FULL RESULTS: Ryan Hunter-Reay takes the checkered flag
Although Ed Carpenter, James Hinchcliffe and Will Power will be the first to cross the start/finish line at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday's Indy 500, it's the fourth row that may draw a little more attention.
That's because the fourth row is the home to Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon and Kurt Busch. That's a star-studded row, with each driver having won at least one motor sports championship.
Montoya, the 1999 CART champion and 2000 Indianapolis 500 champion, has returned to open-wheel racing full time, driving the No. 2 car for Penske Racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series this season after seven years in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series.
Indy 500
"Coming back to open-wheel is something I already did," Montoya said. "It was just readjusting to the car, understanding the car, the tools that I had, get myself and the team on the same page on what I want out of the car. It's funny because there were certain things we tried earlier in the car that we couldn't try because I was uncomfortable, that now it's way better. As time goes on, I'm definitely getting more comfortable in the car."
For Busch, who crashed hard in the second turn during a practice Monday, the Indianapolis 500 is just the start of a long day. Following the race he'll travel back to Charlotte to race in the Coca-Cola 600.
"My lack of experience in IndyCar world is what makes this fun, exciting and challenging," Busch said. "At the end of the day, it's about giving it my best and not making a mistake Sunday."
Busch won the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup championship.
Meanwhile, all Dixon has done is win the 2008 Indianapolis 500 and three IndyCar championships, including last year.
The Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for noon and can be seen on ABC.
Here is a full look at the 2014 Indianapolis 500 lineup and starting grid:
|
Row |
Inside |
Middle |
Outside |
|
1 |
No. 20 Ed Carpenter |
No. 27 James Hinchcliffe |
No. 12 Will Power |
|
2 |
No. 3 Helio Castroneves |
No. 77 Simon Pagenaud |
No. 25 Marco Andretti |
|
3 |
No. 34 Carlos Munoz |
No. 67 Josef Newgarden |
No. 21 JR Hildebrand |
|
4 |
No. 2 Juan Pablo Montoya |
No. 9 Scott Dixon |
No. 26 Kurt Busch |
|
5 |
No. 98 Jack Hawksworth |
No. 19 Justin Wilson |
No. 7 Mikhail Aleshin |
|
6 |
No. 10 Tony Kanaan |
No. 11 Sebastien Bourdais |
No. 16 Oriol Servia |
|
7 |
No. 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay |
No. 15 Graham Rahal |
No. 18 Carlos Huertas |
|
8 |
No. 63 Pippa Mann |
No. 14 Takuma Sato |
No. 68 Alex Tagliani |
|
9 |
No. 6 Townsend Bell |
No. 83 Charlie Kimball |
No. 5 Jacques Villeneuve |
|
10 |
No. 33 James Davison |
No. 41 Martin Plowman |
No. 8 Ryan Briscoe |
|
11 |
No. 22 Sage Karam |
No. 17 Sebastian Saavedra |
No. 91 Buddy Lazier |