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Indianapolis 500 2017 preview, forecast and predictions

By Brittany Frederick

May 26, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; IndyCar Series driver Alexander Rossi during Carb Day for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
May 26, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; IndyCar Series driver Alexander Rossi during Carb Day for the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Who will win the 101st Indianapolis 500? Here’s a preview, weather forecast and prediction for this year’s Indy 500 and Round 6 of the IndyCar season.

The Indianapolis 500 is the biggest race of the Verizon IndyCar Series season, and one of the most important in the world. Every driver in IndyCar dreams of winning the Indy 500, and so do several who aren’t in the league. Sunday is the 101st Indianapolis 500, so who will get the 101st trophy?

Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner, is starting from the pole but everyone is on the grid for this year’s race. Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso made headlines earlier this spring when Alonso decided to skip out on the current F1 season in order to try his luck at the Brickyard, bringing McLaren back to Indianapolis. He’ll join several other drivers with Formula 1 experience who’ve migrated to IndyCar, including Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato, and Juan Pablo Montoya.

But Alonso’s star power is just adding to a field that is already the most competitive racing series in the world. If Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves wins the 2017 Indy 500, he’ll have four victories in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and join A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser as the only drivers to capture the Borg-Warner Trophy four times. And that’s only one of the stories that will unfold on Sunday.

WEATHER FORECAST:

Could the Indy 500 turn into racing in the rain? It’s a possibility. Weather.com shows a significant chance of rain for Indianapolis on Sunday, with scattered thunderstorms beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing until 5 p.m. The chance of rain starts at 35 percent but rises to 50 percent starting at 2 p.m. So the longer the Indianapolis 500 goes, the more likely teams will need those Firestone rain tires, and that could make for an interesting finish.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH:

  • Last year’s winner Alexander Rossi: Rossi enters as the defending Indianapolis 500 champion. However, he won that race on fuel strategy—and his strategist is now calling the shots for another team. Working in Rossi’s favor, though, is that he’s since become an even better driver than he was last May. So how will he fare in his second Indy 500?
  • Fernando Alonso: All eyes (and much of the hype) have been on the two-time Formula 1 champion as he attempts his first Indianapolis 500. Alonso is one of the best drivers in the world, but that doesn’t mean he knows Indy. Will he be able to post a result that justifies skipping F1’s Monaco Grand Prix?
  • Dale Coyne Racing: With the injury to Sebastien Bourdais, DCR lost their best opportunity to win this race. Now the team must rely on Pippa Mann and James Davison to bring home at least a decent result to save their Indianapolis 500 hopes. Can either driver deliver or will DCR’s once promising season hit the skids?

PREDICTION:

The Indianapolis 500 is as big as it gets, and it’s always interesting to see what little bit extra every race team brings that it may not have the rest of the Verizon IndyCar Series season. Two of the league’s biggest squads, Team Penske and Andretti Autosport, are fielding extra cars just for the Indy 500 and have a whopping 11 entries between them. (That’s one-third of the 33-car grid.)

But we’re not necessarily sold on strength in numbers. In 2008, when Scott Dixon got the pole at the Indy 500, he went on to win the race and that was nine years ago—Dixon is due. Not only for this victory but for his first win in 2017, and a strong show for new primary sponsor Camping World. With the top speed in qualifying by a large margin (he was the only driver to reach a 232 MPH average), we can see the four-time champion pulling an upset.

The Andretti team is historically fast at the Indianapolis 500, as well, and it’s reasonable to believe that at least one of their six drivers will contend. Don’t assume it will be Fernando Alonso, though. We’re more interested in Ryan Hunter-Reay, himself a past Indy 500 winner who should have had his second Indianapolis 500 victory last year before Townsend Bell crashed into him. If RHR can bring back a car that was even half of what the No. 28 entry was last year—and he did post the top speed among the second group of qualifiers—he’s a man to watch.

Plus, what’s going on with Marco Andretti? He has had his struggles now and in the past, but his qualifying times of recent have gotten better and better, leading to him making the Fast Nine for the Indianapolis 500. He’s on the right team and he appears to be on to something, so it’s time for him to take it to the next level. It would be absolutely perfect for him, his team and his family to see him finish strong in the 2017 Indy 500, and there’s no reason he can’t.

We predict Scott Dixon as the winner of the 101st Indianapolis 500, with Ryan Hunter-Reay in the second spot and Marco Andretti in third.

Next: Complete starting lineup for Indianapolis 500

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