100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Presented by PennGrade Motor Oil Fast Facts
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5-mile oval
Race distance: 200 laps / 500 miles
Firestone tire allotment: Thirty six sets for use throughout the month
Twitter: @IMS @IndyCar, #Indy500, #IndyCar
Event website: www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com
INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com
2015 race winner: Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet)
2016 Verizon P1 Award winner: James HInchcliffe (No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda) 2:36.0063, 230.760 mph
NBCSN Carb Day broadcast: Friday, May 27 (11 a.m. ET)
Kevin Lee will anchor NBCSN’s coverage of Indianapolis 500 final practice, the Indy Lights’ Freedom 100 and TAG Heuer Pit Stop Competition. Robin Miller, Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell will serve as analysts with Katie Hargitt, Jon Beekhuis and Marty Snider as pit reporters.
ABC race broadcast: Sunday, May 29 (Noon ET)
Allen Bestwick is the lead announcer for ESPN on ABC broadcasts for the second consecutive year alongside analysts Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever Jr. Rick DeBruhl, Dr. Jerry Punch and Jon Beekhuis are the pit reporters.
Radio broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. All Verizon IndyCar Series races are broadcast live on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network, Sirius 212, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app. Verizon IndyCar Series final practice session is available on IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app.
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):
Friday, May 27
11 a.m. – Indianapolis 500 final practice
1:30 p.m. – TAG Heuer Indianapolis 500 Pit Stop Competition
Sunday, May 29
11:38 a.m. – Driver Introductions
12:14 p.m. – Command to Start Engines
12:21 p.m. – Indianapolis 500 Mile Race (200 laps/500 miles), ABC (Live at 11 a.m.)
Race notes:
* The Indianapolis 500 will be the 100th 500-mile Indy car race conducted on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s oval. Ray Harroun won the inaugural race in 1911. Juan Pablo Montoya won the race in 2015 to become a two-time winner of the race.
* There have been three different winners in five Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2016. Simon Pagenaud has won the last three (Long Beach, Barber and Grand Prix of Indianapolis). Juan Pablo Montoya (Streets of St. Petersburg) and Scott Dixon (Phoenix International Raceway) were the other race winners.
* James Hinchcliffe stopped a streak of pole winners from Team Penske in 2016 by winning the Verizon P1 Award for the Indianapolis 500. Simon Pagenaud (Barber and Grand Prix of Indianapolis), Helio Castroneves (Phoenix and Long Beach) and Will Power (St. Petersburg) earned Verizon P1 Awards through knockout qualifying.
* Six drivers entered have won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Helio Castroneves has won the race three times (2001, 2002 and 2009), while teammate Juan Pablo Montoya has won the race twice (2000 and 2015). Buddy Lazier (1996), Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014) are the other former winners entered.
* Kanaan has finished in the top four in three of the last five Indianapolis 500s, including his win in 2013.
* Montoya has each finished in top five in his three previous Indianapolis 500 starts.
* At least five drivers will compete in their first Verizon IndyCar Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval: Matt Brabham, Max Chilton, Spencer Pigot, Alexander Rossi and Stefan Wilson. Brabham, Chilton, Pigot and Wilson have raced at IMS in Indy Lights.
* Twenty drivers have won the race from the pole – most recently Castroneves in 2009.
* Team Penske has 16 wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, most of any team. Chip Ganassi Racing has won four times. Andretti Autosport has three wins while A.J. Foyt Enterprises has won twice.
* Two drivers have a chance to become the first to win on both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and the famed 2.5-mile oval: Simon Pagenaud and Will Power have road course wins.
*Pippa Mann is the only female driver in the field. It marks the 17th consecutive Indy 500 that a female has qualified for the race.
* 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 255th consecutive race, which would extend his Indy car-record streak that began in 2001 at Portland. Teammate Dixon has made 196 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.
Sources: Mike Kitchel/Verizon IndyCar Series PR