There will be two Canadians in the field for the 2018 Indianapolis 500. Zachary Claman DeMelo of Montreal, Quebec will start 13th and Robert Wickens of Toronto, Ontario will start 18th.
Wickens and Claman DeMelo are Indianapolis 500 rookies in the field. Wickens is the only driver for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, while Claman DeMelo is one of three drivers for Dale Coyne Racing. DeMelo will be joined by Sebastien Bourdais of France, who will be starting fifth and Conor Daly of the United States, who will be starting 33rd.
You might think that Daly does not have a chance starting 33rd. Think again. In the most exciting Indianapolis 500 of all-time, Scott Goodyear of Toronto, Ontario started 33rd in the 1992 Indianapolis 500 and came in a close second place, right behind Al Unser Jr, of the United States. In fact, Unser Jr. only beat Goodyear by .043 seconds.
Wickens and Claman DeMelo will be using Honda engines. The four fastest drivers in qualifying–Ed Carpenter and Josef Newgarden of the United States, Simon Pagenaud of France and Will Power of Australia, are all using Chevrolet engines.
It has been a great start to the season to date for Wickens. In the opening race of the season in St. Petersburg, Florida, he had the pole position and had the most laps led before colliding with 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi of the United States. Wickens then finished second at the Phoenix Grand Prix and third at the IndyCar Grand Prix. He is currently eighth overall.
Claman DeMelo is currently 21st overall. His most recognizable achievement in 2018 was having the fastest lap in the race at Birmingham. The 102nd Indianapolis 500 will take place Sunday.
