Victory lane at World Wide Technology Raceway is typically reserved for the best race car drivers at their craft.
Among the fraternity of NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers to cross the finish line first in the 15 races on track are 19 combined championships and 14 Indianapolis 500 victories. Also, an astounding seven of the top 13 on the career wins list are represented as WWTR winners and four of the remaining six that aren’t listed as winners have never raced on the 1.25-mile track.
So, who joins the star-studded list in today’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline?
SEE: Starting Lineup
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin isn’t on either list yet but will lead the field to green in his No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet after earning NTT P1 Award honors Friday. While the top starting spot is typically a feat that leads to success more times than not, Helio Castroneves in 2003 is the last driver to win at WWTR from the pole.
McLaughlin has finished first (Barber Motorsports Park), sixth (Indianapolis 500) and third (Iowa Speedway 2) from the pole this season and is tied with Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward for best average finish on ovals this season at 3.33.
McLaughlin could run away and hide from the 27-car field. However, trends say fans should tune in on USA Network, Peacock and INDYCAR Radio Network for the duration with five of the last seven races at WWTR, the driver leading the most laps failed to secure victory.
In 2021, Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian driver Colton Herta didn’t lead the most laps, but he did pace the field for 101 of the first 183 laps. A mechanical failure ended his night while leading. Last year, Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden led 98 of the opening 102 laps but crashed late.
Team Penske’s Will Power did lead the most laps in 2022, 128 in total, but finished sixth.
Newgarden, two-time series champion and winner in three of the last four WWTR races, starts third in his No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Power, who won both the Indianapolis 500 and race at WWTR in 2018, joins him on Row 2 in his No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.
The Penske trio are also 3-for-3 on ovals this season with Newgarden winning the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge and McLaughlin and Power splitting Iowa Speedway victories in the 250-lap twin bill.
All three Penske drivers are thinking big picture, too. With championship leader Alex Palou and his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon among four drivers taking fresh engines which resulted in a nine-spot grid penalty, the Penske drivers want to capitalize on the track position with Palou starting 16th and Dixon 19th.
“I just run my race and keep going,” McLaughlin said. “It (bad luck) can happen to any one of us. We’ll just keep focused on what we need to do and slowly find our way back in this championship. I know we can.”
Second-place starter David Malukas can take advantage of the more to lose method the Penske trio may be facing with side-by-side battles and halt the streak.
Malukas led the initial practice session Friday morning and starts on the front row in Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 66 AutoNation/Arctic Wolf Honda. He finished runner-up in 2022 and third last year for Dale Coyne Racing, both years battling aggressively with Penske drivers while vying for spots on the podium.
Dixon, won from 16th last year making two less pit stops than the field said there are still a lot of options in the race to try and climb through.
“Obviously, if we can pull off eliminating a stop, or get some kind of caution,” Dixon said.
Dixon said the pathway like last year may not be as open with the hybrid unit making mileage harder to get over a stint, but playing the risk game is open.
“Sometimes it works out,” he said.
Dixon said what may work out the best is Andretti Global turning its strong test here on Aug. 1 being 1-2-3 on the speed chart into a victory. Kyle Kirkwood led the three Andretti Global drivers with a sixth-place qualifying effort but moved up to fifth with Rosenqvist’s grid penalty.
“I’m glad we did the test just a couple weeks ago in the middle of our break,” Kirkwood said. It’s definitely a help for us this weekend. The past couple of years, especially on short ovals, Andretti cars haven’t been strong, so it’s paid off.
Kirkwood teammate Marcus Ericsson starts eighth while Herta who was on a pole lap in qualifying but spun into the Turn 1 wall will roll off 25th.