2017 IndyCar Grand Prix

The 2017 IndyCar Grand Prix, officially known as the 2017 IndyCar Grand Prix presented by Sea-Doo for sponsorship reasons, was the fifth round of the 2017 IndyCar Series season. The race took place over 85 laps on the infield road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Will Power, driving for Team Penske, won the race.[1]

United States 2017 IndyCar Grand Prix
Race details
5th round of the 2017 IndyCar Series season
DateMay 13, 2017
Official nameIndyCar Grand Prix
LocationIndianapolis Motor Speedway
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.439 mi / 3.925 km
Distance85 laps
207.315 mi / 333.64 km
Pole position
DriverWill Power (Team Penske)
Time1:07.7044
Fastest lap
DriverJosef Newgarden (Team Penske)
Time1:09.3888 (on lap 68 of 85)
Podium
FirstWill Power (Team Penske)
SecondScott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing)
ThirdRyan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport)

Report

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, May 12. Will Power broke his own track record, setting a time of 1:07.7044 at an average of 129.69 mph (208.44 km/h). It was his 47th career pole, which moved him into fifth place on the all-time list of American open-wheel pole position winners. Alongside him on the front row was his teammate, Hélio Castroneves. Josef Newgarden qualified third, Scott Dixon fourth, and Juan Pablo Montoya, in his first race in an IndyCar since the 2016 season closer, qualified fifth.[2]

Race

The race was held on Saturday, May 13. The field was able to make its way through the first few corners cleanly, with Will Power holding his lead over Hélio Castroneves, while Scott Dixon moved into third. As the field moved through turn 7 for the first time, Marco Andretti made contact with Tony Kanaan, sending Kanaan into a spin and sending Andretti and Ed Jones into the grass. Kanaan was forced to pit with a punctured tire, while Andretti was assessed a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact. However, the race resumed with no caution. The field continued on, though on lap four, Sébastien Bourdais pulled off course in at turn 1, an engine failure forcing him out of the race. Alexander Rossi moved into the top sixth following Bourdais' misfortune. By lap 17, however, both Ryan Hunter-Reay and Spencer Pigot moved around Rossi, while up front, Power still held the lead.

The first round of pit stops came around lap 20. During this sequence, Castroneves, who had stayed on the red alternate tires, was able to move ahead of Power, who had changed on the black primary tires. Dixon remained third after the stops, while Josef Newgarden, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Simon Pagenaud rounded out the top six. Pigot, who had been making a charge toward the front, stalled his car during the stops, dropping him back down the order. Shortly after stops, Pagenaud came under fire from James Hinchcliffe, Rossi, and Max Chilton. Hinchcliffe, however, faded from the battle after both Rossi and Chilton made their way by him on the same lap. Pagenaud, however, maintained his sixth.

The second round of stops came just after lap 40. During this sequence, Power and Castroneves switched positions again, thanks to Power being on the alternate tires again. Besides this, the running order remained largely the same, though Chilton managed to move ahead of Rossi. Further down in the order, Graham Rahal, who had started 20th, managed to break into the top 10 with a considerably good run through the field, eventually bringing him up to sixth place. At the same time, Rossi began to drop back due to being on the primary tires, allowing him to fall into the clutches of Juan Pablo Montoya. At the end of this stint, Scott Dixon began to close in on the leaders; the first time he had been able to do so the entire race.

The final round of stops came at roughly lap 65. Power and Castroneves remained the top two, but Castroneves, now forced onto the primary tires, was now considerably slower on track. During the pit sequence, Newgarden was assessed a drive-through penalty for speeding on the pit-lane, removing him from his fourth place. He was then assessed another drive-through penalty for speeding on the pit-lane while serving the first penalty. With this, Hunter-Reay moved up to fourth and Pagenaud to fifth. Up front, Power began to pull away significantly from his teammate Castroneves, while Dixon rapidly gained on the Brazilian. On lap 69, Dixon was by into second place. Castroneves was then quickly dispatched by both Hunter-Reay and Pagenaud, dropping him all the way to fifth. However, this was not enough to stop Power, who was finally able to convert one of his dominant performances into a win on the 2017 season. For Power, it was his 30th IndyCar win, breaking a three-way time between himself, Castroneves, and Rick Mears for 11th all-time for most American Open-Wheel victories. The win also moved him into the top five in the championship after a disastrous start to the season. Simon Pagenaud maintained the points lead, holding a 10-point advantage over Scott Dixon.[1][3][4]

For the first time in the race's history, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis saw no caution periods.

