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Big Machine Spiked Coolers GP at Indy: How to watch, start time, etc

The 2021 NTT IndyCar Series’ 12th round will be the second time the cars have raced on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course this year. Here’s all you need to know about how to enjoy the event.

Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda, Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing Honda lead at the start

Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda, Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing Honda lead at the start

Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Images

When is the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix

The event will be held from Friday, Aug. 13 through Saturday, Aug. 14, with first practice and qualifying on Friday, and warm-up and the race on Saturday.

The full on-track schedule (all times are local/Eastern) is as follows:

Friday, Aug. 13

3.00-4.00pm – NTT IndyCar Series Practice
5.35-6.25pm – NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice
7.00-7.50pm – NTT IndyCar Series Qualifying

Saturday, Aug. 14

8.45-9.15am – NTT IndyCar Series Warm-up
10.05-10.50am – NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying
11.05-11.55am – NASCAR Cup Series Practice
1.00pm – NTT IndyCar Series Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix (85 laps)

Sunday, Aug. 15

9.05-9.50am – NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying
1.00pm – NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (82 laps)

How can I watch the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at Indy? 

Practice, Qualifying and Warm-up will all live stream on Peacock Premium, with Qualifying also being shown on NBCSN.

Coverage of Saturday’s race itself starts on NBCSN at 12.30pm, with the “Drivers, start your Engines” command being given at 12.55pm and the green flag waving at 1.00pm.

Leigh Diffey is the lead announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT IndyCar Series, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. Kevin Lee and Marty Snider will report from pit lane.

Can I stream the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at Indy? 

The race itself cannot be streamed, just practice and qualifying.

How can I listen to the race?

The Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix will air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 138 and Sirius XM 205, indycar.com and the IndyCar Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. All NTT IndyCar Series practices and qualifying are available on SiriusXM 205, indycar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app.

Mark Jaynes is chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Chris Denari, Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers, while Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Ryan Myrehn will report from the pits.

Race weekend details

Track: 14-turn, 2.439-mile permanent road course in Indianapolis, IN.
The course incorporates the front straight of the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but run in the opposite direction.

Race distance: 85 laps / 207.3 miles.

Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation.

Firestone tire allotment: Five sets primary, four sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. One additional set of primary tires can be used by teams fielding a rookie driver. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.

Qualifying lap record: Will Power, Team Penske-Chevrolet, 67.7044sec, 129.687mph, 2017 Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

Race notes

There have been eight different winners in 11 NTT IndyCar Series races this season. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou (Barber Motorsports Park and Road America), Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta (Streets of St. Petersburg), Ganassi’s Scott Dixon (Texas Motor Speedway-1), Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward (Texas Motor Speedway-2 and Belle Isle-2), Rinus VeeKay (Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course-1), Helio Castroneves (Indianapolis 500), Marcus Ericsson (Belle Isle - 2 and Nashville) and Josef Newgarden (Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course). The modern record (1946-present) for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.

The Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix will be the 11th IndyCar race on the IMS road course, and all five drivers who have won there – Will Power (four), Simon Pagenaud (three), Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden and Rinus VeeKay – are entered this weekend.

The 28 cars entered in the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix is the most in a non-Indy 500 IndyCar race since Kentucky Speedway in 2011, when 29 cars started.

Six rookies – RC Enerson, Romain Grosjean, Jimmie Johnson, Christian Lundgaard, Scott McLaughlin and Cody Ware – are entered this weekend. Enerson will be making his first start of 2021, while Lundgaard will be making his IndyCar debut. Ware will be attempting to compete in both the NTT IndyCar Series race on Saturday and the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday.

Entrylist

No. Driver Hometown Car name Team-Engine
2 Josef Newgarden Nashville, Tennessee XPEL Team Penske Team Penske-Chevrolet
3 Scott McLaughlin (R) Christchurch, New Zealand CarShop Team Penske Team Penske-Chevrolet
4 Dalton Kellett Stouffville, Canada K-Line Insulators / AJ Foyt Racing A.J. Foyt Enterprises-Chevrolet
5 Pato O'Ward Monterrey, Mexico Arrow McLaren SP Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet
06 Helio Castroneves Sao Paulo, Brazil Meyer Shank Racing Meyer Shank Racing-Honda
7 Felix Rosenqvist Varnamo, Sweden Arrow McLaren SP Arrow McLaren SP-Chevrolet
8 Marcus Ericsson Kumla, Sweden Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda
9 Scott Dixon Auckland, New Zealand PNC Bank Grow up great Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda
10 Alex Palou Barcelona, Spain NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda
12 Will Power Toowoomba, Australia Verizon 5G Team Penske Team Penske-Chevrolet
14 Sebastien Bourdais Le Mans, France ROKiT / AJ Foyt Racing A.J. Foyt Enterprises-Chevrolet
15 Graham Rahal New Albany, Ohio Rahal Letterman Lanigan Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda
18 Ed Jones Dubai, United Arab Emirates SealMaster Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan-Honda
20 Conor Daly Noblesville, Indiana U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet
21 Rinus VeeKay Hoofddorp, Netherlands Sonax / Autogeek Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet
22 Simon Pagenaud Montmorillon, France Menards Team Penske Team Penske-Chevrolet
26 Colton Herta Valencia, California Gainbridge Andretti Autosport w/Curb-Agajanian-Honda
27 Alexander Rossi Nevada City, California AutoNation / NAPA Auto Parts Andretti Autosport-Honda
28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Fort Lauderdale, Florida DHL Andretti Autosport-Honda
29 James Hinchcliffe Toronto, Canada Genesys Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport-Honda
30 Takuma Sato Tokyo, Japan Panasonic / Mi-Jack Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda
45 Christian Lundgaard Hedensted, Denmark Mi-Jack Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda
48 Jimmie Johnson El Cajon, California Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda
51 Romain Grosjean Geneva, Switzerland Nurtec ODT Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Honda
52 Cody Ware Greensboro, North Carolina Nurtec ODT Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Honda
59 Max Chilton Reigate, England Carlin Carlin-Chevrolet
60 Jack Harvey Bassingham, England AutoNation/SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing-Honda
75 R.C. Enerson New Port Richey, Florida Top Gun Racing Top Gun Racing-Chevrolet

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