
(Johnson Collection)
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Road Course Races
IndyCar Series
Since 2014, NTT IndyCar Series races have been held on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway combined road course. Held customarily on the Saturday two weeks before the Indianapolis 500, and the weekend prior to Indy 500 practice and qualifying, the IndyCar Grand Prix serves to kick off track activity for the month of May.
The combined road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was originally completed in 2000 for the Formula One United States Grand Prix. The U.S. Grand Prix was held at Indy from 2000 to 2007 on the original 2.606-mile clockwise circuit. In 2008, improvements were made to the course, and an updated 2.591-mile counter-clockwise layout was created for motorcycles. Moto GP raced on the modified layout from 2008 to 2015. The Grand Am/IMSA sports car series also held races on the now slightly-modified clockwise F1 course from 2012 to 2014.

In 2013, the IndyCar Series conducted a feasibility test on the road course, with the possibility of hosting a race in the future. After positive test results, and positive feedback from competitors and fans, an annual race was added to the month of May. Parts of the track were reworked, and a new 2.439-mile road course layout was created. The road course portion was repaved and various improvements yielded a more competitive layout and a circuit better suited for IndyCars (as well as for stock cars). The first “Grand Prix of Indianapolis” was held in May 2014.
The name of the race was changed to the IndyCar Grand Prix in 2017, in order to emphasize that the event was part of the American-based IndyCar Series, and not a continuation or revival of the old Formula One event. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IndyCar Grand Prix was moved from May to July 4th, and became part of the NASCAR Brickyard 400 weekend. It was run as part of a Saturday road course doubleheader with the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 150. Due to cancellations of other IndyCar Series events in 2020, a second road course event was added to the schedule. The IndyCar Harvest GP consisted of twin races, added as part of the Intercontinental GP 8-hour endurance race weekend in October.
For 2021, the IndyCar Grand Prix was moved back to it familiar date in mid-May. A second road course race was held in mid-August, again as part of the NASCAR weekend. This was the schedule again in 2022, although Brickyard weekend was moved up a couple weeks to the last weekend in July.
The inaugural IndyCar road course race in 2014 utilized a standing start. During the 2014 IndyCar season, the series experimented with standing starts at selected road/street course events. Polesitter Sebastián Saavedra’s car stalled triggering a huge crash at the start. All races since have utilized a rolling start. Angie’s List was the title sponsor of race in 2015-2016. Beginning in 2020, Global Medical Response (GMR) has served as title sponsor. The 2021 August race was sponsored by IMS partner Big Machine Distillery (which is owned by Scott Borchetta, who also owns Big Machine Label Group, which sponsored the Brickyard 400 several times).
As of 2021, the closest finish for an IndyCar race on the road course came in the 2014 event. Simon Pagenaud held off Ryan Hunter-Reay by 0.8906 seconds. Race winners for IndyCar Series races on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course are as follows:
Date | Race Name | Winner | Distance | Average Speed |
|
Laps | Miles | (mph) | |||
Saturday 5/10/2014 |
Grand Prix of Indianapolis | Simon Pagenaud | 82 | 199.998 | 96.436 |
Saturday 5/9/2015 |
Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis | Will Power | 82 | 199.998 | 116.842 |
Saturday 5/14/2016 |
Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis | Simon Pagenaud | 82 | 199.998 | 108.784 |
Saturday 5/13/2017 |
IndyCar Grand Prix | Will Power | 85 | 207.315 | 120.813 |
Saturday 5/12/2018 |
IndyCar Grand Prix | Will Power | 85 | 207.315 | 113.318 |
Saturday 5/11/2019 |
IndyCar Grand Prix | Simon Pagenaud | 85 | 207.315 | 103.254 |
Saturday 7/4/2020 |
GMR Grand Prix | Scott Dixon | 80 | 195.120 | 114.789 |
Friday 10/2/2020 |
IndyCar Harvest GP Presented by GMR – Race 1 | Josef Newgarden | 85 | 207.315 | 119.060 |
Saturday 10/3/2020 |
IndyCar Harvest GP Presented by GMR – Race 2 | Will Power | 75 | 182.925 | 119.115 |
Saturday 5/15/2021 |
GMR Grand Prix | Rinus VeeKay | 85 | 207.315 | 116.096 |
Saturday 8/14/2021 |
Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix | Will Power | 85 | 207.315 | 113.458 |
Saturday 5/14/2022 |
GMR Grand Prix | Colton Herta | 75 | 182.925 | 90.008 |
Saturday 7/30/2022 |
Gallagher Grand Prix | Alexander Rossi | 85 | 207.315 | 114.483 |
Saturday 5/13/2023 |
GMR Grand Prix | ||||
Saturday 8/12/2023 |
Gallagher Grand Prix |
Note: The 2022 May race was shortened from 85 laps to 75 laps (two-hour time limit) due to rain.
Statistics
Multiple road course race winners
- 5 — Will Power
- 3 — Simon Pagenaud
IMS oval and road course race winners
- Scott Dixon — Indy 500 in 2008, road course in 2020
- Will Power — Indy 500 in 2018; road course five times
- Simon Pagenaud — Indy 500 in 2019; road course three times
- Alexander Rossi — Indy 500 in 2016, road course in 2022
- Josef Newgarden — Freedom 100 in 2011, road course in 2020
- Colton Herta — Freedom 100 in 2018, road course in 2022
Indy 500/Grand Prix May “sweep”
- 2018 — Will Power
- 2019 — Simon Pagenaud
Race Logos

Course record
The one-lap qualifying track record for the current IndyCar grand prix course layout is as follows:
Date | Driver | Distance | Time | Average Speed |
|
Laps | Miles | (mph) | |||
5/12/2017 | Will Power | 1 | 2.439 | 1:07.7044 | 129.687 |
References
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course at RacingCircuits.info
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