Indy 500 2020: The team by team guide

The much-delayed 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place this weekend, with a full grid of 33 drivers each looking to have their faces immortalised on the Borg-Warner Trophy.

Two previous winners in Scott Dixon (2008) and Takuma Sato (2017) will share the front row of the grid with first-time polesitter Marco Andretti, whose domination of Fast Friday, qualifying and the Fast Nine pole shootout suggests this will be his best shot of emulating grandfather Mario's 1969 victory since he was pipped at the post by Sam Hornish Jr in 2006.

With only one Chevrolet runner inside the first four rows, Honda will have supremacy in the early stages, but the four-strong Penske contingent bolstered by three-time winner Helio Castroneves and a McLaren team featuring a returning two-time Formula 1 world champion can't be discounted from the reckoning.

And as teams are still getting to grips with impact of the aeroscreen on the tyres, there could be scope for upsets aplenty. Here's the rundown of the contenders.

Andretti Autosport

Engine: Honda
Qualifying results: 1 Marco Andretti; 5 Ryan Hunter-Reay; 6 James Hinchcliffe; 9 Alexander Rossi; 10 Colton Herta; 17 Zach Veach

The first day of qualifying ended with the team 1-2-3-4, while Colton Herta remained just outside the Fast Nine and Zach Veach was midfield. Come the Sunday shootout, only Andretti looked truly formidable, while James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi had apparently flattered to deceive.

Most observers would have been prepared to bet the latter three would not be toppled by a rookie in Ed Carpenter Racing's Rinus VeeKay, especially one with the supposed disadvantage of running a Chevrolet engine. Yet that's how things transpired.

Interestingly, it was day one practice pacesetter Hinchcliffe who most of those on the team believe has the best all-round car for any conditions on race day, and certainly the 2016 polesitter has looked wonderfully confident in practice.

Still, in the past we've seen Hinchcliffe wobble or become overaggressive when circumstances start working against him, whereas Andretti seems to have the pace to never be more than one or two cars back from the leader, whether the track conditions are hot or merely warm.

And given the bravery of Rossi and Hunter-Reay - and the fact that each knows how to win here already - you'd imagine they would have a strong handle on how to get the job done. But don't ignore Herta, who has driven with great maturity this year.

Chip Ganassi Racing

Engine: Honda
Qualifying results: 2 Scott Dixon; 11 Marcus Ericsson; 14 Felix Rosenqvist

In July, after the #9 Ganassi car scored its second of three consecutive wins, this writer observed to Scott Dixon's new race engineer Michael Cannon that it was surely time for another Indy win for the five-time champion who has 'just' one Brickyard triumph to his name - a dozen years ago.

"Winning the 500 is the plan," said Cannon. "I've promised Scott that his car for Indy will be better than his car for Texas [in which Dixon was in a different league from all his rivals]. That said, Tony Kanaan summed it up well when he said that the track chooses who wins. But what we can do now is come up with a good enough car to run at the front, and then on the day, come up with a good enough strategy to stay there."

Well, the first part is done. The knock-on effect of a hummingbird beating its wings anywhere in Speedway, Indiana could have been the difference between Andretti winning pole and Dixon prevailing and, while Dixon came up 0.017mph short, no one is doubting his race-winning potential. Dixon's car seems able to run anywhere on the track (if we ignore that spin in last Sunday practice) and in any conditions.

His newest team-mate Marcus Ericsson looked smooth, safe and fast in traffic and continues to impress at every oval, while his Swedish compatriot Felix Rosenqvist has been far less timid than the man who shunted in practice at Indianapolis last year.

PLUS: Why Ganassi's newest winner is still on an upward curve

Still, given Dixon's apparent ability to deal with all circumstances and blessed with a great pitbox and a slick pitcrew, it's hard to bet against him to be at the front.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Engine: Honda
Qualifying results: 3 Takuma Sato; 8 Graham Rahal; 12 Spencer Pigot

The team co-owned by Bobby Rahal, David Letterman and Mike Lanigan is a dark horse for Indy 500 glory this year.

Sato has won the event before, and in glorious style, after a mesmerising battle with Castroneves. This year, he will start from third and appears to have a car that is comfortable in all track conditions. And it's also fast, whether following a car or running solo. He is also renowned for being super-aggressive if he spies a half-chance, but now also has a veneer of maturity that will dissuade him from rash errors. His storming drive from one lap down to finish third in last year's 500 was one of the race's highlights.

