. Seriously, though, the No. 12 Verizon Chevy team was fantastic in the grand prix race last year, and we just want to continue on from that point. The course is so smooth and provides a lot of vision. I like that quite a bit and it lets us get everything out of the cars. The start to the season has been interesting and we've logged some good finishes, but we plan to move it up a notch or two in May. So often it's about momentum and we plan to start some in the grand prix."

TAKUMA SATO (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): "I can't believe it's May already. The very exciting month has arrived. I personally have a special memory of the Indy road course (scored his first F1 podium when he finished third in 2004 United States Grand Prix at IMS) so it's a great feeling to be back behind the wheel there. We had a strong race last year so we should have a good baseline for this year. We have improved the road course performance so I'm very much looking forward to a great weekend."

GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 Steak 'n Shake Honda): "The race last year was interesting. We struggled in qualifying, but due to the first corner mess, I was able to get into sixth place on the start. After that it was work as usual and trying to get by everyone with strategy and some passes. Luckily we were able to do both and it worked out great (second-place finish). The start to last season and this season are seemingly identical. I would have loved better results this year, and frankly feel the team deserves them, but due to my mistakes in Long Beach and bad luck in St. Pete we have found ourselves in a similar position. I think this weekend will be key for a good kickoff to our month of May." (About road and street courses in 2015:) "We have been very solid and I think we are only scratching the surface. We will continue to work hard and see what we can gain. The track is similar to Barber which is why I expect to be good. The main difference is there are no elevation changes and a little bit faster speeds." (About his expectations for the ALGPI:) "To run up front and be very competitive, that's what I expect everywhere now. I love being here and love racing in Indy. I can't wait."

SPENCER PIGOT (No. 16 RLL/Mi-Jack/Manitowoc Honda): "I'm very excited for my second Indy car race. Now that I have an idea of what to expect during an Indy car race weekend, I think I'll be much better prepared. I've been spending a lot of time with the team at the races since St. Pete, picking their brains and learning as much as I can. The IMS road course hasn't been great to me in the past. We've been quick but always seem to get caught up in a Turn 1 incident, so hopefully that trend stops this year. I enjoy the layout of the track. It has some tricky sections that require patience and precision. There are a few good passing places as wel,l which should make for an exciting race."

CONOR DALY (No. 18 Jonathan Byrd's Hospitality Honda): "I'm really excited to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the grand prix. It's my hometown race and I can't wait to get started. I think it might be difficult for us depending on who runs what downforce. It will be very dependent on straight-line speed. I think it will be an exciting race because I know that I want to run trimmed out and race to the front. That said, it will be fun no matter what because it's here in Indy. I'm looking forward to continuing the progress that we've made so far this year. I think about this race as more of an opportunity to win right now than the 500, because there's a lot of guys out there that are experienced at the 500 and that one is on a different level when it comes to winning it. Obviously, you want to win every race, but to win the grand prix I think would be really cool for me, because road course racing is more my style right now and I know we've made a lot of progress on road courses already this year. It would mean a lot."

LUCA FILIPPI (No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda): "I raced at the Indy Grand Prix last season and I liked it very much. They did an amazing job with the layout of the racetrack, it's very enjoyable to drive. It's quite unique because it's so flat. It's a slightly different race from all the others. Last year was a good race for me, not in terms of the result, but in terms of my performance, I was very fast. I know that it is going to be important to work well starting Thursday in practice to find a good balance. It will be interesting to see how the new Honda aero kit does on that circuit. We hope to be very competitive and hopefully we will have a good race and get the results we deserve."

JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 21 Preferred Freezer Chevrolet): "I'm excited for the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, it's a great track. It's fun to have JR (Hildebrand) back on board. We have a great opportunity to work together and build on last year to get the cars up to the podium. It would be great to start the month off strong with JR and the two Preferred Freezer Services cars, then roll right into the 500 with Ed (Carpenter). I'm looking forward to getting going."

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet): "We come into May with a lot of momentum and that's a great position to be in. I'm very excited to get behind the wheel of the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet. They are a great partner and this is our first race with them, so that adds even more to this special month in Indy car racing. The road course at Indy really suits my driving style. In fact, this track probably suits my style the best. It's a track that I've won at in the past having won the inaugural Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis in 2014. As a team, our confidence level is very high, but we're going to continue to work hard and not let the early season success spoil us."

CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 26 hhgregg Honda): "We can finally say that the month of May has started. The GP of Indy is a fun track to drive- it is really fast, so I am looking forward to it. We will have great racing there, in terms of passing. We made some changes from last year. I think the car will be stronger than when we were there last time, so we will see where we are. The month of May starts there. I am concentrated 100 percent on the GP of Indy, hopefully we get a good result in the hhgregg car there and then after that we'll start thinking about the Indy 500. But right now my mind is set on the Indy GP and I am really looking forward to it."

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 27 Snapple Honda): "The Indy GP is always a great start to May. The road course at IMS is fun to drive the Snapple car – and has likely the most passing of anywhere we race. We're looking for a big confidence boost heading into the 500 and running well at the GP would get that done for us."

RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda): "We've all been anticipating kicking off the month of May at Indy starting with the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indy. We've had a second-place finish here a couple years ago, so we'll be working hard to better that in 2016 and roll into Indy 500 preparations with some positive momentum for the DHL team."

ALEX TAGLIANI (No. 35 Alfe Heat Treating Special Honda): "I don't have any experience on the Indy road course. It's been three years since I've driven an Indy car on a road course of any kind. The cars have changed – there is new downforce – and it will be challenging. I don't want to raise expectations because just getting back in the groove and getting to know the car is going to be challenging. When the weekend is over, I'll probably feel like I could've done better and would do better if I had another shot. But I'm thankful for the opportunity and will do my best for the Alfe Heat Treating/Foyt Racing team."

Castroneves battles Hunter-Reay
Castroneves battles Hunter-Reay

JACK HAWKSWORTH (No. 41 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): "The Indy road course is a fun circuit, super smooth and has some big braking zones which opens up many overtaking opportunities and chaos on the start and restarts. It is a very European-style race track. The key to victory will be to qualify well and have a good consistent car over the longer runs."

MATT BRABHAM (No. 61 PIRTEK Team Murray Chevrolet): "These last six months have just gone so quickly and it is hard to believe that I will be making my Indy car debut in the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis this week. To have a full-time Indy dar career is the ultimate goal and this month is the next step in achieving that ambition. I think I am as ready I can be. At the end of the day it is about getting as many laps under my belt as possible and learning as much as possible from the experience and the talent that has been built around me. We want to have speed, but we also want to bank as much knowledge as we can on things like pit stops and communication before we head to the Indy 500."

CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Tresiba Chevrolet): "We have a bit of momentum going into the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis this week, after a top 10 at Barber. The Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team has been solid so far this season, with a fast car and quick stops; we just need to have a few things go our way so the results show our strengths. I think the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course has suited me well in the past. We'll be focused on our qualifying position to kick off the month of May on a positive note."

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 98 Castrol Edge/Curb Honda): "Well, it's finally May and the month-long journey at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway begins now. While there is obviously a lot of talk about the 500, I am just as excited to get to work at the Angie's List GP. We haven't had the easiest start to the year, but we are continuing to take positive steps forward and it is just a matter of time before we see the fruits of our labor."