Chevrolet Seeks to Score Victory in the 101st Indianapolis 500
· Fifteen Team Chevy drivers enter with high hopes of making history
ᴏ Field of 33 will compete in the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’
· Team Chevy drivers have won past three Verizon IndyCar Series races
ᴏ Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power enter with momentum
· Ed Carpenter will lead Team Chevy drivers to the green flag in 200-lap race
ᴏ Team owner/driver will start from the middle of the front row
· Helio Castroneves chasing record-tying fourth win in Indy 500
DETROIT (May 26, 2017) – Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears’ advice is simple and direct: “If you don’t finish that last lap, you can’t win it, period.”
Fifteen Chevrolet drivers will commit the words to memory before being buckled into their race cars Sunday for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Fending off 32 other starters to reach Victory Circle in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” requires strategy, stamina, a superb Chevrolet chassis/engine, good fortune, and heading Mears’ input.
“It’s always been getting things organized and to gear up for that shootout at the end, to have the car the best it can be for the final few laps,” said Mears, a Team Penske consultant. “And that’s the only lap you need to lead — the last one.”
Helio Castroneves, who will seek to join Mears, A.J. Foyt, and Al Unser in the exclusive club of four-time winners, nods in agreement. Castroneves, making his 333rd career Indy car start, will line up on the inside of Row 7 in the No. 3 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet. It’s not ideal, but over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval he knows anything can happen. Castroneves has earned his Indy 500 wins from the 11th (2001), 13th (2002) and first (2009) starting positions.
“(Ryan) Hunter-Reay started 19th when he won (2014), so we’ll just do the same thing,” said Castroneves, who noted that car No. 3 has won the race a record 11 times. “This race brings so many different things to the table at different times in the event and making adjustments is critical to success.”
Backed by the 2.2-liter V6 Chevrolet engine integrated with the Chevrolet Aero Kit, Team Penske drivers Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, and Josef Newgarden have won the past three Verizon IndyCar Series races. Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, has earned the pole three times, including the 250th in Team Penske history, and Castroneves has started from the pole twice.
Team Penske has won the Indy 500 a record 16 times, and each of its five drivers have the goal of registering No. 17 for team owner Roger Penske. Three young Team Chevy drivers have the same objective for team owner A.J. Foyt, who 40 years ago celebrated his fourth Indy 500 victory.
“It makes you want to win for him a lot more because he’s done everything here. He is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, almost,” said Conor Daly, driver of the No. 4 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet. “And you can tell he totally wants to win. He’s here every day watching, always looking at what we’re doing, looking at how the car might be handling on the TV, or he talks to us about it after every run.”
Winning the historic race also is a personal goal for each of the 33 competitors from around the globe.
“Every time the checkered flag flies, it’s like, when is next year already,” said reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Pagenaud, who will start 23rd in the No. 1 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet. “After one championship, the goal is now, priority No. 1, to win the Indianapolis 500, keeping the championship in mind, obviously. But, yeah, it’s just an incredible event.”
Team owner/driver Ed Carpenter will lead the Team Chevy contingent to the green flag from the middle of the front row in the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet. Ed Carpenter Racing teammate JR Hildebrand, No. 21 Preferred Freezer Chevrolet, and Power also are on the first three rows.
“Hopefully, I can convert the front row to a win,” said Carpenter, a two-time Indy 500 pole sitter in a Chevrolet. “The speeds this year are awesome. Driving cars fast around here is what this place is all about.”
A Chevrolet-powered car has taken the checkered flag first nine times, including twice since the Bowtie brand returned to the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2012. Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 22 Fitzgerald Glider Kits Team Penske Chevrolet, and Buddy Lazier, No. 44 Lazier Racing Chevrolet, are former winners entered.
Team Chevy also will be represented by the youngest (Sage Karam, 22, in the No. 24 DRR Mecum Auctions Chevrolet) and oldest (Lazier, 49) drivers in the field.
The 101st Indianapolis 500 marks the 90th race for Chevrolet since its return to the Verizon IndyCar Series.
Acclaimed actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, star of the hit AMC series “The Walking Dead,” will be the honorary pace car driver in the 2017 Chevrolet Grand Sport Corvette.
The Chevy IndyCar Racing Tour display will be open Friday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday from 7 a.m.-noon in the Flag Lot (near Pagoda Plaza) for fans to see an impressive array of Chevrolet production vehicles, including the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, 2018 Traverse, Silverado 2500 HD High Country, Camaro convertible, Corvette Carbon 65, Cruze hatchback, and Tahoe.
There will also be race simulators for fans to test their skills and a Chevrolet Verizon IndyCar Series show car plus the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 twin turbo direct-injected engine on a stand.