2016 Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis Preview
By Dylan Reynolds, The Open Wheel
This weekend INDYCAR kicks off the Month of May with Verizon IndyCar Series and Indy Lights action on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Indy Lights has two races over the weekend before the big race on Saturday as Team Penske’s Will Power tries to defend his last win in the series. The Open Wheel will be live on site covering the race weekend so stay tuned to this site and our Twitter page @openwh33l for all the action.
Photo Courtesy of Bret Kelley/INDYCAR
Weekend Schedule – Entry List – Spotter Guide – Circuit Map – Pit Lane Assignments – Tickets
Indy Lights Preview: Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires (Entry List), Race 1 – Friday May 13, 2016 12:00PM (ET) & Race 2 – Saturday May 14, 2016 4:30PM (ET) – Results from Race 1 & Race 2 last year on the Indy road course were dominated by drivers who have since moved on. However, championship leader Ed Jones was P3 & P4 last year and RC Enerson managed a P2 finish in Race 2. Each figures to be strong once again. Kyle Kaiser didn’t have any luck in Indy last year so I’m intrigued to see how this weekend goes for him. I still want to believe Zach Veach is poised for a dominant weekend soon but he struggled on this course in his last appearance in 2014. My picks to win: Ed Jones and RC Enerson
Verizon IndyCar Series Preview: Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Saturday May 14, 2016 3:30PM (ET) ABC – This is only the third running of this race so previous driver experience is limited in what it can tell us. Simon Pagenaud and Will Power are the previous two winners which looms large for Team Penske’s chances this weekend (though Pagenaud’s win came with SPM). 2015 and 2014 box scores from the GP of Indy show Sebastien Bourdais and Charlie Kimball have Top 5’s each year while they were joined in the Top 10 in both races by Will Power, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, and Takuma Sato. My pick to win: Simon Pagenaud – Simon Pagenaud has won the last two Verizon IndyCar Series races and is on fire at the moment heading to a circuit where he’s had considerable success in the past. He won the inaugural race in ’14 and had a Top 5 run going last year before his car ran into mechanical issues. He’s my favorite every week now until proven otherwise.
My fantasy.indycar.com picks: Simon Pagenaud, Graham Rahal, Sebastien Bourdais, Max Chilton – INDYCAR makes it expensive to pick Pagenaud at the moment at $40 but it’s tough to pass him up at any price. Graham Rahal continues to looking strong and had a podium showing in this event last year so he’s good value at $25. From there it gets tough but I like Sebastien Bourdais at $18 due to back to back Top 5’s on the Indy road course while Max Chilton was strong here last year in Lights and will have one of the best cars on the grid. JR Hildebrand could be one to watch here if he gets added to the list. He had a good run going last year before experiencing mechanical problems.