There have been six different winners – Will Power, Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon, Rinus VeeKay, Colton Herta and Alex Palou – in the last six Sonsio Grand Prix events on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Does this trend continue for Saturday’s 85-lap race or will one the five active drivers to have won since 2018 reach victory lane again? Live coverage starts at 3 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Favorites
Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)
O’Ward has five consecutive Firestone Fast Six qualifying performances on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn IMS road course, including an NTT P1 Award in the 2021 Gallagher Grand Prix. He finished on the podium in both races last year, runner-up in May and third in August. O’Ward is due for a win here and can contribute to the new winner trend Saturday.
Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
Dixon has 13 top-10 finishes in 15 IMS road course starts, including a sixth-place finish last May and a remarkable comeback from an opening-lap spin in August to land in victory lane. His four natural road course victories since 2020 are tied with Scott McLaughlin for second-most in the series.
Alex Palou (No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
The defending race winner dominated The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge on March 24 and has two top-three finishes in his last three Sonsio Grand Prix tries. The only exception was 2022, when he qualified second but finished 18th. Eight of his nine points-paying NTT INDYCAR SERIES victories are on these types of tracks, including four last season.
Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet)
The all-time wins leader (five) and NTT P1 Award record holder (six) on this course has two wins and a pair of third-place finishes in his last six tries. Power finished 12th and sixth, respectively, last season. If that six-spot gain trend continues, he will celebrate his sixth victory at this circuit Saturday evening, erasing a 31-race winless drought. Power has two runner-up finishes in three points-paying races this season.
Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda)
At some point, Rosenqvist must depart the “sleepers” list and maneuver his way toward a “favorite.” That point is now. Rosenqvist won his first career NTT P1 Award here in 2019. The Swede most recently qualified on the front row in two of his last three starts on the IMS road course, including a second-place start and fifth-place finish in this race last May. Meyer Shank Racing has been quick on this circuit, producing starting spots of third, second, sixth, seventh, third and seventh for Jack Harvey when he raced for the team from 2019-21. Rosenqvist, in his first season in that car, qualified second, first and fifth, respectively, this season with two top-five finishes in those races.
Sleepers
Alexander Rossi (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet)
A July 2022 race winner here with Andretti Global, Rossi was third in this race a season ago, his first year competing with Arrow McLaren. He was fifth last summer, giving him three consecutive top-five finishes on this track.
Linus Lundqvist (No. 8 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
Lundqvist has seven NTT INDYCAR SERIES starts, including a sixth-place finish in The Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge exhibition race March 24. Three of those seven starts have been on a free-flowing natural road course like this one. Those are his best finishes among the seven. In his second career INDYCAR SERIES start last August, Lundqvist qualified and finished 12th in the Gallagher Grand Prix at IMS. In the last race on the schedule, at Barber Motorsports Park, the rookie charged from 19th at the start to finish third. In a second trip to IMS’ 2.439-mile road course this weekend, Lundqvist is the definition of a sleeper. In four INDY NXT by Firestone starts on the IMS road course, Lundqvist finished first and fifth, respectively, in 2021 and fifth and first, respectively, in his championship-winning season of 2022.
Graham Rahal (No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Honda)
This has been a strong track for Rahal. He has 13 top-10 finishes in his last 14 tries, including placing 10th and second, respectively, a year ago. Rahal’s NTT P1 Award here last August was his first in over six years. Rahal led a race-high 36 of 85 laps but finished runner-up to Dixon in the closest INDYCAR SERIES finish ever at the IMS road course with a margin of .4779 of a second.
Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Delaware Life Honda)
In 10 IMS road course starts, the last nine occurring with Chip Ganassi Racing, Ericsson’s best finish is fourth in the 2022 Sonsio Grand Prix. He did finish 11th or better in eight of the last nine races.
Christian Lundgaard (No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda)
While Lundgaard won in July on the streets of Toronto, the IMS road course is arguably his best track. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver qualified fourth, eighth, sixth, first and second here with finishes of 12th, ninth, second, fourth and fourth, respectively. RLL swept NTT P1 Pole Awards on this track last season.