Indianapolis 500 primer before 33 IndyCar Series drivers chase the biggest prize in racing at the Brickyard

Mmm good: Indy 500 and alphabet soup

By John Oreovicz ESPN.com

 
AP Photo/Michael ConroyHelio Castroneves and his sister, Katiucia, celebrate Indianapolis 500 win No. 3 on May 24, 2009.

INDIANAPOLIS -- It's the second week of May and the natives are getting restless.

With prerace track time cut by a third from Indianapolis 500 tradition, cars still haven't taken to the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. When the engines finally do fire on Saturday for Opening Day, there is likely to be more of a sense of urgency and excitement in the lead-up to Qualifying Weekend (May 22-23).

Traditionalists are horrified at the revisions to the qualifying format, which will lock in 24 of the 33 starters on the first day, including a nine-driver shootout over the course of the final 90 minutes of Pole Day. All in all, it's an effort to create excitement and value. Bump Day could prove to be entertaining this year as well, given an increase in participation over recent years.

What won't change is the fact that 33 cars will line up on the final Sunday of the month to chase the biggest prize in racing over 200 laps at the Brickyard. Here's an A-to-Z primer over what to look for in the buildup to the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500:

AP Photo/Tom StrattmanMichael Andretti's driver stable features IndyCar's most popular driver: Danica Patrick.

A is for Andretti Autosport, which is fielding five cars in this year's Indianapolis 500. A also is for American, and Michael Andretti's team features four of them -- son Marco Andretti, Danica Patrick, Ryan Hunter-ReayJohn Andretti, who is making a rare IndyCar appearance. and 47-year-old cousin

B is for Bump Day, which has the potential for excitement with at least 38 entries vying for 33 starting positions. It's also for Briscoe -- Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe says that winning Indy is his No. 1 goal in 2010.

C is for the condensed format of the month of May. Three practice days and two days of qualifications have been slashed from the schedule; the two-week format should help cut costs for teams and could restore some excitement and urgency to the proceedings.

D is for Dixon and Dario. Target Chip Ganassi Racing has the strongest driver lineup in the IndyCar Series. Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti have won the past three series championships and two of the past three Indianapolis 500s.

E is for the 100 percent fuel grade ethanol that powers every Indy car.

F is for the five female drivers who will attempt to qualify at Indy -- Danica Patrick, Simona de Silvestro, Sarah Fisher, Ana Beatriz and Milka Duno.

G is for GoDaddy Girl Danica. She's still the top draw in the IndyCar Series and she always excels at Indianapolis, where she finished third in 2009.

H is for Helio Castroneves. The popular Brazilian is not only the defending Indy 500 champion; he gets his first crack at joining the select group of four-time winners that includes only Rick Mears, Al Unser and A.J. Foyt. H also is for Honda, which will again provide bulletproof V-8 power to every car in the field.

I is for the ICONIC committee, which will work behind the scenes during the month of May to determine the future IndyCar engine and chassis formula. It's also for Izod, which you may have noticed is spending some advertising dollars to promote the series.

J is for the J-stand at the exit of Turn 4 of the IMS oval. It might just be the best seat in the house for both the oval and the road course used for Moto GP racing.

K is for Kanaan. 2004 IndyCar Series Tony Kanaan led every year at Indianapolis between 2002 and 2008 (a total of 214 laps) but has never won IndyCar racing's biggest event.

AP Photo/Tom E. PuskarTarget Chip Ganassi Racing is the envy of the garage with defending champ Dario Franchitti, top, and Scott Dixon steering the ship.

L is for leadership. Both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League feature new faces at the top compared to a year ago, before Tony George stepped down from both roles. Jeff Belskus is the new CEO at IMS and Randy Bernard has taken the reins at the IRL.

M is for Milka Duno, the driver most likely to fail to qualify (or crash trying) for this year's race.

N is for the kind of nasty comments the other drivers often have about Milka Duno's driving.

O is for oval racing. Though road races outnumber ovals on the IndyCar schedule, Indy is still the outright king in terms of prestige and payout. The winner will take home more than $3 million.

P is for Power -- Australian Will Power, who won the first two races of the season and jumped out to a healthy points lead during the opening road racing swing. He finished fifth at Indy in 2009 in his first crack at the race in Team Penske equipment. P also is for Paul Tracy, who will team with former boss Barry Green at KV Racing to avenge their disputed second-place finish in 2002.

Q is for qualifications, which will be a bit different this year. Though the field will line up as always in 11 rows of three, there will be only two qualifying days. Twenty-four cars can lock in on Pole Day, and the fastest nine will engage in a late-afternoon shootout.

R is for Randy Bernard, the new Indy Racing League CEO who has put a spur into IndyCar racing in his first two months on the job.

S is for Sarah Fisher and Simona de Silvestro. The other female drivers in the race might garner more attention for the things they do and say off the track, but Sarah and Simona are all about the business of racing.

T is for tires, which are supplied to the field by Firestone and are almost never a concern in IndyCar racing.

U is for under construction. Which is the state that most of the highways on the west side of Indianapolis are in this month. Plan your route carefully and allow extra time to get to the Speedway.

V is for Vitor Meira, who returns to Indianapolis in A.J. Foyt's car a year after breaking his back during the 500. It's also for Vision Racing as Tony George's team makes its first race of the season with driver Ed Carpenter.

W is for weepers, a longtime IMS nemesis. A high water table canceled a recent IndyCar test at Kentucky Speedway, and drying the track is always a tedious process.

X is the occasional rating for the party scene in the Turn 3 infield on race day. The Snakepit is gone but certainly not forgotten by these race-day revelers.

Y is for yellow flag. With passing at a premium, luck of the draw with yellows and pit stop strategy is critical in determining the winner of the 500. Since 2003 the race has averaged eight caution periods totaling 53 laps.

Z is for ZZ Top, the headliner of the annual Carb Day concert. Carb Day has emerged as the best party day of the month, and having the Best Little Band in Texas perform won't hurt that reputation.

John Oreovicz covers open-wheel racing for ESPN.com.

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