Helio Castroneves could join the Indy 500 immortals on Sunday. Defending champion Alexander Rossi could pull off a rare feat. With so much attention on Fernando Alonso, don’t forget about the other great storylines Sunday.
INDIANAPOLIS — I don’t know if y’all have heard, but Fernando Alonso is racing in the Indy 500 on Sunday. At least I think he’s here. During Thursday’s media day I was told the former Formula One world champ was there, but all I saw was a wall of cameras and tape recorders.
Meanwhile, I interviewed the other 32 drivers in the field with relative ease.
Nate Saunders, my ESPNF1.com colleague, has done an outstanding job following the Alonso circus, jostling for position with his fellow Formula One visitors, nearly all attending their first Indy 500.
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All the centennial celebrations are over at Indy. The 101st Indianapolis 500 will have to send the Greatest Spectacle in Racing into a new era by itself Sunday. It looks up to the task.
We at ESPN thought we would dispel some myths about IndyCar we’ve been hearing since Alonso’s participation in the series was confirmed.
So I will let Saunders continue to take care of that angle.
I’m here for the rest of you. The folks who are looking for something else to keep an eye on during the 101st edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
And in honor of Alonso’s burnt-orange McLaren ride, I’m giving you 29 of them. Actually, no, I’m not doing that. I’ll give you a dozen. I checked with Nate, and he said that 29 turns into 12 if I use the metric system.
1. Helio Castroneves going for four — again: You remember Helio, right? For the eighth consecutive year, he has a chance to reach Indy’s most hallowed ground, to become a four-time winner alongside A. J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. At 42, Castroneves is no longer a fence-climbing youngster, and many believe his window has closed. But earlier this week I watched the 1987 Indy 500 on ESPN Classic. That’s the one where Al Unser was supposed to be over the hill, and was driving for Penske — and he won his fourth 500.
2. Ending the drought: If Castroneves wins, it would be the third-longest stretch of races between 500 victories. Juan Pablo Montoya went 15 years between victories, spending a big chunk of time in F1. Foyt waited a decade between his last two wins. Gordon Johncock waited nine years between his two wins.
3. Old guys rule: On Thursday Tony Kanaan joked with me about being the old guy now after once being the young guy. He and Castroneves have known each other since they were teenagers. Now both are 42. There have been only five 42-year-old winners of the 500 and only five winners 43 or older.
4. Young guys rock: As the Kanaan/Castroneves generation moves toward retirement, this year’s field has a growing number of 20-somethings. But only 10 drivers 26 or younger have won this race, and only three this millennium. Last year Alexander Rossi was just a few weeks shy of his 25th birthday. That ranks seventh youngest all time.
5. Roger Penske extending his record — again: Whether Helio or one of his teammates wins, boss Roger Penske would extend his already ridiculous record for Indy 500 victories by a team owner. It stands at 16, the most recent coming two years ago with Montoya.
6. There’s also a race for second behind Penske: Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing and A. J. Foyt Enterprises own four wins apiece. A victory by any of those three would move the team out of a current tie for third on the all-time owner wins list into a tie for second with Lou Moore, who fielded five winners from 1938 to 1949.
7. Honda could also move up in the rankings: The engine builder has won the race 11 times. A win on Sunday would move it into a tie for second with Miller, one of the bedrocks of pre-World War II IndyCar racing. But none of us may live long enough to see someone break the record held by Offenhauser, which won 27 races from 1935 to 1976.
8. Rookie repeat? I might be violating the No Alonso Rule here, but if he or any of the three first-timers were to end up drinking the milk, it would be the first time rookies have won back-to-back 500s since Frank Lockhart, George Souders and milk originator Louis Meyer won three straight from 1926-28.
9. Speaking of Rossi: He’s the rookie who won last year. If he pulls off the repeat, he’d become just the sixth driver to win back-to-back 500s and only the third since 1954.
10. Scott Dixon’s exclamation point: If Dixon earns his second Indy 500 victory, it would only enlarge the exclamation point at the end of this sentence: Scott Dixon is the greatest driver of his generation! He already owns 39 wins and four championships to go with his 2008 Indy win.
11. Pippa Mann: The only woman in this year’s field is making her sixth Indy 500 start, moving into third among females in this race. Sarah Fisher made nine starts, followed by Lyn St. James and Danica Patrick with seven.
12. The Mother of all Trophies: In Victory Lane, watch the entourage that follows the Borg-Warner Trophy. Their handling of the 71-year old sterling silver award is an art form. Yes, those are special gloves they’re wearing, and yes, there are at least three men on duty. It is nearly 5.5 feet tall, weighs 110 pounds, and is estimated to be worth $3.5 million. So, yeah, you don’t want to be the guy who drops or dents it.
