Today’s question: What is the biggest story in this Month of May?

Curt Cavin: What’s clear to me and the IMS Ticket Office is that interest is extremely high for this Indianapolis 500. In 2016, I was surprised that enough of the reserved tickets were purchased in advance to lead IMS officials to announce a sellout, and this year’s race is tracking nearly at that level. Could we see another sellout? I’m not sure, but regardless it’s going to be a heck of a crowd and further proof that this event is a major, major attraction. And if last year’s last-lap finish is an indication, the on-track product will deliver, as well.

Eric Smith: I’m watching Team Penske’s pursuit of a 20th Indianapolis 500 victory. There is a reason Roger Penske’s parking spot in the shadows of the iconic Pagoda is numbered by the amount of times he’s won “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The staff couldn’t change the 18 to 19 fast enough following Josef Newgarden’s win last May – the task was done almost immediately. The weight of No. 20 holds significance, even more so after a turbulent last week. Scott McLaughlin and Will Power made the statement with a 1-2 finish at Barber Motorsports Park following a front-row sweep by the duo a day earlier. The comeback storyline is buried. This is about extending an Indianapolis legacy that no one can rival. Power, the all-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES NTT P1 Pole Award leader with 70 poles, wants his first Indianapolis 500 pole and has already called his shot at doing so. He comes into the Month of May with a second-place start in the last two series races this season, missing the pole by .0039 of a second in Long Beach and .0097 of a second at Barber. Following two runner-up finishes in three points-paying races this season, Power thinks he has as good of a shot as ever to win his second Indianapolis 500 and first “500” pole. Scott McLaughlin is just chasing Indianapolis success during this month. In 47 INDYCAR SERIES starts outside the Month of May, McLaughlin has an average finish of 7.36. In six Month of May starts, three each in the Sonsio Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500, his average finish is 17.83. Becoming the top Team Penske point scorer in 2023 and scoring a win last Sunday, does an Indianapolis 500 triumph usher McLaughlin as the team leader? Then there’s Newgarden, who’s trying to become the first repeat Indianapolis 500 winner since Helio Castroneves in 2001-02. The thing is, did his win overshadow a Team Penske deficit in the speed department? From 2020-22, Team Penske drivers led 19 combined laps with two top-10 finishes. Last year, they qualified 12th, 14th, 17th and finished first, 14th, 23rd with six combined laps led. Is the deficit truly gone? We shall see in a couple weeks. The Indianapolis 500 has been held May 26 seven times, and a Team Penske driver won four of them.

Paul Kelly: There are almost as many interesting storylines during the Month of May at IMS as there are fans in the stands on Race Day. Well, OK, not that many, but fun angles are everywhere. The one I may pay the most attention to is Santino Ferrucci’s legitimate chance of putting AJ Foyt Racing back into Victory Lane at Indy for the first time since 1999 with Kenny Brack. Santucci always is quick in the “500,” with five top-10 finishes in five starts, including a career-best third last year with Foyt, when he also led 11 laps. But Ferrucci also showed true speed last week while leading at Barber, showing that the Foyt alliance with Team Penske for damper technology is starting to bear fruit. There may not be a dry eye in the house if A.J. gets to visit Victory Lane for the sixth time at Indianapolis, this time at the spry age of 89.