Then there is Graham Rahal, a man who knows how to race an oval without putting himself or anyone else in peril, which is why he was so outraged by Sebastien Bourdais's clumsy attempts to hold him back in last year's 500. Put him in the right car - one in which he trusts what both ends are doing - and make the right changes at pitstops to keep up with the track, and he'll reward you with a scintillating blend of pace and good judgement that extracts the maximum potential from the machinery.

PLUS: Why 2020 offers a second-generation racer his best Indy 500 shot

Spencer Pigot, in the Citrone/Buhl Autosport entry, gradually recaptured his aggression over his final two years with ECR and sparkled again in his last outing at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He's a brave man around IMS and is also smooth, which will help if tyre life becomes a factor over the course of a stint.

Finally, RLL has the depth of technical expertise to turn mud into chocolate and to make last-minute breakthroughs.

Ed Carpenter Racing

Engine: Chevrolet
Qualifying results: 4 Rinus 'VeeKay' Van Kalmthout; 16 Ed Carpenter; 18 Conor Daly

The team that traditionally holds its rivals' feet to the flames in Indy 500 qualifying has not looked its normal self in reparation for the 104th running of the event, but that is not to say it's been without promise. Crowd favourite (yes, that sounds depressingly ironic this year) Conor Daly was very strong in traffic and on ovals in general - he's worked wonders for Carlin.

PLUS: How a single-car team is turning the tide in IndyCar

In fact, Daly may yet prove to have the strongest Chevrolet-engined car when it comes to dealing with dirty air and attempting to carve forward on race day. And he'll need to, given that he's starting mid-grid.

Team owner Ed Carpenter was really out to lunch early last week, but gradually moved forward and made an impressive improvement in qualifying in far from ideal track temperatures. The three-time Indy polesitter has enough experience to move himself forward on race day, but does he have enough to take the fight to Andretti, Dixon et al? It seems doubtful right now.

Rookie VeeKay has shown some outrageous speed on road and street courses in his time on the Road To Indy, but no one would have described him as an oval meister... until last week.

He put the other Chevrolet runners to shame by landing fourth on the grid and outpacing all but one of the Andretti Autosport cars. Watching him deal with traffic and dirty air, he has an abruptness of movement that can leave you biting your nails but hey, while the car sticks, it's all fun, right? And given where he's starting from, maybe the only cars he'll need to pass will be backmarkers...

Dale Coyne Racing

Engine: Honda
Qualifying results: 7 Alex Palou; 19 Santino Ferrucci; 27 James Davison

Those who expected Dale Coyne's squad to falter with engineer Craig Hampson's departure to Arrow McLaren SP and Cannon joining Ganassi were not paying attention when it was revealed that Olivier Boisson would stay on to race engineer Santino Ferrucci and Eric Cowden would come on board to produce set-ups for Alex Palou. They both have the experience and wisdom to plug in to any project and enhance its outcome.

Cowden has done a wonderful job with Palou, who was such a star of Super Formula in his first year last year and then swiftly adapted to the demands of IndyCar. They already have a podium finish to their credit at Road America, and to some minds reaching the Fast Nine at Indy will be even more impressive, but then perhaps it's time to revisit the cliched theory that the Speedway behaves like an ultra-fast road course.

It's hard to find a flaw with Palou, but dealing with 200 laps of Indy while keeping composure and dealing with its Jekyll and Hyde 'personality' will be as alien a task as he's tried this year.

Ferrucci has calmed himself a lot. He looks less like a man on the brink of an accident and more like a driver who knows that respect is only earned if you push to the edge of adhesion and hope, and don't get carried away in the heat of the moment. He's due a strong finish, and as 2019 Rookie of the Year at IMS, he could pick no better venue to deliver the goods. But he hasn't looked entirely happy with his car yet.

James Davison appeared perplexed by being slower than Palou despite identical set-ups. His hopes were hardly boosted when he missed the Sunday afternoon practice to race in NASCAR's Daytona roval race.

Team Penske

Engine: Chevrolet
Qualifying results: 13 Josef Newgarden; 22 Will Power; 25 Simon Pagenaud; 28 Helio Castroneves

You wouldn't want to be a Penske engineer this week because, even aside from the team's (by Penske standards) disastrous qualifying runs, there are also some real conundrums.

