The starting grid is set, the cars are tuned and the celebratory milk is chilled as the 2014 Indy 500 prepares for its 98th edition on May 25, 2014 at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The end of qualifying saw a familiar face in Ed Carpenter, last year’s polesitter, back at the top of the starting grid. He’ll face a stacked field in this year’s race, with champion racers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kurt Busch ready to enter the fray.
With some of the world’s best drivers in the field, this year’s race figures to be one of the most open in some time. Create a betting account now and read on to learn about some of this year’s most impressive contenders.
[sc:MultiSportArticles ]
2014 Indy 500 Betting Preview
Ed Carpenter wins back-to-back poles
Ed Carpenter will make his first start of this current IndyCar season at the Indy 500 and he’ll do so where he started last year’s race – in pole position. Carpenter won pole and led 37 laps – the most by any driver – in the 2013 edition, but finished a somewhat disappointing 10th.
Carpenter will get a chance to redeem himself this time around after he became just the 11th driver to win pole in back-to-back years. That impressive feat was enough to catapult him into a +800 favorite to win his very first Indy 500.
The polesitter will face stiff competition from the likes of three-time champion Helio Castroneves (+600) and Marco Andretti (+500), who will both start the race in the second row.
Montoya and Busch bring the star power
The participation of two big-name drivers in Juan Pablo Montoya and Kurt Busch will no doubt attract racing fans of different shapes and sizes to this year’s Indy 500.
Former F1 driver and Indy winner Montoya finally returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time since emerging victorious back in 2000, while former NASCAR champion Busch will start his first ever Indy 500 – one of two races he’ll be competing in that same day.
Both drivers have proven racing pedigrees and both will have a decent shot to win the race as they start in the fourth row. The seasoned Montoya is 10th and is +700 to win a second Indy title in as many starts, with Busch just two spots behind at 12th and +3,000 to win his maiden IndyCar race.
High-Value Picks: Simon Pagenaud & Carlos Munoz
There’s no driver in the entire IndyCar circuit in better form right now than Simon Pagenaud. The Frenchman has finished in the top five of each of the four races of the season thus far, including the most recent race – the Grand Prix of Indianapolis – which he won. Pagenaud is +1,500 to win the race, and will start in fifth position.
A couple spots below him at seventh is reigning Rookie of the Year, Carlos Munoz. The Colombian driver impressively started and finished second in his first ever Indy 500 last year. At +1,500 to win, Munoz is a decent pick to go one spot higher in this year’s race.
Long Shot Pick: Justin Wilson
As a dark horse, take a look at Justin Wilson at +5,000. The Brit finished an impressive fifth in last year’s Indy 500 and has two top 10 finishes in the first four races this season. Wilson will start this year’s race in 14th position, a couple of spots ahead of defending champion, Tony Kanaan (+1,500).
Writer’s Prediction
With three drivers in the top seven, Team Andretti looks poised to take home its first Indy 500 crown since 2007. And who better to grab the win than Marco Andretti, the overall favorite at +500, to break the “Andretti Curse” and drink the milk after claiming the chequered flag.
