Winners and Losers: Indy GP

I always think the Indy GP is the appetizer to the full-course meal that is the Month of May in Indianapolis. 

But after the racing we've seen the last few years at the GP, maybe we need to up its status, because the event has become an exciting, standalone race that seems to keep getting better. Especially when it rains!

Back in 2019 I went to college football games at Nebraska and Iowa, and later wrote a story for it for my college paper, the NIU Northern Star. One thing I noticed about both games is that when it got dark the energy in the stadium and the play on the field got ratcheted up a couple of notches.

I'm realizing that's what happens when it rains for the GP. All of the sudden you get all sorts of crazy strategies, cars in the grass, cars spinning on slicks, cars moving up through the field, falling back, then doing it again. It was so chaotic that the race blew away previous records for on-track passes (471) and passes for position (362).

We loved it, it was great, but now, can we not have any rain for two weeks?

After all the chaos had settled, who were the winners and losers from Saturday?

Winners

Colton Herta. After three straight disappointing races -- well, by Herta's standards -- the 21-year-old started 14th but quickly moved to the point and led 50 of the event's 75 laps. May hasn't been the kindest to Herta, but let's see if this win gives him a little more momentum.

Simon Pagenaud. Considering he started 20th on the grid I didn't have a lot of hope of a great finish by Pagenaud, but then I remembered he won in the rain in 2019, so his runner-up finish was no big surprise. It's been a difficult season so far for the Frenchman, but his Meyer Shank Racing team comes to IMS as the defending race winner, so he's got to be feeling pretty good right now.

Will Power. The IMS road course has been Power's playland since the GP went into existence, and that trend continued this past weekend. On Friday he captured the 63rd pole of his career, and Saturday drove a great race to finish third. If I had to pick a championship contender list after just five races, Power would be holding on to the top spot. Two third-place finishes have bookended three fourth-place efforts. Sitting at the top of the points standings, he is definitely looking focused and determined.

Conor Daly. Yeah, my winners list is the top for finishers. Duh, right? But with the exception of Power, the other three drivers definitely redeemed themselves this weekend. After starting fifth, Daly fell to 16th by Lap 14. He brought it back to finish fourth to pick up his best finish since a fifth-place effort at Gateway in 2017. He's still my pick to win the Indianapolis 500, I expect a huge month from him.

Losers

Alex Palou. Palou entered the weekend leading the points standings, but an early spin dropped him to the back of the field, and he couldn't recover, only managing a 20th-place finish. He's got to hope that's the only mulligan he'll need to use this year, but while it could've been worse he is only 14 points behind Power heading into a double-points race.

Pato O'Ward. Pato was in the hunt for a while on Saturday, and even led five laps. But the rest of the race didn't go as well, and he finished behind Palou in 19th. O'Ward looked untouchable in winning at Barber two weeks ago, but his season has also been marked with three finishes of 12th or worse. He should run up front in the 500, so double points could be his friend and get him back into the championship hunt.

Josef Newgarden. Saturday was just miserable for the season's only two-time winner, as early contact put him in a deep hole and he came home 25th. But he does have the advantage of winning the first oval race of the season at Texas, and will definitely be a contender in the 500 in two weeks.

500 Pace Car

Back in the day, it was always interesting to see what kind of car would lead the field to green on Race Day. Since now the only choices seem to be the Corvette or Camaro (both made by Chevrolet of course), there isn't any mystery involved.

This year, it will be the super-sexy Corvette leading the field, and behind the wheel will be IndyCar veteran and former car owner Sarah Fisher.

Editor's note: Years ago I remarked to my son Kevin how I thought Corvettes needed more of a "supercar"-type design. While I of course had nothing to do with their decision, I was incredibly happy when they started doing it.

Anyway, in one capacity or another, Fisher has been involved with IndyCar since the start of the millennium and in her racing career had a pole and two podiums, which is pretty impressive given she never really had the funding necessary for a top ride. Along with Janet Guthrie and Lyn St. James, Fisher helped pave the way for many of the women drivers that have driven in the 500 or the series itself.

But I'm glad they are honoring someone in the IndyCar community as opposed to pro athletes or celebrities. That stuff has run its course, and while many say they bring "eyeballs" to the sport, I'm going to guess no one turned on the TV or bought a ticket because of the person driving the pace car, so I hope that moving forward the honor is given to someone who has made an impact on the sport.

The Club

Did you happen to catch The Club anytime this weekend? I finally checked it out last night and it was very entertaining, yet poignant at the same time given the passing of Al Unser Sr. a few months later. While I wish it would've gone on longer, there were some great stories told, and I love the admiration and respect each driver has with one another.

I'm also going to vent for a sec, but not about the show itself. I'm on the IndyCar/IMS mailing list, and I heard about the screening event that happened during the week. Mentioned in the release was that the event was "by invitation only".

OK, I get that, but this show wasn't made for the drivers, it was made for the fans. So I was thinking...why couldn't they have had a separate showing for the fans? Those events are just all the same people being invited to the same stuff over and over. How does that help IndyCar?

Give away some free tickets to fans and influencers and give them their own showing. Better yet, charge $5 for people to sit in the Paddock Penthouse on Friday night and show it, then give the money to a local charity. I don't know, somehow, someway it would've made a lot of sense to have the fans involved.

Anyway, welcome to the 15 Days of May! Practice begins tomorrow, qualifying is this weekend and the race is just 13 days away. I'm on a work trip this week so I'll only be at the track on Saturday so if you see me, stop me and say hello! 

Photo: This was from the GP held at IMS last August.