Ken de la Bastide: Best two weeks in racing rapidly approaching

May 17—The next two weeks are among my favorite of the year, with both the Lucas Oil Little 500 and the Indianapolis 500 rapidly approaching.

I remember distinctly my first Little 500 in 1972 and have attended all but two of the races since then.

I can also recall sitting at my parents' house on Long Island, listening to the Indy 500 on the radio. Covering the race has been the fulfillment of a dream.

Last weekend the Indianapolis Grand Prix took place on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with rain a definite factor.

Colton Herta and his Andretti Autosport team made the right call not once but twice when switching to rain tires and slicks that took advantage of the changing track conditions.

The most impressive run of the day was by Simon Pagenaud, who started 20th and finished second.

Pagenaud is a master of racing on a wet track as he won a Grand Prix several years ago in the rain and again showed his abilities with the run last Saturday.

Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 takes place this weekend, and it should be interesting to see which six drivers are competing Sunday for front row starting spots.

Ed Carpenter is also in the mix for a front row spot, and I suspect Josef Newgarden, Will Power and Scott Dixon will be contenders.

The most interesting thing to watch this weekend will be how seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson performs in his first attempt at the Indy 500.

Johnson had an impressive run on the Texas oval, but I suspect he will qualify somewhere in the middle of the pack.

The entry list for the Little 500 is now at 39 teams, and several more are expected by the run for the pole position May 26.

Pole day will be a critical day for several teams hoping to make the 33-car starting field. A top-15 qualifying run locks a team into the Little 500.

Looking at the entry list, it's easy to see which drivers will make the field on Pole Day. Defending race winner Tyler Roahrig, Kody Swanson, Brady Bacon, Caleb Armstrong, Dakoda Armstrong, Billy Wease, Brian Gerster and probably Ryan Newman are on that list.

Bump day is expected to be filled with lots of drama as drivers hope their Thursday time is good enough to keep them from having to make a second qualifying run.

In addition to the Little 500 race itself, Pole and Bump days are always exciting.

IN OTHER RACING NEWS

Anderson Speedway announced this week the 56th running of the Greg Hubler Automotive Group Redbud 400 will honor the American Speed Association.

ASA was founded by Pendleton resident Rex Robbins in 1973, and it was considered the premier short track series through 2005.

Johnson sat on the pole for a Redbud 400 in the past.

Drivers like Bob Senneker, Mike Eddy, Butch Miller, Gary St. Amant, Mike Miller and Scott Hantz all left the mark on ASA over the years.

Anderson Speedway is planning special activities surrounding the ASA weekend.

Having worked for ASA for 12 years, it's a weekend on July 16 I'm looking forward to, and I hope to meet old friends.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.