2018 IndyCar Grand Prix

The Month of May officially kicks off for the Verizon IndyCar Series with one of the more unique events on the calendar, if not the most creatively-named.

Since 2014, the series has contested two races each May on the hallowed grounds of Indy, introducing a race on the clockwise road course fifteen days before the Indianapolis 500. So far, only Simon Pagenaud and Will Power have ever won the race, with each driver have won twice. This year, all of the Team Penske cars have qualified within the top 10 once more, and they will certainly be some of the biggest contenders for the victory.

Pagenaud will win again this year if the pattern of winners here continues (his previous Indy GP victories came in '14 and '16), but so far it's Power who has established himself as the driver to beat, having topped the charts in both practice sessions and qualifying, as well. This is Power's 51st career Verizon P1 Award, breaking a tie with fellow Penske racer Hélio Castroneves to move himself into third on the list of pole winners in American open-wheel racing history (behind only Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt). Joining Power in the Firestone Fast Six during qualifying were Robert Wickens, Sébastien Bourdais, James Hinchcliffe, Jordan King, and Josef Newgarden (who is fresh off of yet another win at Barber Motorsports Park).

Speaking of Castroneves, the beloved Brazilian driver is back in the #3 car this weekend for the first time since 2017! After being relocated to The Captain's new IMSA prototype program, Hélio was left out of a full-time ride in IndyCar, but he and the fourth Penske car are both back for the Month of May starting with the GP and concluding with another run at a fourth Indianapolis 500 victory.

Another driver on the grid to note this weekend concerns the Dale Coyne Racing car #19. After injuring his left leg and right ankle during qualifying for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Pietro Fittipaldi will not be able to race for at least the next several weeks. Zachary Claman DeMelo will be replacing Fittipaldi as the driver for tomorrow's event, but with opening practice for The 500 just days away, it is still unknown as to who will be racing the car on Memorial Day weekend (or at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks later, where Fittipaldi was also scheduled to compete).

Full qualifying results can be found here:
http://www.imscdn.com/indycar_media/documents/2018-05-11/indycar-results-quals-official.pdf

And so the most anticipated month of the year for auto racing fans begins! This race has proved to be rather interesting during the past four years, and hopefully we will be treated to more of the same this weekend. Coverage of the race begins Saturday at 3:30 P.M. EST on ABC.