Preparation

 As all IndyCar fans know, for the One Special Day Of The Year you have to prepare.  For fans of varying locations and demographics, it's different.  As I type this at 2am in the UK, George Phillips of Oilpressure.com is probably up already at 9pm Saturday packing up the Honda and telling his wife that this year, yes, this year he will beat Doug Boles to the track.  As we all know Super Doug, George will likely fail.

But where I live, things are slightly more relaxed.  We just have to get all my ducks in a row just in case anything goes wrong and have a plan in case it does.

Our race coverage isn't on network TV, so most of us will be at the mercy of Sky Sports and their streaming packages.  As we've been here before, We turn on our computers a day early to get ALL THE UPDATES out of the way.  We don't want Microsoft switching us off at the very moment Conor Daly's engine blows up, Christian Rasmussen hits the wall for the third time or missing our Tom Gaymor bingo when he mentions "snakes and ladders".

Now that's sorted we can go shopping.  The beverages of choice for race viewing are of course, carefully chosen.  We go to Aldi and worked out what was the easiest, cheapest and highest ABV to carry home. And it's safely in the fridge awaiting the green flag tomorrow.

And where would we be without snacks?  You have to have your own personal Carb Day to help soak up all that questionable beer.  Bicarbonate of Soda is optional, but probably sensible too.

Of course, if all of this isn't unwise enough - you can channel your inner Midwestern race fan and decorate your viewing area with the driver you'll be rooting for while watching.  No need to spend too much on this, as who will ever know?  Not even Nolan Siegel himself.

If we're unlucky, it could all be ruined by rain. So you one-day Now TV buyers - wait until you know the race is on.  Which means we have to pack away the streaming TV,  beer, snacks and dubious driver booster packs for a day.  But at least we in the UK don't have to plan for anything else.  Because we've planned enough already.

Media From The Track (22nd May 2026)

"Helio - is your new haircare regime working well?  It certainly sets off the blue of the jacket."

"What do mean 'haircare'?  I ain't never changed anything.  By they way 'Just For Men', please answer my calls!"

"You seem unusually happy to be 31st in practice today, Alex.  What do you put your new demeanour down to?"

"Here's the thing - I'm just glad to be in the race.  Hey Ed, got anymore of that 'special stuff' from the doc?"

"And today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Carb Day is now Protein Day!"

 

Mr. Rossi Looks For Happiness (Or : Won't Someone Think Of The Last Row Party?)

In a true Mark Twain moment, rumours of Alexander Rossi's demise were greatly exaggerated.  Hauling his damaged leg and hand to an Indianapolis Cracker Barrel, he participated in his scheduled live show with James Hinchcliffe and Tim "Thim" Durham, who were as kind and sympathetic to him as you'd imagined they'd be.

Mr. Rossi on sparkling form. The meds are good

Though his appearance may not look promising for his participation in the race on Sunday, Rossi insists he'll be right for Carb Day on Friday.  Of course, he still has to be cleared by IndyCar medical who in the post-Terry Trammell era tend to take a dim view of recently screwed-together racing drivers doing 500 miles at 230mph.

So what will happen if, say, Alex's foot falls off after they remove his cast? Well, we can take the stampede of unemployed drivers to the ECR garage as read, and also Super Doug Boles putting together an emergency track refresher session.  But I'm most worried about the Last Row Party.

For those who don't know, the Last Row Party is a fundraiser held during Indy 500 race week where the drivers who have qualified 31st, 32nd, and 33rd get given cheques both huge in size and tiny in amount while being mercilessly mocked by the host.  As an Englishman, I myself am all for piss-taking, even if it needs a "good cause" to do so.  Now, some would say the caricatures in the publicity material are not as hilariously cruel as they once were, either because today's drivers are more sensitive than their predecessors or they're simply better looking (back in the 70s, the typical Row 11 resident was a grizzled sprint car driver, who had the face you'd imagine of someone who'd been regularly hit by rocks or had ended up upside-down in a ditch after going over the banks at Winchester Speedway), but everyone involved has fun.

So, if Alexander Rossi can't make the race, his replacement will be lining up 31st on Sunday, displacing the inimitable Sting Ray "Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour" Robb up to 30th, thus ruining all the plans and publicity for the LRP.  Won't someone think of the really important things, please?

The Five Day Prediction

 

Five days to wait until the 2026 Indianapolis 500.  Now, here in England we don't quite have the same level of excitement that occurs in the American Midwest.  We pay our one day subscription to the Sky Channels and leave it as late as possible to activate in case of rain delays.  We have to convince people in our households to delay watching "Call The Midwife" for catchup on BBC iPlayer.  And most disappointingly, Santa Doug Boles won't be coming down our chimneys to leave us gifts of tenderloins and milk.  No, we have to plan.

Thankfully in these days of YouTube highlights, (thank you IndyCar series and indyCar On Fox for competing to get them out) we see most of what's going on, even if you have to go through other avenues to get the "dirt and filth" mysteriously lacking with the "official" channels.  Right now, Alexander Rossi is nursing his screwed-back-together joints after crashing in practice, while Callum Ilott is poised with his seat and no doubt waiting to hear if Rossi's right ankle is capable of moving up and down for 3 hours on Sunday.  We'll find out eventually, but afterwards.

But who will end up in Victory Lane after "500 miles of left turns" as the more ignorant of Formula One fans often call The Greatest Spectacle In Racing?  Everyone is saying Alex Palou, IndyCar's Mr. He Wins Too Much And We Hate Him For It.  And it's the sensible prediction.  Rossi and Pato O'Ward stuffed their cars yesterday and will be in backups, Josef Newgarden will be starting from somewhere down in Turn 4,  Scott McLaughlin may get to the green flag this time, and Lil Dave Malukas - does he have the fight?

But no.  Forget all that.  I say watch out for Nolan "Bugsy" Siegel for the win.  He's actually got better throughout the last few races.  You may laugh, and you probably should.  But stranger things have happened at IMS.  If nothing else, if I'm right - I will look like a genius and this blog will beat even Oilpressure.com in the stats.  And that's the important thing.