The calendar might say April, but the race to the Month of May begins this week.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES teams officially start preparation for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge with two days of open testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Wednesday’s session begins at 10 a.m., with a second full day of running on Thursday.

The action can be viewed in person – available are the mounds inside Turn 2 along with the grandstands on the outside of that part of the track -- or from afar on INDYCAR’s YouTube channel with Allen Bestwick, James Hinchcliffe and Georgia Henneberry leading the broadcast.

All 34 car-and-driver combinations entered in next month’s event are expected to participate in the first full-field test of INDYCAR’s new hybrid technology.

Three drivers will have a record-breaking opportunity when the green flag drops at 12:45 p.m. ET Sunday, May 25 (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). A handful of others will aim for a return to Victory Lane at IMS. Most want to drink from the ceremonial bottle of milk for the first time.

These Open Tests can indeed be a preview of things to come. Last year, Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden turned the fastest lap of April, then he was dynamite when it mattered most in May. Newgarden became the sixth driver to win the “500” in consecutive years, overtaking Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward on the final lap. Newgarden also paced the 2023 Open Test before winning the race a month later.

Newgarden isn’t the only driver prepping for a historic run. Helio Castroneves shoots for a record-setting fifth career Indy win, again with Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian. The Brazilian won the 2021 race for the team, tying the mark shared by A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.

Takuma Sato begins his pursuit of a third Indy victory, again with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a pairing that resulted in the 2020 win. Only 10 drivers have won three or more “500s.” His chance at a record comes with age. He and Castroneves can become the oldest winners in race history, breaking Al Unser’s mark of 47 years, 360 days.

Other former Indy winners testing this week are Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (2008), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi (2016), Team Penske’s Will Power (2018) and Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson (2022).

One-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson also returns for a shot at Indy glory. He again will be part of Arrow McLaren’s stable of cars, joining O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard and rookie Nolan Siegel.

The rookie class includes Dale Coyne Racing’s Jacob Abel, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster and PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman. Siegel participated in last year’s event but failed to earn a starting position, hence the reason why he maintains his rookie status this year.

This test will mark the Indy debut of PREMA Racing, a team competing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the first time. Shwartzman and Callum Ilott are its drivers.

Wednesday’s action is open to all drivers, although those who have not raced in this series on an oval since last year’s “500” or are an event rookie must make their debut in the session scheduled for at noon.

On Thursday morning, all drivers will have access to boost levels reserved for qualifying to simulate timed runs. In the afternoon, the track will be available to all drivers under normal circumstances.

Gates open both days at 9 a.m.

The week’s schedule (all times Eastern):

Wednesday:

10 a.m.-noon: All veteran drivers

Noon-2 p.m.: Rookie Orientation Program and drivers needing to take a refresher program (Marco Andretti, Kyle Larson, Jacob Abel, Robert Shwartzman, Callum Ilott, Devlin DeFrancesco, Louis Foster, Takuma Sato)

2-6 p.m.: All drivers

Thursday:

9:30 a.m.-noon: Qualifying simulations for all drivers

2-5 p.m.: All drivers