Chevrolet aims to finish as strong in Indy 500 as it starts

Chevrolet aims to finish as strong in Indy 500 as it starts

Chevrolet seeks fifth Indianapolis 500 win since 2012 return
Team Penske’s Will Power wants to repeat of 2018 victory
Simon Pagenaud gives Team Chevy sixth pole since ‘12
Team Penske driver looks to complete sweep at IMS
Team Chevy drivers occupy front row, 6 of top 9 spots
Ed Carpenter and Spencer Pigot to start 2nd and 3rd
Helio Castroneves looks to become fourth to win four

DETROIT (May 23, 2019) – Asked which of Team Penske teammate would pose the biggest threat to beat him to the checkered flag in the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 26, pole sitter Simon Pagenaud diplomatically replied, “They all are a threat.”

Pagenaud, driver of the No. 22 Menards Chevrolet, delivered the 18th Indy 500 pole position for team owner Roger Penske in the organization’s 50th anniversary year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He, along with teammates Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden and Will Power, would enjoy nothing more than to give “The Captain” his 18th victory in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

There are more selfish reasons, too, such as Castroneves aiming to join A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser as the only four-time winners of the 200-lap race. Pagenaud would like to match Power, who in 2018 won the race on the IMS road course and completed the May sweep on the 2.5-mile oval.

Newgarden is seeking to add to his NTT IndyCar Series championship points lead by winning his first Indy 500.

Eleven others powered by Chevrolet’s 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V6 engine will have a say in the outcome as well. Ed Carpenter, the 2018 Indy 500 runner-up and three-time pole winner, qualified second and Ed Carpenter Racing teammate Spencer Pigot completed an all-Chevrolet front row for the fifth time since the Bowtie brand returned to NTT IndyCar Series manufacturer competition in 2012. Ed Jones, the fourth Ed Carpenter Racing driver, qualified fourth.

“I’m proud of the effort and the consistency we’ve had,” said Carpenter, an Indianapolis resident who is also seeking his first Indy 500 win. “I’m really maintaining focus on figuring out a way to win this race. That’s the most important thing to me. We’ve got a lot of great experience and we’ve been getting closer and better, and, hopefully, we’ll be able to put it together on Sunday for one of our cars.”

Team Chevy drivers not to be discounted are 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan, who will start 16th in the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet and attempt to give A.J. Foyt his first win as a team owner since 1999; Charlie Kimball and JR Hildebrand on Row 7; veteran Pippa Mann; and young and ambitious Matheus Leist, Ben Hanley, Sage Karam and Kyle Kaiser.
The keys to winning the Indy 500

Pagenaud recorded a four-lap aggregate time of 2 minutes, 36.5271 seconds at an average speed of 229.992 mph in the “Fast Nine Shootout” May 19 to claim Chevrolet’s second in a row and sixth Indy 500 pole since 2012.

That was Round 1. The second round – in the biggest race of his career on a worldwide stage – is considerably more complicated. The keys to winning, the Frenchman said, are simple but difficult to execute throughout to be in the lead or near the front with 30 laps to go.

“I think you build your race as it goes,” he said. “It’s a long race, 500 miles. I think at the beginning you test the water. You try to see how your car behaves in the front of the field, and that’s going to be a luxury, and then it’s very important to also see how the car behaves in traffic. So then if something happens you can find a way to pass people. So that’s really going to be the name of the game. You also have fuel saving during the race, which is a very important thing to do, saving your tires, having clean pit stops.

“Obviously, the last 30 laps is really where you need to position yourself and be ready to attack. That’s going to be what we’re going to try to do.”
Ruzewski, the race strategist for Power, will be watching everything intently: “We had four good cars. He was strong all month, and I think when we had to execute, there was certainly one guy that was going to get on the pole, and that was Simon. All month they’ve been on the ball, and of course, the momentum coming off the road course win, you’ve got to think about that, too. A combined couple of weeks here has been terrific. Now we have to go on and get the big one.”

NBC will telecast the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” live at 11 a.m. ET May 26.