Yet-to-conquer-Indy Josef Newgarden has seemed unhappiest of the quartet with his race set-up, yet starts nearest the front. Castroneves seemed confident and quick in race trim but starts nearest the back. Meanwhile, the two most recent winners of the 500 for The Captain, Will Power and Simon Pagenaud, have said they're very happy with the handling of their cars in race trim - but so many people have said that after poor qualifying runs that they can't all be right, or at least not relative to each other.

Last year's victor Pagenaud seemed to have a pleasingly settled car in dirty air, and could also tow past other cars - yes, even Honda-powered ones. And this should help keep the dream alive that Chevrolet is more or less evenly matched with Honda at 1.3-bar race boost. Power, meanwhile, was consistently among the fastest in terms of average speed over a 30-lap run in practice, and being kind to tyres could be crucial... except some drivers believe the latest track-surface treatment means the extra weight of the aeroscreen is not too detrimental to the rubber.

PLUS: How the aeroscreen will change the Indianapolis 500

On Sunday, there'll be another dilemma, for race strategists. Say all four Penskes are running around the same place they started and there's an early caution, around lap 15. Do all three of the lowly starters get called to the pits in order to go off-strategy, or do you cover more bases and pit one or two of them?

Watching how this works out for The Captain's armada will be fascinating.

Arrow McLaren SP

Engine: Chevrolet
Qualifying results: 15 Patricio O'Ward; 21 Oliver Askew; 26 Fernando Alonso

If Fernando Alonso has inevitably stolen the show over the past few days, it's the squad's full-timers Pato O'Ward and Oliver Askew who have delivered without threatening the wall. It will be disappointing to all that they've done so without threatening the Andretti cars or Dixon, but their wisdom at such a young age has been impressive all year, and that has continued at IMS.

Their performances at Iowa Speedway proved that both drivers have the guts to stick it out with any of the series' established aces, and they both have a strong feel for the car. O'Ward is the one that you'd expect to be making the bold slashes through traffic and kissing the SAFER barrier with his outside rear tyre. He has quick hands and mind.

But Askew, while his talents are less overt, can be very incisive too. And, of course, he has the memory of the Freedom 100 Indy Lights victory last year to boost his confidence around the Speedway.

The pair of them will be learning at the feet of one of the finest talents of 21st century open-wheel racing: Alonso will doubtless be reaping the benefits of listening to two racers who have less overall experience than himself but greater oval mileage.

PLUS: Why Alonso's latest McLaren reunion has cause for optimism

He's made it tough on himself by crashing the best parts of his original car, but it's impossible to imagine him not making strong forward progress at the drop of the green this Sunday. Hopefully he'll enjoy the experience enough (again) that he'll return once his Renault F1 commitments are over.

Meyer Shank Racing

Engine: Honda
Qualifying result: 20 Jack Harvey

Jack Harvey has been one of the revelations of this IndyCar season and that's caught some so-called experts on the hop. Yet the progress of a driver who twice finished runner-up in Indy Lights can be tracked quite logically: as his gig with MSR has evolved into a full-season campaign, so his experience has increased, and his confidence has blossomed on all types of track. He just seems to strike the right blend of wisdom and aggression when deciding what is and isn't possible, be it qualifying or a race.

Twice this season Harvey has started from the front row, outpacing his more highly touted semi-team-mates. (Michael Shank and Jim Meyer have a technical relationship with Andretti Autosport, whereby Harvey and race engineer Andy Listes join the circle
of drivers/engineers around the AA table.)

Still, Indy this year has been painful for Harvey, who will be making his fourth 500 start, and he will roll off 20th. MSR knows a trick or two about strategy, so it would not be a surprise to see Harvey finish in the top 10, but he doesn't appear to be driving a potential race-winning car.

Still, he won the 2015 Freedom 100 in Indy Lights at IMS and he's not afraid to give as good as he gets in wheel-to-wheel combat. Should this squad make a set-up breakthrough, a top-five finish is definitely possible.

AJ Foyt Racing

Engine: Chevrolet
Qualifying results: 23 Tony Kanaan; 24 Dalton Kellett; 29 Charlie Kimball

Kanaan is on an oval-only campaign in 2020, so next week's rounds at World Wide Technology Raceway in Gateway will be his final IndyCar outings, at least on a track other than Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We can't believe the 2013 Indy 500 winner won't be back at the Brickyard, and he doesn't sound like he believes it himself.

