By: Spencer Neff
May 10, 2024
On-track activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway kick off this morning for a busy month of May.
For the 11th time, the 85-lap Sonsio Grand Prix on the 2.439-mile road course will preempt the Indianapolis 500.
It is the 16th race on this course for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Before opening practice, here’s a look at the pre-race stories to watch.
Headlines
Following a dominant performance two weeks ago at Barber Motorsports Park, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin looks for his first win of any kind at IMS. Penske has not won at the IMS Road Course since Will Power won the August 2021 race.
For the three-car effort, the fallout from the “push to pass” penalties at St. Petersburg continue for this month. Earlier this week, Team Penske announced the suspensions of Team president Tim Cindric(strategist for Newgarden), managing director Ron Ruzewski (strategist for Will Power) and engineers Luke Mason (Race engineer-Newgarden) and Robbie Atkinson (Data engineer-Power).
In their place will be Jon Bouslog (Newgarden Race Strategist), Raul Prados (Newgarden Race Engineer) David Faustino, (Power Race Strategist-in addition to Team Race Engineer) and Paulo Trentini Filho (Power Data Engineer).
Chip Ganassi Racing will look to continue their hot streak after sweeping the IMS Road Course events in 2023. Two weeks ago, rookie Linus Lundqvist charged from 19th to third and earned his first INDYCAR podium.
Sonsio Grand Prix Fast Facts
Race weekend: Friday, May 10-Saturday, May 11
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course (clockwise)
Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES 85 laps / 207.3 miles
Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximumtime of 20 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: 150 seconds of total time with amaximum time of 15 seconds per activation
Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Five sets primary, four sets alternate to beused during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set ofprimary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires forat least two laps in the race. INDY NXT by Firestone: Four new sets to be used during thedoubleheader weekend. Two carryover sets from the Barber event may be used in practice priorto qualifying.
X: @IMS, @IndyCar, #INDYGP, #INDYCAR
Instagram: @indianapolismotorspeedway, @INDYCAR, #INDYGP, #INDYCAR
Threads: @indianapolismotorspeedway, @INDYCAR, #INDYGP, #INDYCAR
Facebook: @indianapolismotorspeedway, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR
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YouTube: @IMS, @INDYCAR
Event website: http://www.ims.com/
INDYCAR website: http://www.INDYCAR.com
2023 race winners:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
May: Alex Palou (No. 10 The American Legion Honda)
August: Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
INDY NXT by Firestone
May: Matteo Nannini (No. 75 Juncos Hollinger Racing)
August: Hunter McElrea (No. 27 Andretti Autosport)
2023 NTT P1 Award winner (NTT INDYCAR SERIES):
May: Christian Lundgaard (No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda), 1 minute, 9.3321 seconds, 126.643 mph
August: Graham Rahal (No. 15 Code 3 Associates Honda) 1:10.1132, 125.232 mph
2023 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winners:
May: Matteo Nannini (No. 75 Juncos Hollinger Racing) 1:15.3194, 116.576 mph
August: Hunter McElrea (No. 27 Andretti Autosport) 1:15.1216, 116.882 mph
Qualifying records:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
Will Power, 1:07.7044, 129.687 mph, May 12, 2017 (Set in Round 3 of knockout qualifying)
INDY NXT by Firestone
Ed Jones 1:14.6743, 117.583 mph, May 13, 2016
NBC race telecast: Sonsio Grand Prix, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, May 11, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports’ coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongsideanalysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.
Peacock Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying willstream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while the NBC racetelecast of the Sonsio Grand Prix will be simulcast on the streaming service. The INDY NXT byFirestone Grand Prix doubleheader races will be streamed on Peacock, with practice and qualifying being shown on INDYCAR LIVE.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst DaveyHamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Chris Denari are the turn announcers. Ryan Myrehn,
Michael Young and Alex Wolff are the pit reporters. The Sonsio Grand Prix race (3 p.m. ETSaturday), the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix doubleheader (6:05 p.m. ET Friday and 12:55p.m. ET Saturday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 218, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (all times local):
FRIDAY, MAY 10 (All times are local)
9:30-10:45 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (75 minutes), Peacock
11:05-11:55 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE
1:10-2:10 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (45 minutes of green flag – limited guarantee),Peacock
2:30-3 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying, (two groups/12 minutes each), INDYCAR LIVE
4:20 p.m. Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of NTT INDYCAR SERIES knockoutqualifications), Peacock
6:15 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 1 “Drivers, start your engines”
6:20 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 1 (35 laps/55 minutes), Peacock
SATURDAY, MAY 11
11:15-11:45 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup (30 minutes), Peacock
1:05 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 2 “Drivers, start your engines”
1:10 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 2 (35 laps/55 minutes), Peacock
3 p.m. NBC on air
3:39 p.m. Sonsio Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines”
3:45 p.m. Sonsio Grand Prix (85 laps/207.3 miles), NBC (Live)
Header Image By Karl Zemlin; Fast Facts By INDYCAR
IndyCar1909.com 