If you are reading this on Friday morning, Susan and I are on our way to the first of three consecutive weekends at IMS for Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The weather forecast for this weekend had been decent all week. Then suddenly, a 90% chance of rain on Friday was snuck in there on Thursday. Of course, since this weekend’s festivities are on the IMS road course – cars still run in light rain, so long as there aren’t a lot of ponds formed on the racing surface.
The biggest effect rain will have will be on the crowd. Unlike the 500, this event is heavily dependent on a good walk-up crowd. Chances are, if fans wake up to a soaking rain on Friday, they may sleep in or (gasp) go to work instead. Fortunately, there is only a 25% chance of rain for Saturday’s Race Day.
When I was at IMS for the Open Test last week, I got into a discussion with a fairly prominent member of the IndyCar media, who happens to live in the Indianapolis area. He threw out a question worthy of debate that asked; has the Sonsio Grand Prix outlived its purpose? He pointed out that even though the event is entering its thirteenth year, few people in Indianapolis know that this event even exists. Of course, the die-hards are well aware of it, but the casual fans around town that only pay attention in May are not even aware that a points-paying race takes place at IMS in early May.
I don’t live there, so I’ll have to take his word for it. I do know that back in the IRL days when the series was running Nashville Superspeedway in the early 2000s, there was nary a mention on local TV and radio. Surprisingly, the oval drew good crowds for the event, so I guess they didn’t see the need to promote it if they were getting good crowds anyway. In the Music City Grand Prix days, Scott Borchetta has made sure the event is heavily promoted locally.
The Sonsio Gand Prix was created for the 2014 season. After the 2009 Indianapolis 500, race officials crammed qualifying into a single weekend, with Pole Day on Saturday and Bump Day in Sunday. Practice and Rookie Orientation would begin on Saturday, then practice would go a solid week, before the Qualifying Weekend, which began the following Saturday. Opening Day had been a big deal in past years, but the excitement level had dwindled.
They had a perfectly good road course that had been built for Formula One in 2000 that was going to waste. Why not utilize that for a separate IndyCar event? Most teams were based in Indianapolis anyway and they were already setting up shop in Gasoline Alley. The Month of May was needing a jump-start, and this provided it. This was a very cost-effective way to add another race to the schedule, with little cost increase to the series or teams. It made sense.
Unfortunately, the event has not provided many memorable moments in the past thirteen years. That first race saw rain jumble up qualifying and put Sebastián Saavedra on the pole. That was also the year that the series was experimenting with standing starts at a few races. Saavedra stalled his car at the start, and the mayhem that followed was predictable. I was sitting in the Tower Terrace and was expecting the unexpected, so I sat with the video on my phone running just in case. I have posted this video many times, but it is unfortunately one of the most enduring images from the Grand Prix.
For the record, I ultimately disagreed with my media friend. I think the Grand Prix does serve a purpose. While it may not be the most scintillating race in the world, it does serve as a nice kickoff for the Month of May. I would love to see Qualifications for the 500 returned to two weekends and let practice on Saturday a week earlier serve as the kickoff, with many activities scheduled to entice fans to come out. Unfortunately, those days are gone and I doubt if they are ever coming back.
My friend also claims that he has heard that Roger Penske would like to lop off two more days of practice, and have practice and qualifying a four-day weekend event. Would they prorate that out of the cost of a bronze badge? Doubtful. When the car has gone unchanged as it has from last year to this year, I can see where two days of practice might suffice. But what would happen in 2028, when everyone has to learn a new car? I don’t think they want to keep adding and subtracting practice days each year, so its probably best to not lop off any more days. I’m more in favor of adding days, but that gets costly too.
It’s probably best to leave things alone. This schedule is working and I do think the Grand Prix definitely serves a purpose. It makes for a fun weekend. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t go every year.
I enjoy this weekend because, unlike the Open Test – many gift shops and concession stands will be fully open. It is a good chance to browse and sample IMS without the crowds of 500 Race Weekend or even Qualifying Weekend. It is a nice and relaxed pace, even though it is only a two-day weekend. If you like watching a lot of track activity with the ladder series, you will be in luck this weekend.
As for this weekend, I don’t expect a whole lot of drama. Alex Palou has won this event three times in a row now. He has also won three out of five IndyCar races this season, including the last one at Long Beach. I see nothing to tell me to expect anything different this weekend.
Will Power has won five times on this track, and Scott Dixon twice. I expect them to do well. Graham Rahal and Romain Grosjean have done well at this track over the years. I expect a strong showing from both this weekend.
We will miss Practice One, as it gets underway on FS2 at 9:00 am EDT. After losing an hour going from Central to Eastern time, we would have to leave Nashville around 3:00 am local tine. I’m a fan, but not that big a fan. We should be on-site for Practice Two which starts at 1:00 pm EDT on FS1. With the race on Saturday, Qualifying will take place at 5:30 pm EDT on FS2, Saturday will feature a morning warm-up at 11:30 am on FS1, and the race coverage will begin Saturday on Big FOX at 4:30 pm EDT.
If our trip up is uneventful, we will stop for lunch at The Workingman’s Friend in Indianapolis as we come into town, which has been out custom for the last four or five years on Grand Prix weekend. Neither of my brothers were overly impressed with the place when we took them a few years ago, but Susan and I both love it. It opened in 1918, and probably served the original smashburger, although they never called it that. Their burgers are delicious and remind me of the burgers I had growing up. The surroundings are very basic and unpretentious, which is probably why it was one of Robin Miller’s favorite diners. If you decide to go, make sure you take cash. They do not accept checks, credit or debit cards, Venmo. PayPal or any other crazy form of payment. Straight cash!
For dinner, we will probably visit our usual spots. Probably Dawson’s on Friday night, and The Coachman near our hotel in Plainfield on Saturday night.
It would be nice if there was some type of chaos to bring points leader Alex Palou closer to the pack, but I don’t see that happening, unless weather greatly affects qualifying on Friday afternoon. If nothing unusual happens, I fully expect to see Alex Palou and the DHL car in Victory Lane Saturday evening. We’ll see.
Please follow us here all weekend. I will post multiple times Friday and Saturday, and Susan will have a post she’s been working on later today. She should also have at least one more post, lending her perspective on the weekend. Please check back later for Susan’s post this afternoon.
George Phillips
