The fifth round of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season officially kick-starts the Month of May with today’s GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

SEE: Starting Lineup/Tire Choice

Christian Lundgaard led a revival for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and captured his first-ever NTT P1 Award. The Dane, driving the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda, put down a flying lap of 1 minute, 9.3321 seconds around the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course to become the fourth different pole winner of 2023, while teammates Jack Harvey and Graham Rahal qualified fourth and eighth, respectively. It was the first time RLL has placed all three drivers in the top 10 of the starting grid this season.

Coverage for the 85-lap contest will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock; 2:30 p.m. on the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Arrow McLaren vs Everybody

Arrow McLaren against the world feels like a theme as we advance into the season because no other team, with the lone exception of Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR), can lay claim to the kind of pace the entire driver lineup and team are generating.

In fact, Arrow McLaren and CGR are the only teams to earn spots in the Firestone Fast Six in each of the opening five rounds to start the year. This weekend, Felix Rosenqvist will lead the group and start on the outside of the front row from second in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, ahead of CGR’s Alex Palou in third. Additionally, Pato O’Ward, who will roll off fifth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, is the only driver to start within the top six in every race this season.

A Brotherly Bet

Speaking of Lundgaard, he didn’t mince words about victory being the only expectation after earning pole.

A win Saturday would mean the immediate end to the mustache that has taken up space on Lundgaard’s face for the past several months. Additionally, though, standing on the top step of the podium would also deliver a visit from Lundgaard’s brother for the upcoming round on the Honda Indy Toronto on July 16.

“At this point, I think we'll be pretty disappointed in second tomorrow or just a podium,” Lundgaard said. “I think we're absolutely going for winning the race, and then I guess we'll see what happens.

“Actually, I was on the phone to my brother just before qualifying, and he was supposed to come to Toronto, and then he got cold feet. Then I was on the phone to him, and I said, ‘If I'm on the podium tomorrow, you're definitely coming to Toronto.’ He said, ‘No, not really.’ So I said, ‘OK, if I win tomorrow, you're coming to Toronto.’ So, he's coming to Toronto, but if I'm on the podium, he's coming to visit me later in the year. So, my mustache and my brother will come see me race for once.”

Previous Winners

This event started in 2014, and there have only been four winners, with all of them will be in the field for today’s race.

Simon Pagenaud won the inaugural contest while driving Sam Schmidt Motorsports (now Arrow McLaren) prior to moving over to Team Penske and capturing two additional victories (2016, ’19). The trio of victories by Pagenaud, now driving for Meyer Shank Racing, draws him level with ex-teammate and current Team Penske driver Will Power (2015, ’17, ’18). It must be added, though, that Power has scored an additional two wins (2020, ’21) during both the fall and summer editions on the IMS road course.

Pagenaud starts 19th in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda, while Power’s hunt begins from 12th in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.

Rinus VeeKay earned his maiden – and only, to date – victory in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at this race in 2021. He starts 17th for in the No. 21 Bitnile.com Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing. Colton Herta will start 14th in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda for Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian, the same position he started when he won last year’s rain-affected round at The Brickyard.

Ericsson Leads Warmup

NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship leader Marcus Ericsson led the 30-minute warmup for this race Saturday morning with a top lap of 1:10.3872 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Alexander Rossi was second at 1:10.4153 in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Pole sitter Lundgaard ended up 13th at 1:11.1252.

SEE: Warmup Results