IndyCar GMR Grand Prix GP starting lineup at Indianapolis

Romain Grosjean, who is a “rookie” in the NTT IndyCar Series but also an accomplished Formula One veteran, will lead the field to the green Saturday in the starting lineup of the GMR GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

It’s only the third start for the Dale Coyne Racing Rick Ware Racing driver, who line up alongside two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden for the first rolling start of his pro racing career.

Grosjean is barely six months removed from suffering burns in a fiery crash in Bahrain that ended his F1 career.

STARTING LINEUP: Click here for tire choices for the grid

“Amazing,” Grosjean said Friday after winning the pole position. “When I saw the (first qualifying) group I was in, I was like, ‘Oh, dear, if we can get out of the first group, we’re going to be OK,’ and we did. That last few laps, we were on it. What a day for us.

“I’m happier than I have been in a very long time.”

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Here’s the IndyCar starting lineup Saturday in the GMR GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (Position, car number, driver, manufacturer):

ROW 1

1. (51) Romain Grosjean, Honda
2. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet

ROW 2

3. (60) Jack Harvey, Honda
4. (10) Alex Palou, Honda

ROW 3

5. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet
6. (20) Conor Daly, Chevrolet

ROW 4

7. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet
8. (26) Colton Herta, Honda

ROW 5

9. (18) Ed Jones, Honda
10. (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet

ROW 6

11. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda
12. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet

ROW 7

13. (7) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet
14. (27) Alexander Rossi, Honda

ROW 8

15. (8) Marcus Ericsson, Honda
16. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda

ROW 9

17. (30) Takuma Sato, Honda
18. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet

ROW 10

19. (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda
20. (14) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet

ROW 11

21. (11) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet
22. (29) James Hinchcliffe, Honda

ROW 12

23. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Honda
24. (4) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet

ROW 13

25. (86) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet

Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.

Seattle Supercross numbers — *Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports*

For the fifth time in 10 rounds. Sexton, Webb, and Eli Tomac shared the podium in Detroit. Between them, the trio has taken 23 podiums, leaving only seven for the remainder of the field. Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia have two each with Aaron Plessinger scoring the other.

Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.

Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.

Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.

The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.

In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.

Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.

Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.

Last Five Seattle Winners

450s
2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto

250s
2022: Hunter Lawrence
2019: Dylan Ferrandis
2018: Aaron Plessinger
2017: Aaron Plessinger
2014: Cole Seely

By the Numbers

Detroit
Indianapolis
Daytona
Arlington
Oakland
Tampa
Houston
Anaheim 2
San Diego

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Power Rankings after Detroit
Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan
Results and points after Detroit
Chase Sexton wins in Detroit, penalized seven points

IndyCar GMR Grand Prix starting lineup at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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