THE GLORIOUS UNPREDICTABILITY OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. Since I have talked about the undeniable allure that defines the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 over the previous weeks in "The Cathedral of Speed", I thought it fitting to talk about the upcoming race itself. The 100th running of the single greatest motor race in the world is going to come alive this Sunday in a kaleidoscope of passion and unrelenting drama. For some it will mean the lowest of lows, unfortunately. But for one driver in particular it will mean the absolute peak of elation and professional achievement, a culmination of a long-cherished dream.

Part of what makes the Indianapolis 500 so compelling is the drama that will play out on Sunday, because the outcome of the race is as unpredictable as the path of a rogue tornado sweeping across the plains. Sure, it would be easy to say the winner will come from the front row made up of James Hinchcliffe, Josef Newgarden or Ryan Hunter-Reay, but things rarely play out that way at The Speedway. This year the field is deep with "what ifs?" and "why nots?" and there are any number of drivers - as many as 20 of the 33 starters - who at least have a legitimate shot.

And the variables that are in play multiply exponentially from there, starting with the weather on race day, including the air temperature, the track temperature and the humidity, because that can have a real effect on whether it's a slick track or not. And the caliber of the race will be a fundamental determining factor as well. Will it be a "clean" race relatively free of cautions? Or will it be a crash-fest lost in an endless sea of yellow caution flags? If that's the case it will disrupt the flow of the race and only add to the unpredictability.

But the beauty of the Indianapolis 500 is its glorious unpredictability. Sure, the big teams like Team Penske, Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing should be factors at the end, but it could just as easily be one of the smaller independents, like Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, that come to the fore.

Whatever happens will add a new chapter to the history and the legacy of the Indianapolis 500 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
James Hinchcliffe (No. 5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Arrow Electronics Honda Turbo V6) will start the 100th Indy 500 on the pole after a four-lap average speed of 230.760 mph.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Josef Newgarden (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Preferred Freezer Chevrolet Turbo V6) qualified second for Sunday's 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 with a speed of 230.700 mph.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda Turbo V6) qualified third for next Sunday's Indianapolis 500 with a speed of 230.648 mph.

(Photo by Bret Kelley/INDYCAR)
It takes tremendous effort, tenacity and perseverance to qualify on the front row at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It also takes a team of highly dedicated individuals to make it happen. The teams behind Ryan Hunter-Reay, Josef Newgarden and James Hinchcliffe line up for the annual Front-Row photo shoot at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday morning, May 23rd.

 

Editor's Note: Ford has just released "Let's Race" - the third of five chapters in “The Return,” which is a long-form documentary that follows the development of both the street car and race car versions of the Ford GT from the decision to build the cars to the return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Watch chapter one, "The Decision," here and chapter two, "The Cutting Edge," here. (FYI: The Autoextremist makes a cameo appearance in chapter one.) -WG

Editor's Note: Many of you have seen Peter's references over the years to the Hydrogen Electric Racing Federation (HERF), which he launched in 2007. For those of you who weren't following AE at the time, you can read two of HERF's press releases here and here. And for even more details (including a link to Peter's announcement speech), check out the HERF entry on Wikipedia here. -WG

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Photo courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Indianapolis, Indiana, May 26, 1980. Pole-sitter Johnny Rutherford (No. 4 Chaparral Racing Pennzoil Chaparral/Cosworth), Mario Andretti (No. 12 Penske Racing Essex Penske/Cosworth) and Bobby Unser (No. 11 Penske Racing Norton Spirit Penske/Cosworth) make up the front row for that year's Indianapolis 500. Rutherford would dominate the race for his third and final Indy 500 victory, leading 118 of the 200 laps. Tom Sneva (No. 9 Jerry O'Connell Bonjour Action Jeans McLaren/Cosworth) would come in second and Gary Bettenhausen (No. 46 Sherman Armstrong/Armstrong Moulding Wildcat/DGS) finished third. Unser and Andretti would both suffer DNFs. Watch great ABC videos of the race here and here.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

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