IndyCar: DragonSpeed set for first Indianapolis 500 attempt with Ben Hanley

DragonSpeed are set to make their first attempt to qualify for IndyCar’s most prestigious race, the Indianapolis 500, with Ben Hanley.

Qualifications for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500, the sixth of 17 races on the 2019 IndyCar schedule, are scheduled to take place this Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19.

For the first time in the history of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, DragonSpeed have a car on the entry list for this 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana.

This car, the #81 Chevrolet, is set to be driven by rookie Ben Hanley as he attempts to qualify for this race for the first time in his career.

Hanley was confirmed as DragonSpeed’s driver throughout the 2019 season when the team confirmed this past December that they would compete in IndyCar on a part-time basis for the first time this year.

The 34-year-old Briton has already competed in two races this season, as he finished in 18th and 21st place in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida and the season’s third race at Barber Motorsports Park, respectively.

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After the Indy 500, he is set to compete in the races at Road America and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which are the 10th and 13th races on this year’s schedule, respectively.

It is no secret that Hanley and DragonSpeed have struggled to find speed in their first two IndyCar races. That was pretty much expected coming into the year, especially given the fact that the Honda teams had a pretty sizable advantage over the Chevrolet teams throughout the majority of the 2018 season, the first season during which the new UAK18 aero kits were used.

With 36 drivers on the entry list for this year’s Indy 500 and given DragonSpeed’s struggles in their first two IndyCar races, it will be no small it would be a major accomplishment for the Jupiter, Florida-based team to get into the Indy 500 field in their first attempt fielding a car for the race, and it would be a major accomplishment for Hanley as well.

While Hanley and the team have struggled to show pace early on in the season, they both carry impressive racing resumes. Hanley is the lead driver for the team’s prototype racing and a former member of Renault’s Formula 1 young driver program, and has also experience as a tire tester for Pirelli in Formula 2 as well.

Additionally, he has competed in Formula Renault 2.0 Italia, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Renault 2.0 UK, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, the GP2 Series, the GP2 Asia Series and Euroseries 300, Superleague Formula and the European Le Mans Series.

In addition to currently fielding a team on a part-time basis in IndyCar, DragonSpeed also compete in the European Le Mans Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship as well.

Most recently, they won the 2017 team and driver championships in the LMP2 class in the European Le Mans Series with Memo Rojas and Leo Roussel as their two drivers. They formerly competed in the Pirelli World Challenge and won the 2015 driver championship with Frank Montecalvo as their driver as well.

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Will Ben Hanley post a quick enough speed to qualify for his first Indianapolis 500 and to get DragonSpeed into the field in their first attempt at qualifying for IndyCar‘s most prestigious race? Tune in to qualifying for this race this Saturday, May 18 and this Sunday, May 19 to find out.

On Saturday, qualifying is scheduled to take place from 11:00 a.m. ET to 5:50 p.m. ET at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Gold from 11:00 a.m. ET to 5:00 p.m. ET, and it is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from 5:00 p.m. ET to 6:00 p.m. ET.

On Sunday, qualifying is scheduled to take place from 12:15 p.m. ET to 2:15 p.m. ET at the track, and it is scheduled to be broadcast live on NBC from 12:00 p.m. ET to 3:00 p.m. ET.