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2018 IndyCar Grand Prix preview

By Brittany Frederick

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 11: Indycar driver Will Power (12) of Team Penske reacts as he gets out of his car after winning the pole during qualifications for the IndyCar Grand Prix on May 11, 2018, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in Indianapolis, Indiana.(Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAY 11: Indycar driver Will Power (12) of Team Penske reacts as he gets out of his car after winning the pole during qualifications for the IndyCar Grand Prix on May 11, 2018, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in Indianapolis, Indiana.(Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The IndyCar Grand Prix officially opens the Month of May for the Verizon IndyCar Series. Here’s what to watch for in IndyCar from Indianapolis.

IndyCar racing doesn’t get better than at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is where the 2018 IndyCar season lands Saturday for the 2018 IndyCar Grand Prix. What should fans be watching for in the first part of the Month of May?

Every Verizon IndyCar Series fan knows how May is unlike any other month in the season. And with the IndyCar Grand Prix being the last race before the all-important Indianapolis 500, that’s also adding a little more anticipation. But if you look past the date on the calendar, this is mostly business as usual.

Team Penske returns to the track still at the forefront. After Josef Newgarden won the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama back on April 22, his teammate Will Power captured the pole position for this race on Friday. And all the people you’d expect to be near the top of the starting grid, well, that’s exactly where they are. So will this race wind up being pretty much like the first four events of the 2018 IndyCar season?

Let’s break the race down in our IndyCar Grand Prix preview.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH:

  • Indianapolis Motor Speedway: This is one of the iconic racetracks in the world, and even though Saturday’s race is on the road course, that doesn’t make it any less interesting. The track will add to the excitement for this event (and you can bet that ABC’s TV commentators, who take over from NBCSN for this race, will say something about this being a tune-up for the Indy 500).
  • The downtime: The last Verizon IndyCar Series race was on April 22. That’s an almost three-week break, during which there was still plenty of on-track activity for this race and for the upcoming Indy 500. So will some struggling teams have used the prep time to improve and reach their potential? Will other teams that had momentum going into this race need some time to get up to speed again? It’s always worth noting when there’s an extended break, but this isn’t like everyone went on vacation either.
  • Honda hanging in there: Though a Chevrolet is on the pole, three of the Top 5 qualifiers were Honda entries. The surge in manufacturer parity has been a theme all season. May is the best time for Honda to make a charge at finally stealing the Manufacturers Cup back from Chevy, and that starts Saturday.

THREE DRIVERS TO WATCH:

  • Will Power: Not only did the Team Penske driver win the pole for the IndyCar Grand Prix, but he’s the defending race winner. In addition, he’s won the IndyCar Grand Prix twice in the last three races. And Power is in need of a win—he’s hanging onto the tenth spot in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings by just two points.
  • Robert Wickens: Not to sound like a broken record, but Wickens is back again. He qualified second on Friday, and after coming close to winning two of the first four races, it feels like it’s not if but when the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports rookie is going to get to Victory Lane. We should just play the theme from Jaws every time he shows up until he does.
  • Helio Castroneves: Welcome back, Helio! In preparation for the Indianapolis 500, the former IndyCar star turned Team Penske IMSA driver will be racing in the 2018 IndyCar Grand Prix. He qualified 10th, which is respectable, and how interesting would it be if he came in and stole a victory? Plus, if he finishes high up in the order, those are points that the full-time drivers won’t be able to put toward their championship hopes.

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The 2018 IndyCar Grand Prix is Saturday, May 12 at 3:30 p.m. ET. For full coverage of the 2018 IndyCar season, follow the Motor Sports category at FanSided.