One of the nice things about the Indy 500 is I don’t have to pick my NTT IndyCar Series Fantasy Challenge Team driven by Firestone before qualifying. Of course, now we’ll see if that’s a positive or a negative.
Based on qualifying, I really feel like I had no choice but to take Ed Carpenter. He’s priced great at $24, and starting from the middle of the second row. He was also strong here last year, and with a similar aero configuration for the race this year, Carpenter has a legit shot at moving up one more position and winning his first Indy 500.
My next choice also seemed easy, based purely on how he’s been in traffic this year, and that’s Alexander Rossi. He starts just ninth, but I’m expecting him to at least try to make moves to get to the front. I’m a touch nervous about his “win it, or wear it” driving style, but this is the Indy 500, you gotta gamble to make something happen and Rossi will do it.
Having dropped big bucks, $31 on Rossi, I had to go cheaper on my next two pics, though I’m happy with the quality I got.
$24 for Tony Kanaan seems a bit high, but he’s had a strong month. I’m being honest when I say I don’t expect him to win, but I do expect a solid result for TK and AJ Foyt Racing.
James Hinchcliffe’s qualifying crash and subsequent bump day heroics pushed him to the 32nd starting position. But, I expect more than that from the Canadian. It’s going to be tough coming from that far back. Yet, if he stays on the lead lap through a couple of pit cycles, and catches a timely yellow, I’m expecting him to be mid-pack by halfway. Provided we get the full distance – and I’m also betting YES on that – then Hinch should be able to get me a nice Top 10 finish or better.
There will be some big surprises in the Top 10 this year, just like every year, so I also took a hard look at people like Marcus Ericsson, Felix Rosenqvist – Ganassi gets their cars to the front here – and Colton Herta will do something spectacular. But, at the end, I went a little safer and with some veterans, just feels like with potential weather and/or a hot slick track, that seemed like the right pick.
So, those are my picks, what are yours?