Results

Key Meaning
R Rookie
W Past winner

Qualifying

Pos No. Name Grp. Round 1 Round 2 Firestone Fast 6
1 12 Australia Will Power W 2 1:08.1894 1:07.9823 1:07.7044
2 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves 2 1:08.2619 1:08.1428 1:08.1169
3 2 United States Josef Newgarden 1 1:08.1223 1:08.1526 1:08.1622
4 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon 2 1:08.3653 1:08.3560 1:08.2454
5 22 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 2 1:08.4167 1:08.0158 1:08.2478
6 18 France Sébastien Bourdais 2 1:08.3497 1:08.3921 1:08.3973
7 1 France Simon Pagenaud W 1 1:08.3435 1:08.4461
8 28 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay 2 1:08.4490 1:08.5735
9 98 United States Alexander Rossi 1 1:08.6134 1:08.5824
10 5 Canada James Hinchcliffe 1 1:08.9403 1:08.8668
11 27 United States Marco Andretti 1 1:08.6686 1:08.9151
12 10 Brazil Tony Kanaan 1 1:08.9358 1:08.9853
13 19 United Arab Emirates Ed Jones R 1 1:09.0025
14 8 United Kingdom Max Chilton 2 1:08.6675
15 4 United States Conor Daly 1 1:09.0557
16 20 United States Spencer Pigot 2 1:08.9484
17 7 Russia Mikhail Aleshin 1 1:09.1777
18 14 Colombia Carlos Muñoz 2 1:08.9937
19 83 United States Charlie Kimball 1 1:09.1796
20 15 United States Graham Rahal 2 1:09.0985
21 21 United States J. R. Hildebrand 1 1:09.6123
22 26 Japan Takuma Sato 2 1:09.3134
OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

Source for individual rounds:[5]

Race

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Laps Status Pit Stops Grid Laps Led Pts.1
1 12 Australia Will Power W Team Penske Chevrolet 85 1:42:57.6108 3 1 61 54
2 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 85 +5.2830 3 4 40
3 28 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 85 +12.0296 3 8 35
4 1 France Simon Pagenaud W Team Penske Chevrolet 85 +17.0668 3 7 32
5 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 85 +20.6072 3 2 24 31
6 15 United States Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 85 +25.1039 3 20 28
7 8 United Kingdom Max Chilton Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 85 +25.7054 3 14 26
8 98 United States Alexander Rossi Andretti Herta Autosport Honda 85 +29.3214 3 9 24
9 20 United States Spencer Pigot Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 85 +36.5878 3 16 22
10 22 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Chevrolet 85 +41.8238 3 5 20
11 2 United States Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 85 +48.3846 5 3 19
12 26 Japan Takuma Sato Andretti Autosport Honda 85 +56.2212 3 22 18
13 5 Canada James Hinchcliffe Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 85 +1:02.6805 3 10 17
14 21 United States J. R. Hildebrand Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 84 +1 Lap 3 21 16
15 14 Colombia Carlos Muñoz A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 84 +1 Lap 3 18 15
16 27 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda 84 +1 Lap 4 11 14
17 4 United States Conor Daly A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 84 +1 Lap 3 15 13
18 7 Russia Mikhail Aleshin Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 84 +1 Lap 4 17 12
19 19 United Arab Emirates Ed Jones R Dale Coyne Racing Honda 84 +1 Lap 4 13 11
20 10 Brazil Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 83 +2 Laps 5 12 10
21 83 United States Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 32 Lost power 2 19 9
22 18 France Sébastien Bourdais Dale Coyne Racing Honda 3 Engine 0 6 8
OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

Notes

All cars ran Dallara chassis with aerokits supplied by their respective engine manufacturer.

This was Sébastien Bourdais last race until the August 26 race at Gateway due to suffering injuries in Indy 500 time trials

1 Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.

Source for time gaps:[6]

Championship standings after the race

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included.

References

  1. Malsher, David (May 13, 2017). "Indy GP: Power masters IMS road course, scores 30th win". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  2. Robinson, Mitch (May 12, 2017). "Power shatters own track record to win IndyCar Grand Prix pole". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  3. Robinson, Mtich (May 13, 2017). "Feeling the Power: Team Penske driver wins IndyCar Grand Prix". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  4. Miller, Robin (May 13, 2017). "Power dominates Indy GP for first win of season". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Archived from the original on May 16, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  5. "Race Report: 2017 IndyCar Grand Prix". theapexracing.co. TheApex.racing LLC. May 9, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  6. "Indycar 2017 Grand Prix of Indianapolis". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
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