{"id":33609,"date":"2025-05-08T22:41:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T02:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=33609"},"modified":"2025-05-08T22:41:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T02:41:26","slug":"grand-prix-of-indianapolis-race-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/05\/08\/grand-prix-of-indianapolis-race-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Prix of Indianapolis: Schedule, Predictions, And How To Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s been less than a week since <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/05\/04\/alex-palou-wins-the-indycar-grand-prix-of-alabama\/\" target=\"_self\">IndyCar\u2019s last race,<\/a> and we\u2019re getting ready to do it all over again at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. This is the series&#8217; last race before the Indy 500. Prepare for this weekend\u2019s race with all the important details you need to know ahead of the green flag.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Round 5: The Grand Prix of Indianapolis Preview and Predictions\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33613\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33613\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-33613 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Alex-Palou-Sonsio-Grand-Prix-By_-Amber-Pietz_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m103207-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Alex-Palou-Sonsio-Grand-Prix-By_-Amber-Pietz_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m103207-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Alex-Palou-Sonsio-Grand-Prix-By_-Amber-Pietz_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m103207-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Alex-Palou-Sonsio-Grand-Prix-By_-Amber-Pietz_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m103207-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Alex-Palou-Sonsio-Grand-Prix-By_-Amber-Pietz_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m103207-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/05\/Alex-Palou-Sonsio-Grand-Prix-By_-Amber-Pietz_Ref-Image-Without-Watermark_m103207.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33613\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Palou leads the 2024 Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo by Amber Pietz. May 12, 2024)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Grand Prix of Indianapolis, also referred to as the Sonsio Grand Prix due to sponsorship reasons, is the last race on the calendar ahead of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/05\/looking-back-on-indy-500-history\/\" target=\"_self\">Indy 500.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drivers go racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Road Course. This, of course, differentiates from the oval racing we\u2019ll see later this month at IMS for the 500.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The race takes place on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, and both IndyCar and Indy NXT are racing this weekend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/INosNneuWrc?si=ytiqklrNcSh4HGso\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Track: IMS Road Course<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2.439-mile (3.925 km) 14-turn circuit incorporates elements from the streets of Indianapolis and the oval at IMS to make up the road course.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike the oval, which runs counter-clockwise, the road course runs clockwise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The track surface itself is described as smooth but with grip, but some transitions between the oval and road can be slightly bumpy. The track has minimal elevation changes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Race Preview:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.indycar.com\/Schedule\/2025\/Indianapolis\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grand Prix of Indianapolis<\/a> is 85 laps long. Turn 1, right after the front straight, is a heavy braking zone and makes it the prime overtaking spot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turns five to seven challenge the car\u2019s balance and rhythm the most due to being faster sections of the track.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overall, the several heavy braking zones help keep the race alive by providing plenty of overtaking opportunities and late-brakers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some possible race strategies for Saturday include short-pitting to avoid the heavy traffic flow going into the pit lane during the expected pit window. Some teams may try to get by on a two-stop strategy rather than a three-stop strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As always, qualifying will be the most important part going into the race, with the pole sitter having a significant advantage, most drivers will want to hold on to their track position, especially during the pit window.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Drivers to Watch:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Alex Palou\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All eyes will once again be on the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/09\/17\/how-alex-palou-became-2024-indycar-champion\/\" target=\"_self\">defending champ<\/a> during the Indy GP. Fresh off his win at Barber, Palou\u2019s championship campaign has started very strongly this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With two back-to-back wins at the Indy GP, he\u2019s headed into the weekend on the hunt for the three-peat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of right now, Palou has 196 championship points. He\u2019s found success on almost all of the road courses this season, so it would come as a surprise to no one for him to find himself on the top step once again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Christian Lundgaard<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second in the championship, Lundgaard has not shied away from taking risks and finding his way onto the podium at all this year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After securing another podium finish last week, it&#8217;s become very clear that Lundgaard is looking to take home another IndyCar win, this time with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/06\/driver-evolution-how-arrow-mclaren-landed-on-their-teams-newest-addition-for-next-season\/\" target=\"_self\">Arrow McLaren.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lundgaard had the strongest finishes out of all three McLaren drivers the past few races, and it\u2019s only a matter of time before that is converted into a win. He\u2019s a driver to keep an eye on as he\u2019ll be looking to close the gap between him and Palou in the standings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Marcus Armstrong<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last week, it was looking like Armstrong would be the one to take the win or at least grab a spot on the podium.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He led the race for multiple laps and was very strong defensively, but thanks to a few issues during his pit stop, he was unable to finish higher than he did.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Armstrong moved to Meyer Shank Racing for the 2025 season. Barber showcased some of Armstrong&#8217;s best driving of the year so far. If he\u2019s able to pull off a good couple of stints in qualifying, Armstrong is a strong contender for a podium position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/05\/04\/alex-palou-wins-the-indycar-grand-prix-of-alabama\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Alex Palou Takes Home The Win At The IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><b>How to Watch The Grand Prix of Indianapolis<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(All times are according to Eastern Standard Time)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Practice 1<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> begins early on <\/span><b>Friday, May 9, at 9:30 a.m.<\/b> <b>Practice 2 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will be later this same day at <\/span><b>1:00 p.m. Qualifying<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> takes place shortly after at <\/span><b>4:30 p.m.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> On <\/span><b>Saturday, May 10, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the drivers hit the track for <\/span><b>Warm Up <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at <\/span><b>11:30 a.m.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The <\/span><b>race starts <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saturday at <\/span><b>4:30 p.m.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coverage of Practice 1 and 2 will be on FS2. Qualifying and Warm Up are available on FS1. The race itself will be streamed live on Fox.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Stay tuned to Last Word on Motorsports for all the news from the fifth round of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Photo: <\/strong>Penske Entertainment: Joe Skibinski<\/p>\n<p>Recording Date: 5\/12\/2024<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s been less than a week since IndyCar\u2019s last race, and we\u2019re getting ready to do it all over again at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. This is the series&#8217; last race before the Indy 500. Prepare for this weekend\u2019s race with all the important details you need to know ahead of the green flag.\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5230,"featured_media":33612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1663],"tags":[1600,2492,1791,1039,1868,2175],"class_list":["post-33609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indycar","category-ntt-indycar-series","tag-alex-palou","tag-arrow-mclaren","tag-christian-lundgaard","tag-indianapolis-motor-speedway","tag-marcus-armstrong","tag-meyer-shank-racking"],"modified_by":"Hayden Murdock","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5230"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33609"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33615,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33609\/revisions\/33615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}