By: Tanner Watkins
November 3, 2019 | 1:00 PM
For months, November 3 merely seemed like another date circled on the calendar in anticipation for our inaugural running of the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions. Incredibly, that day that appeared to be so far away is finally here, and we couldn’t be more ready to get started.
In today’s practice session – which runs for 12 hours so drivers of all time zones have an opportunity to participate – drivers will begin to work on their cars in anticipation for next weekend’s daunting two days of qualifications. Our field of 104 entries will be whittled down to just 33, and a few big names are sure to miss the cut.
Traditionally, the first day of practice at the Indianapolis 500 was scarcely-attended. Up until the 1990s, cars on the entry list would trickle in as late as the second week of May – often bringing low participation to the first few days of scheduled track activity.
Today, we expect a healthy list of drivers on-track despite a couple of important races occurring this afternoon and evening. Good luck to the Classic IndyCar Series as well as the MYLAPS Indy Elite Series in their events this evening, and we will see all of you on-track later this week.
Throughout the event, we will provide daily coverage of the festivities on Open-Wheels.com, featuring practice recaps, full write-ups on qualifying and the support events, and even daily trackside reports made famous by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway public relations staff.
Make sure to tune into the live stream of today’s practice by visiting twitch.tv/openwheels, and follow along with live timing and scoring at open-wheels.com/timing_broadcast.html.
Capping today’s coverage of Opening Day will be our first airing of Today at the 500 presented by Thru Kaiser’s Visor. This one-hour streaming audio show will be our nightly on-air coverage of practice days at the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race, interviewing drivers, sponsors, media members, and more!
Make sure to tune in tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern by visiting mixlr.com/today-at-the-500-presented-by-thru-kaisers-visor/ or by simply visiting Mixlr.com and searching “Today at the 500.” Our guests this evening will include former iRacing Indianapolis 500 winner Matt Pawelski, NASCAR iRacing Pro Series driver Jeremy Davis, top split starter Michele Costantini, and Tyson Landis, driver of the No. 31 Team Cedi Dallara IR-18 Chevrolet.
Stay connected to the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions by following Open-Wheels on Twitter and Facebook for the most up-to-date reporting on the most exciting 500 miles on iRacing.
The 2019 Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race is presented by Mitchell Transmissions. Mitchell Transmissions is an established business in the Evansville, Indiana area who boasts three decades of mechanical experience to help service the needs of many makes and models. You can visit Mitchell Transmissions in Newburgh, Indiana at 10672 West State Road, or give them a call at 812-853-3286.
Header image by Tanner Watkins/Open-Wheels.com.