There hasn’t been stretch of Oriol Servia’s life quite like this one.

Servia and his wife Jackie had a baby girl in December, and the moment little Ona was born he understood what everyone had told him about fatherhood.

“All of a sudden, there’s one more compartment in your heart you didn’t know existed, and it’s all for her,” Servia said.

He worked throughout the second half of 2017 as Honda’s driver for testing and development of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series universal aero kit. Also in December, Servia opened a Poke restaurant, PoKing Poke in Santa Monica, California, with business partners Louis Lee, Gina Yun and former Indy car driver Jimmy Vasser. In April, he was named pace car driver for several series races this season.

Could anything come close to the fulfillment that Servia, a 43-year-old veteran of 202 Indy car races, has experienced the past year?

“I’m winning the Indy 500, right?” he added with emphasis. “That’s the plan.”

Servia enters Sunday’s 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil with a huge dose of confidence, returning to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in a partnership with sports car power Scuderia Corsa. Driving for RLL in last year’s 500, Servia was pushing for the lead before becoming involved in a restart crash with less than 20 laps remaining.

“The team gave me probably the best car I’ve had in that race,” he said. “I never had a car like I had the last 50 laps. I thought it was between (eventual winner Takuma) Sato, me and (Fernando) Alonso. Then Alonso blows up and it was me and Sato.  And I ended up being in the wall.

“Everyone in that race feels they have a great shot. That’s what makes it so special. But I really do think we have a great shot this year.”

Servia will start Sunday’s race from the middle of Row 9 in the No. 64 Scuderia Corsa/Manitowoc Honda.

With Scuderia Corsa taking its first dip into INDYCAR racing, Servia believes it could lead to a much greater involvement in coming years by an organization that has multiple sports car series championships, plus victories at such storied venues as Le Mans and Sebring.

“They’re helping on the commercial side this year because they have a lot of partners on their team,” Servia said. “They want to know what it takes to be competitive in INDYCAR, what makes the 500 so special. They said, ‘Let’s look at it from the inside. Is it something we want to do in the future full time? Is it something where we can be successful full time?’ 

“Hopefully they see that it’s something they want to do full time next year. It shows that INDYCAR is hot. A top team like that wanting to come in and play at the biggest race of the year just shows it.”

Servia also has higher hopes for the 500 this year because RLL will be a three-car team, with teammates Graham Rahal and defending race winner Sato.

“Hopefully, having three cars at Indy will elevate things even further,” Servia said. “And with

Scuderia Corsa into the mix, I couldn’t be happier to put the two together. I was joking the other day that I keep bringing winners (together) to see if they take me to the winner’s circle.”

Servia knows a one-off program at Indy can be difficult, but he’s done it before. And, don’t forget, he more seat time than many in the current aero configuration.

“Even though it’s the hardest race in the world to win, it’s the one race you can show up and win because you’re there running for 10 days and getting used to everything – the car, the team,” Servia said. “You have time to get your rust out and also the team gets used to you and whatever it takes to win. Of course, I would like to be in a car the full season, but that should not be the reason we’re not winning the 500.”

When Servia’s Indy drive is over Sunday afternoon, whether he’s swigging a bottle of milk himself or simply feeding one to his new daughter, life will remain amazing.

“I couldn’t be happier,” he said. “I have a great daughter who’s super healthy and the mom is healthy.”

And, 20 years since he first stepped into this paddock as an Indy Lights driver, Servia will remain involved as the pace car driver at future Verizon IndyCar Series races, sharing duties with Sarah Fisher.

“I love INDYCAR,” he said. “I’ve seen the highs and the lows, and anything I can do, I want to help. I would love to drive the full season, but this brings me to the track and it's a job that a lot of cool people have done in the past. It’s an honor that they thought of me and an honor that I can represent INDYCAR.”

The 102nd Indianapolis 500 airs live at 11 a.m. ET Sunday on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network.