The 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place on May 27 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 33 drivers going for glory at the holy grail of American auto racing.
This year’s race will feature the return of series veteran Danica Patrick to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in an Indy car for the first time since 2011.
This is Patrick’s last race of her long auto racing career after announcing last fall that she was retiring this year, but not before taking place in this year’s Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500.
Danica spent the first six years of her career competing in open-wheel racing as an IndyCar Series driver, before moving to NASCAR in 2011. After yesterday’s open practice Patrick admitted at her press conference that even if she ended in victory lane she would not reconsider her decision as it would be the perfect way to walk away from the sport.
The Indianapolis 500, one of the oldest motorsports events, takes place at the “Brickyard” in Speedway, Indiana. The race is 500 miles, 200 laps around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and will be official after 101 laps, in case weather stops the race before the scheduled distance.
Takuma Sato managed to pass around Brazilian Helio Castroneves — who was aiming for his fourth Indy 500 win — and rookie Ed Jones with 22 laps left, and he hung on to become the first Japanese winner of the race.
Alexander Rossi, the winner of the 2016 Indy 500, is among the favorites along with Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Simon Pagenaud and 2013 champion and fan favorite Tony Kanaan.
Hollywood actor Chris Hemsworth will serve as honorary starter for the race, waving the green flag and Kelly Clarkson will sing the national anthem. James Cornelison will have the honor of singing “Back Home Again in Indiana” for the second consecutive year.
The race will be televised live on ABC, with the pre-race show starting at 11 a.m. (ET).
