Indy 500 pros up front, but youth could be served

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Editor's note: Since 1961, Mark Glover has attended 57 Indianapolis 500s, as both a spectator and a working journalist. Here's his take on how Sunday's race, the 105th running, will go:

Their names drift through my consciousness and memory to this day: A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Al Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Rick Mears. Legends of the Indianapolis 500, decades removed from competition in what many consider a golden age of open-wheel auto racing.

And in the case of Bobby Unser, we recently bid him farewell forever.

I have the legends and Indy 500 veterans on my mind as the 105th running of the race prepares to unfold on Sunday, with some COVID restrictions but with nail-biting expectations as the fastest field in the history of the world-famous race gets ready to take the green flag.

The latest generation of graybeard legends are among the top nine starters -- Scott Dixon on the pole, Indianapolis hometown hero Ed Carpenter starting fourth, fan favorite Tony Kanaan in the fifth starting spot, 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay starting seventh and three-time Indy 500 champ Helio Castroneves going off eighth.

All stand a chance to win on Sunday.  But youth could be served in a big way.

Seemingly fearless youngsters posted top qualifying speed among the veterans. Colton Herta, 21, came within an eye-blink of grabbing the pole position from Dixon. Rinus VeeKay, a 20-year-old Dutch racing sensation, is on the outside of the front row. Starting directly behind him in the sixth hole is Alex Palou. He's a comparative grandpa among the youthful pilots, 24 and loaded with talent.

My heart tells me the veteran pros know how to win at Indy, but my head tells me one of the youngsters could win it.  That's how good -- and brave -- they are.  Passing of the torch?  Absolutely.

I'm sure the names of the young drivers will be spoken with reverence by race fans 10, 15 or maybe even 20 years from now.  And rightly so.

I consider myself fortunate to see this changing of the guard in my lifetime.

Among the young guns, I like Herta.  He hustles the bullet-like Indy cars with a maestro's touch.  Nothing seems to intimidate him.  And he has some attitude in the cockpit, a necessary variable in this race where blinding speed is constant and mere inches separate winners from crashed-out competitors.

Believe it: Herta, VeeKay, Palou or maybe one of the other young guns could end up in Victory Lane on Sunday, vaulting from a driver known to some dedicated racing fans to a world-famous celebrity, with his name and image carved on the Borg-Warner Trophy for eternity.

As for me, I can't take my eyes off Dixon.  He had this race in the bag last year, only to fall short in the late going to a relentlessly charging Takuma Sato.  Despite a stellar career that has seen him claim six IndyCar series championships, he has only a single Indy 500 victory, that one coming in 2008.

Does Indy owe Dixon a break?  Dixon says no.  And Indy has shown time after time that it can be a ruthless temptress.  Even so, I like Dixon to win it.  He has the fastest car, a fabulous and experienced team and a ton of motivation.

Do you like sentimental favorites?  Then count on weeping joyously Sunday if Carpenter or Castroneves come home first under the checkered flag.  Carpenter has taken three Indy 500 poles and been close to winning the race several times.  His fellow Indianapolis citizens will likely throw a weeklong parade if he wins.

Castroneves came within an eyelash of winning his first three 500s in 2001-03.  As it stands, he has three victories over 20 years (plus three super-close second-place finishes) and is trying to become only the fourth four-time winner in a one-off IndyCar appearance at Indianapolis this year.  The driver with the million-watt personality stands a good chance of pulling it off, in my view.

My dark horse pick is Northern California's own Alexander Rossi, flying under the radar all this month and starting 10th.  He was a surprise rookie winner in 2016 and has come oh-so-close to winning a couple more times.  He knows how to drive this race.  He drank the winner's milk five years ago, and  I wouldn't be surprised if he's back Sunday for a second gulp.