Meet the drivers, check out the new vehicles
Spectators can get an up-close look at new Chevrolet production vehicles, including the 2020 Blazer RS, 2020 Silverado HD LTZ and Tahoe RST, on May 23-26 at the Chevrolet Racing Tour display near Pagoda Plaza. Additionally, the Corvette Grand Sport Pace Car and other vehicles and Chevrolet accessories will be on display.
Fans can also meet Chevrolet drivers at the Chevrolet Racing Tour display on May 24:
1-1:15 p.m. Team Penske (Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power)
1:15-1:30 p.m. Clauson Marshall Racing (Pippa Mann)
1:30-1:45 p.m. Ed Carpenter Racing (Ed Carpenter, Ed Jones, Spencer Pigot)
1:45-2 p.m. AJ Foyt Racing (Tony Kanaan, Matheus Leist)
2:15-2:30 p.m. Carlin (Charlie Kimball, Max Chilton, Patricio O’Ward)
2:30-2:45 p.m. Juncos (Kyle Kaiser)
3-3:15 p.m. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (JR Hildebrand, Sage Karam)
3:15-3:30 p.m. DragonSpeed (Ben Hanley)
From 4-4:30 p.m., the four Team Penske drivers and Carpenter will participate in the Bowtie Brickyard Ice Cream Bar.
In the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, Team Chevy will be well represented by:
AJ FOYT RACING:
Matheus Leist, No. 4 ABC Supply Chevrolet (starting 24th)
Tony Kanaan, No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet (starting 16th)

CARLIN:
Charlie Kimball, No. 23 Fiasp Carlin Chevrolet (starting 20th)
CLAUSON-MARSHALL RACING:
Pippa Mann, No. 39 Drivern2SaveLives Chevrolet (starting 30th)
DREYER & REINBOLD RACING:
Sage Karam, No. 24 DRR WIX Filters Chevrolet (starting 31st)
JR Hildebrand, No. 48 DRR Salesforce Chevrolet (starting 21st)
DRAGONSPEED RACING:
Ben Hanley, No. 81 10 Star Chevrolet (starting 27th)
ED CARPENTER RACING:
Ed Carpenter, No. 20 Preferred Freezer Services Chevrolet (starting 2nd)
Spencer Pigot, No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet (starting 3rd)
Ed Jones, No. 63 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet (starting 4th)

JUNCOS RACING:
Kyle Kaiser, No. 32 Juncos Racing Chevrolet (starting 33rd)

TEAM PENSKE:
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Shell V-Power Nitro Plus Chevrolet (starting 8th)
Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet (starting 12th)
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Chevrolet (starting 6th)
Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Chevrolet (starting 1st)

Indianapolis 500 weekend (all times ET)
· NTT IndyCar Series final practice: 11 a.m., Friday, May 24
· 103rd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge: 11 a.m., Sunday, May 26
· TV/Radio/Other: NBC will telecast the 200-lap/500-mile race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval at 11 a.m. May 26. Green flag is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. NBCSN will telecast a prerace show from 9-11 a.m. and postrace show from 4-5 p.m. NBCSN will also telecast the final practice session and the pit stop competition at 11 a.m. May 24. Practice and the race will also be broadcast on NBCSports.com, INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com, the INDYCAR Mobile app, Sirius 113 and XM 209.

Driver/entrant points top five through five of 17 races (Chevrolet in bold)

1. 182 — Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske
2. 176 – Scott Dixon, No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing
3. 146 – Alexander Rossi, No. 27 Andretti Autosport
4. 138 – Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Team Penske
5. 132 – Takuma Sato, No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Manufacturer points

416 – Honda
368 – Chevrolet
Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Year-By-Year Results

2019 – 2 win, 2 poles in 5 races
Wins – Josef Newgarden (St. Petersburg); Simon Pagenaud (IMS road course). Poles – Will Power (St. Petersburg, Circuit of the Americas)
2018 – 6 wins, 9 poles in 17 races
Wins – Josef Newgarden (Phoenix, Barber, Road America), Will Power (Indianapolis RC, Indianapolis 500, Gateway). Poles – Newgarden (Barber, Texas, Road America, Toronto), Power (Indianapolis RC, Iowa, Pocono, Portland), Ed Carpenter (Indianapolis 500)
2017 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 17 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske)
2016 – 14 wins, 13 poles in 16 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Simon Pagenaud/Roger Penske)
2015 – 10 wins, 16 poles in 16 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Scott Dixon/Chip Ganassi);
Indianapolis 500 win (Juan Pablo Montoya). First manufacturer to capture all titles since Chevrolet returned to INDYCAR in 2012
2014 – 12 wins, 13 poles in 18 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Will Power/Roger Penske)
2013 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 19 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; Indianapolis 500 win (Tony Kanaan)
2012 – 11 wins, 10 poles in 15 races
Engine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Ryan Hunter-Reay/Michael Andretti)
Total – 75 wins, 85 poles in 123 races