Courtesy of INDYCAR PR, here’s all you need to know ahead of this weekend’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Verizon IndyCar Series’ fifth round of the 2016 season:
Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis Fast Facts
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.
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 channelwww.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 onRaceControl.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 onRaceControl.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 onRaceControl.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.