That said, he may want to seek a better ride than the one that legendary four-time Indy winner Foyt can supply him in 2020. With Chevrolet at a major deficit in qualifying and hopefully a minimal one in race mode, life has been a struggle for TK over the past few days, for it has accentuated the fact that Foyt's squad is treading water. He's in good company, of course, because he'll roll off ahead of two Penske drivers and a two-time F1 world champion, but whereas you'd expect to see the likes of Pagenaud and Castroneves move forward, Kanaan may be mired all race.

Charlie Kimball, Foyt's full-timer in 2020, is inordinately brave but he'll need to be - as will his strategist - if he is to match his 2015 achievement (in a Ganassi car) of finishing third. Even a top-12 would be a minor miracle.

Dalton Kellett, who shares the #14 with Kanaan and (theoretically) Sebastien Bourdais, may live off the story of how he once outqualifed two Indy winners on his 500 debut, but don't expect his first attempt at the greatest spectacle in racing to produce a strong finish.

Carlin Racing

Engine: Chevrolet
Qualifying result: 30 Max Chilton

Max Chilton doesn't like ovals any more - even though he used to be rather good at them - so for most of the year the #59 car is steered by Daly on ovals. But Chilton loves Indy because the preparation time and the chance to get up to speed and hone the car are so much greater than at Texas, Gateway and the like.

But he's been fighting an uphill battle because he's the only Carlin entry in the field of 33, so he's being guided by instinct alone. Now those instincts of his are pretty good at IMS and he led the 2017 Indy 500 for 50 laps - almost twice as many as any other driver - and eventually finished fourth. But that was with Ganassi, a team with vast experience of making fast cars for the Speedway. Now he's with Carlin and, while he qualified 20th and finished 22nd in 2018, last year he didn't make the show.

So when a problem cropped up last week, he and the team struggled to pinpoint the cause and he qualified only 30th, but come Sunday afternoon on race set-ups, he believes he made a breakthrough: "We only have one more day of practice before the race, so we took full advantage of all the time we had on track and turned as many laps as we could. We have a bit of work to do before the race but the car feels really good in traffic."

With strong pitstops - Carlin is impressive on this point - he can finish in the top half of the field.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Engine: Chevrolet
Qualifying results: 31 Sage Karam; 32 J.R. Hildebrand

A strong team that regularly shows great pace and knocks a few noses out of joint among IndyCar's full-timers, this year Dreyer & Reinbold Racing appears to be behind the eightball. That's perfectly understandable in trying circumstances.

Of course, with the new aeroscreen (ergo, revised weight distribution) and zero track time before practice due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the team has been relying on theories and surmises, and the experience of Sage Karam and JR Hildebrand. Combine all that with questionable Chevy horsepower, and you start to see DRR as punching above its weight by being up to Team Penske pace!

Both drivers know how to make it to the end of this race, and both have scored top-three finishes on ovals in their time, but both can be prone to error - big or small - and that inevitably inhibits their results.

Sure, 2020 is the year where apparently anything weird can happen in any sport at any time but, unless an offbeat strategy suddenly becomes the right route to follow, it's hard to imagine that this is the year when DRR suddenly finds itself able to emulate the fourth place that Oriol Servia delivered at Indy back in 2012.

A top-10 would be impressive, two top-15s would be greater still.

Dragonspeed

Engine: Chevrolet
Qualifying result: 33 Ben Hanley

There was some confusion over the identity of this last-minute project, which wasn't originally a last-minute project but then became one because a group under the name of Top Gun was about to take it over to run the underrated RC Enerson. But then Top Gun pulled out after it was decided that 1) the 500 would be held in front of empty grandstands; and 2) the prize fund was slashed in half due to Penske Entertainment needing to prop up other aspects of the series in these COVID-blighted times.

So the entry has gone back to Elton Julian's squad, which is good for the sake of continuity, and because the team and driver Ben Hanley won new fans with their performance at IMS last year while bigger names hit walls and missed the show.

What we've said about Dreyer & Reinbold applies here - the team wasn't going to set the world alight having had zero oval testing and given the complexities of the aeroscreen, and the team being a one-entry operation. So if DragonSpeed reaches the chequered flag, and ahead of another car, it will have earned it the hard way.

Don't underestimate the crew's ability to draw closer to the ultimate pace.