Two-Day Indianapolis 500 Open Test Set For Next Week
May is still a few weeks away but it will feel like it next week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A total of 32 cars and drivers will hit the 2.5-mile oval for two days of testing ahead of the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 29. While the grandstands will not be open to the public, the Turn 2 viewing mounds will be open for public viewing. The test will be run over the course of two days but the agendas will be different for each day.
The action on Wednesday runs from 11 AM ET until 6 PM with three different sessions. Veterans will get the track for the first two hours, before Rookie Orientation Program and Refresher tests run from 1:00-3:00 with all drivers able to test in the final three hours of the day.
Thursday will be open to all drivers for the entirety of the day, but the test will run from 10 AM until 4 PM, weather permitting. Below is the full field of teams and drivers that will be in attendance.
- AJ Foyt Racing: Dalton Kellett, Kyle Kirkwood, JR Hildebrand
- Andretti Autosport: Marco Andretti, Alexander Rossi, Devlin DeFransceco, Romain Grosjean, Colton Herta
- Arrow McLaren SP: Juan Pablo Montoya, Pato O’Ward, Felix Rosenqvist
- Chip Ganassi Racing: Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Kanaan, Alex Palou
- Dale Coyne Racing: David Malukas, Takuma Sato
- Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: Santino Ferrucci, Sage Karam
- Ed Carpenter Racing: Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, Rinus VeeKay
- Juncos Hollinger Racing: Callum Ilott
- Meyer Shank Racing: Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud
- Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing: Graham Rahal, Jack Harvey, Christian Lundgaard
- Team Penske: Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power
The test will be streamed on Peacock Premium for U.S. residents and available on IndyCar Live! internationally. The IndyCar Radio Network is also providing coverage of the test.
Johnson had successful surgery on his fractured hand on Monday, and should be ready to go for this test. The Ganassi driver crashed on Friday during practice at Long Beach and was not able to get his hands off of the wheel. After the team made him a carbon fiber brace to help alleviate the pain, he was able to continue and completed the race without any further issues.
“I’m more focused on Indy, as much as I want to be here, if I had to give this one up to make sure that I’m ready for Barber, the test in two weeks, or the 500, I was willing to forego this,” Johnson said after the race. "It’s holding up and doing well."
There are seven drivers that will participate in the ROP session. Kirkwood, DeFrancesco, Malukas, Ilott, and Lundgaard will have to complete all three phases. Both Grosjean and Johnson completed the first two phases back in October, and will only need to complete the final phase.
Phase 1 requires a driver to complete ten laps at speeds between 205-210 mph. Phase 2 requires a driver to complete 15 more laps at speeds between 210-215 mph. Phase 3 requires a driver to complete 15 laps at speeds over 215 mph. The refresher program will be for the one-off entries for Montoya, Kanaan, Ferrucci, and Karam.
All of the cars in this test will be entered in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing next month, but the series is still awaiting word of who will field the 33rd entry. Tradition runs deep at Indianapolis, and although the situation is complicated, it is expected that a team will eventually step up and field an extra car to complete the 11 rows of three on Memorial Day Weekend.
Expectations are that the 33rd entry will be powered by Chevrolet, and Juncos Hollinger Racing as emerged as the most likely organization to solve this riddle. Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger have been working with representatives from a number of entities, including Cusick Motorsports, DragonSpeed, AFS Racing, Top Gun Racing, and Paretta Autosport. The candidates to pilot the car include Ryan Hunter-Reay, Stefan Wilson, Simona de Silvestro, Spencer Pigot, and RC Enerson.
Opening Day practice for the Indianapolis 500 officially begins on May 17.
