INDIANAPOLIS — The “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is just 26 days away. Preparations began Tuesday afternoon with the first day of Open Testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
33 IndyCar drivers will compete in the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500, and they couldn’t be more excited to be back in Indianapolis.
Among the drivers was the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner, Marcus Ericsson, and his Andretti Global No. 28 car.
“It’s the best place in the world to drive a race car,” Ericsson said. “To get back here every year and do those first few laps is always super special. It sort of blows your mind those first few laps because you’re like, oh my God, it’s so fast, and then you get used to it, and you get into working on the car. Always special being here.”
Last year’s Indianapolis 500 winner, Alex Palou, has been on a tear in the IndyCar series. Palou has won four IndyCar series championships, all of them since 2021. Palou more than anyone understands the target on his back as he and his team prepare for this May’s Indy 500.
“I cannot wait to make this our home base for the next month, and I’m excited to get started,” Palou said. “…we know what momentum does to us and to every athlete and to us. It was a goal for us to try to get good momentum before the 500. You never know if you’re going to achieve it or not but we’ve been lucky enough to do it again. It doesn’t really mean much, it just means everybody has been doing an excellent job at CGR [Chip Ganassi Racing], but now the real work starts. I’m happy that for everybody working at CGR that they’ve been able to show that what happened last year it’s over. We’re here to try and do it again.”
2023 and 2024 Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden has plenty of great memories at the Indianapolis 500. The two-time winner shared how much he cherishes his time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the first day of Open Tests.
“This track means a lot, I think, to everybody,” Newgarden said. “It’s a very historic race, it’s arguably the most historic motor race across the world. We love it tremendously, we love this place and love Indianapolis, and I always cherish laps around here.”
The Indianapolis 500 is set for Sunday, May 24th.
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