Marcus Ericsson hopes to continue his hot start in 2023 with wins in the Month of May at Indianapolis. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – As the Month of May in Indianapolis gets underway with Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, there are a handful of NTT Indycar Series Drivers that have not fared well to start the 2023 campaign. However, a hot start with this month’s races at Indianapolis could be the kick they need.
Mainly, there are a handful that look to make Indianapolis into their playground for the next three weeks. Who’s Hot and Who’s Not heading in to the most prestigious month of the year?
Who’s Hot?
- Marcus Ericsson – The points leader is one of three drivers to have found himself on the podium twice in the first four races of the season. Starting off the season with a win at St. Petersburg and a third at Long Beach. Ericsson has placed himself in the perfect position to back up last year’s success and hopefully achieve a rare occurrence as a back-to-back winner of the Indianapolis 500.
- Pato O’Ward – Second on our list and the championship standings, O”Ward is one of two drivers to have back-to-back runner up finishes. O’Ward ran second to Ericsson at St Pete and followed Newgarden across the line at Texas Motor Speedway. And for O’Ward, that runner up spot still haunts from a year ago in the Indianapolis 500. He is ready to move up a spot.
- Romain Grosjean – Grosjean is one of two drivers that have back to back runner-up finishes entering this Saturday’s race. He comes to Indianapolis finishing second the last two weeks and would like to bump that up another spot to get that first win in the GMR Grand Prix on Saturday. Currently, Grosjean sits fourth in the standings although he did not fare well in the 2022 running of the Grand Prix. However, he has a pole in 2021 and another runner-up finish bodes well for Grosjean.
Now, to the other end of the spectrum and who wants to forget the first four races of the 2023 season.
Who’s Not?
- Meyer-Shank Racing – Both Meyer-Shank Racing drivers have struggled with not only finishes, but qualifying. Mid-pack starts have put the two MSR Hondas in harm’s way from the start. A crash on Lap 1 in St. Pete put both cars on the truck before they were even warmed up. For Simon Pagenaud and Helio Castroneves, a combined finish of 19th has this team struggling for speed and some luck. A trip to Indy for the team that won the 2021 500 could be just the boost this team needs.
- Conor Daly – A lot like Meyer Shank Racing, Daly wants to take the first four races and launch them into a deep black hole. Mainly, Daly’s finishes in three out of the four races are outside of the top 20 with his best finish thus far being 14th. For Daly, he hopes luck turns around even though he has been running at the end of each race this season. The speed has been something that has been lacking for his Ed Carpenter Racing team. A stop down the block from the hometown shop could be just what Daly needs to jump out of that hole that has been dug to start 2023.
- Rinus VeeKay – With two finishes outside of the top 20 and two finishes of 11th and 16th early in the season, VeeKay must be wondering which car will show up at Indianapolis. Veekay, a teammate to Conor Daly in the fourth Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, is another driver that looks for the short trip down the road to the speedway to give a boost to the rest of the season. Veekay has success on the road course, picking up a win in the 2021 running of the GMR Grand Prix. This could be the spoonful of sugar that helps a rough start go down for the Dutchman.
Now, there are a few honorable mentions that could shake everything up for those hoping to continue success or turn a lackluster season around.
The Wild Cards
- Will Power – Power is an five-time winner on the road course at Indy.
- Scott Dixon – The great one with only with a single win on the road course as well on the oval, Dixon dominated last year’s 500. Leading 95 of the 200 laps, Dixon is a threat to win every weekend. Never count Dixon out of a win at Indy in any instance.
- Alex Palou – He may not have the best stats on the road course. However, in last year’s 106th running of the Indianapolis 500, he led the second most laps and was in contention all day.
The GMR Grand Prix kicks off on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. Every driver in the field wants to stand in that fame lifted Victory Lane at Indianapolis. However, if they chose one, they will want the milk on Memorial Day Sunday after 500 miles.
Can those looking to turn up the wick turn things around in Indy? Time will tell with practice for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 starting on Tuesday.
