Indy GP Preview: This is Will Power's house. Can he defend it?

Saturday's GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis will mark 10 years since the IndyCar Series decided to break tradition and start running IndyCars backwards on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to start the Month of May.

It started with a bang, and even hit some rough patches with criticism over boring racing, but now I can safely say the Indy GP is a welcome start to Indiana's most treasured month (it just is, sorry March Madness). The treacherous turn one alone is worth the price of admission, or a $5 Peacock subscription.

The undisputed king of this race is Will Power. Including 2020's extra events and the newer July IMS road course race, Power has won five races and six poles on the road course. Power is the only driver with multiple poles and wins on the IMS road course, and even won the pole for this event last year. Power just has a knack for getting things done when the cars are going clockwise at Indianapolis.

Last year's GMR Grand Prix was a wet and wild affair, with Colton Herta taking victory after switching to slick tires earlier than the field when a dry line formed, and controlling the pace when rain returned. Along the way, he created what may go down as the greatest motorsports highlight of the 2020s.

It was the first event with rain in the aeroscreen era, and many drivers complained about visibility. Primarily, a bubble of water pooled in the center of the driver's lines of site. In response, IndyCar's talented engineering squad created a series of rain vanes, which will likely be tested for the first time at the track that inspired their creation this weekend.

Twitter's IndyCar Weatherman predicts significant issues with weather on Friday for practice and qualifying. Saturday could see a few afternoon showers, but Friday will more than likely be the first test of the new rain implements.

Last year's rainy Indy GP was the first race since 2019 that IndyCar contested in truly wet weather conditions, and it sure seemed like it. Multiple teams stayed out on slick tires far too long, ending up prolonging late caution periods by spinning out simply trying to maintain caution pace.

Because of that, it feels like a poor idea to compare that race to anything, and Saturday may more than likely resemble the July 2022 race, won by Alexander Rossi. Colton Herta led the race early, but suffered a mechanical failure near the midway point. Rossi controlled the race from there, scoring his last win with Andretti Autosport.

If we end up with late showers on Saturday, it seems like they'll occur near the race's finish.  We could be treated to a scenario like 2019, where Simon Pagenaud stormed through the field in the closing laps to get by Scott Dixon for the win.

Ultimately, when it comes to qualifying in the modern IndyCar series, no one is better than Will Power. When it comes to the IMS road course, no one is better than Will Power.

Power won the series championship last year, and he's so far winless in 2023. If Power can put together a good lap in wet conditions on Friday, he positions himself well to control the pace and win again at a place he does a lot of winning.

It won't be as easy as that, unfortunately for Power. Romain Grosjean, Kyle Kirkwood and defending winner Herta all have proven Andretti's cars are faster this year, and they swept the events last year.

McLaren's Felix Rosenqvist won pole for the July event last year, and now has a teammate in that race's winner Rossi. Meyer Shank Racing even had the IMS road course figured out in recent years with both Jack Harvey and his replacement Pagenaud scoring podium finishes. Ed Carpenter Racing's Conor Daly can get around this place quickly, and Rinus VeeKay won here in 2021.

Romain Grosjean in particular is someone to watch on Saturday. He nearly won the race in his rookie IndyCar season in 2021, starting first and scoring a famous second place finish, creating one of the great comeback stories of recent motorsports history following his 2020 Formula One crash.

Power is hard to bet against, but the always stacked IndyCar field make for a fascinating weekend. Not everyone is going to qualify well in wet conditions, and plenty of capable drivers will be cutting through the field to the front. Grab some popcorn, it should be a good race to kick off the most beloved month of the IndyCar calendar.

Schedule

Friday, May 12 (All times are local)
9:30-10:45 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (75 minutes), Peacock
11-11:50 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE
1-2 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (45 minutes), Peacock
2:20-2:40 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying, INDYCAR LIVE
4 p.m. Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of NTT INDYCAR SERIES knockout qualifications), Peacock

Saturday, May 13
11:15-11:45 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, Peacock
1:05 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines”
1:10 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix (35 laps/55 minutes), Peacock
3:30 p.m. NBC on air
3:39 p.m. “Drivers, start your engines”
3:45 p.m. GMR Grand Prix (85 laps/207.3 miles), NBC (Live)