Sports
Indy 500 Lineup 2020: Starting Grid and Viewing Info for IndyCar’s Top Race
Michael Conroy/Associated PressFor the first time in the 104-year history of the Indianapolis 500, the race will take place on the last Sunday of August instead of the final Sunday in May.And for the first time in 33 years, an Andretti is starting on pole.The coronavirus pandemic forced IndyCar to postpone its marquee event by…
Michael Conroy/Associated Press
For the first time in the 104-year history of the Indianapolis 500, the race will take place on the last Sunday of August instead of the final Sunday in May.
And for the first time in 33 years, an Andretti is starting on pole.
The coronavirus pandemic forced IndyCar to postpone its marquee event by three months, and the race will take place with notably fewer fans present. It's still setting up as one of the most fascinating events on the race schedule, not only because the late summer heat will affect how drivers handle the 2.5-mile track but also with drivers like Marco Andretti, Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato and Scott Dixon in line for a victory.
Andretti, the grandson of 1969 winner Mario Andretti, becomes the first member of his famed family to earn pole position for the Indy 500 since 1987. Mario's 1969 win remains the family's only checkered flag in 60 attempts at the 500.
Marco has his best chance to snap that streak since finishing second in 2006, as he has never before started the 500 higher than third.
Indy 500 Fast Nine
Row 1
1. No. 98, Marco Andretti, Honda, 231.068
2. No. 9, Scott Dixon, Honda, 231.051
3. No. 30, Takuma Sato, Honda, 230.725
Row 2
4. No. 21, Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 230.704
5. No. 28, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 230.648
6. No. 29, James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 229.870
Row 3
7. No. 55, Alex Palou, Honda, 229.676
8. No. 15, Graham Rahal, Honda, 229.380
9. No. 27, Alexander Rossi, Honda, 229.234
All times mph. Full grid available at Indianapolis Motor Speedway website.
Date: Sunday, August 23
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV Info: NBC coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET
Live Stream: NBC Sports app (U.S.)
Four previous Indy 500 winners appear in the top nine, including three of the past six, with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Rossi and Sato each looking to become the 19th driver in history to earn the Borg-Warner Trophy multiple times.
The competition surrounding them might make that pretty difficult.
James Hinchcliffe has his best starting position since 2016 and is always a threat at IMS.
After back-to-back years with a Chevrolet crossing the finish line first, Honda appears to have the inside track to Victory Lane, with eight of the top nine cars in the starting grid. Graham Rahal has three top-10 finishes in the 500 and is starting in the first three rows for the first time since 2010.
Previous champions will also be on the track in Will Power (starting 22nd), Tony Kanaan (starting 23rd), Simon Pagenaud (starting 25th) and Helio Castroneves (starting 28th).
Given those four are driving Chevys and were more than 2 mph off the top line, this race may present an even bigger challenge than normal.
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