Through the Field: A Look at the 100th Indy 500 Starting Grid

After years of buildup and anticipation, the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is upon us.

For the 100th time, one man (or woman) will etch their name and face onto the Borg Warner Trophy, the most famous trophy in all of racing. One of 33 drivers will drink the milk, wear the wreath and kiss the bricks as an Indy 500 champion.

Before the field heads three-wide down the frontstretch to take the green flag for one of the biggest races in open-wheel history, let’s take a look at the field that will compete in the 500-mile event.

100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Starting Grid

Row 1

1) James Hinchcliffe

Car No. 5
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Manufacturer: Honda
Team: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Previous Starts: 4
Best Finish: 6th (2012)

2) Josef Newgarden

Car No. 21
Hometown: Hendersonville, TN
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Team: Ed Carpenter Racing
Previous Starts: 4
Best Finish: 7th (2012)

3) Ryan Hunter-Reay

 Car No. 28
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Manufacturer: Honda
Team: Andretti Autosport
Previous Starts: 8
Best Finish: 2014 Indy 500 Champion

Row 2

4) Townsend Bell

Car No. 29

Hometown: San Luis Obispo, CA

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Andretti Autosports

Previous Starts: 9

Best Finish: 4th (2009)

5) Carlos Muñoz

Car No. 26

Hometown: Bogota, Columbia

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Andretti Autosport

Previous Starts: 3

Best Finish: 2nd (2013)

6) Will Power

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car No. 12

Hometown: Toowoomba, Australia

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Team Penske

Previous Starts: 8

Best Finish: 2nd (2015)

Row 3

7) Mikhail Aleshin

Car No. 7

Hometown: Moscow, Russia

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Previous Starts: 1

Best Finish: 21st (2014)

8) Simon Pagenaud

Car No. 22

Hometown: Montmorillon, France

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Team Penske

Previous Starts: 4

Best Finish: 8th (2013)

9. Helio Castroneves

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car No.  3

Hometown:  Sao Paulo, Brazil

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Team Penske

Previous Starts: 15

Best Finish: Three-Time Indy 500 Champion (2001, 2002, 2009)

Row 4

10. Oriol Servia

Car No. 77

Hometown: Pals, Spain

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Schmidt Peterson with Marotti Racing

Previous Starts: 7

Best Finish: 4th (2012)

11. Alexander Rossi

Car No. 98

Hometown: Nevada City, CA

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Andretti Herta Autosport

Previous Starts: 0

Best Finish: N/A

12. Takuma Sato

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car No.  14

Hometown: Tokyo, Japan

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: A.J. Foyt Racing

Previous Starts: 6

Best Finish: 13th (2013, 2015)

Row 5

13. Scott Dixon

Car No. 9

Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing

Previous Starts: 13

Best Finish: 2008 Indy 500 Champion

14. Marco Andretti

Car No. 27

Hometown: Nazareth, PA

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Andretti Autosport

Previous Starts: 10

Best Finish: 2nd (2006)

15. JR Hildebrand

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car No.  6

Hometown: Sausalito, CA

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Ed Carpenter Racing

Previous Starts: 5

Best Finish: 2nd (2011)

Row 6

16. Charlie Kimball

Car No. 42

Hometown: Camarillo, CA

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing

Previous Starts: 5

Best Finish: 3rd (2015)

17. Juan Pablo Montoya

Car No.  2

Hometown: Bogota, Columbia

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Team Penske

Previous Starts: 3

Best Finish: Two-Time Indy 500 Champion (2000, 2015)

18. Tony Kanaan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car No.  10

Hometown: Salvador, Brazil

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing

Previous Starts: 14

Best Finish: 2013 Indy 500 Champion

Row 7

19. Sebastien Bourdais

Car No. 11

Hometown: Le Mans, France

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: KVSH Racing

Previous Starts: 5

Best Finish: 7th (2014)

20. Ed Carpenter

Car No. 20

Hometown: Indianapolis, IN

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Ed Carpenter Racing

Previous Starts: 12

Best Finish: 5th (2008)

21. Gabby Chaves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car No.  19

Hometown: Bogota, Columbia

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Dale Coyne Racing

Previous Starts: 1

Best Finish: 16th (2015)

Row 8

22. Max Chilton

Car No. 8

Hometown: Reigate, England

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing

Previous Starts: 0

Best Finish: N/A

23. Sage Karam

Car No. 24

Hometown: Nazareth, PA

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: DFR-Kingdom Racing

Previous Starts: 2

Best Finish: 9th (2014)

24. Conor Daly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car No.  18

Hometown: Noblesville, IN

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Dale Coyne Racing

Previous Starts: 2

Best Finish: 22nd (2013)

Row 9

25. Pippa Mann

Car No. 63

Hometown: Ipswich, England

Manufacturer:  Honda

Team: Dale Coyne Racing

Previous Starts: 4

Best Finish: 20th (2011)

26. Graham Rahal

Car No. 15

Hometown: New Albany, OH

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Previous Starts: 8

Best Finish: 3rd (2011)

27. Matthew Brabham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car No. 61

Hometown: Gold Coast, Australia

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: PIRTEK Team Murray

Previous Starts: 0

Best Finish: N/A

Row 10

28. Bryan Clauson

Car No. 88

Hometown: Noblesville, IN

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Dale Coyne/Johnathan Byrd’s Racing

Previous Starts: 2

Best Finish: 30th (2012)

29. Spencer Pigot

Car No. 16

Hometown: Orlando, FL

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Previous Starts: 0

Best Finish: N/A

30. Stefan Wilson

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car No.  25

Hometown: Sheffield, England

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: KV Racing Technology

Previous Starts: 0

Best Finish: N/A

Row 11

31. Jack Hawksworth

Car No. 41

Hometown: Bradford, England

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: A.J. Foyt Racing

Previous Starts: 2

Best Finish: 20th (2014)

32. Buddy Lazier

Car No. 4

Hometown: Vail, CO

Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Team: Lazier/Burns Racing

Previous Starts: 15

Best Finish: 1996 Indy 500 Champion

33. Alex Tagliani

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car No.  35

Hometown: Lachenaie, Canada

Manufacturer: Honda

Team: A.J. Foyt Racing

Previous Starts: 7

Best Finish:  10th (2010)