Two northern California natives, including the Indianapolis 500 defending champion, will look to drink the milk in Victory Lane following the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil this Sunday.

Alexander Rossi (No. 98 NAPA Auto Parts - Curb Honda), a Nevada City native and the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner, will look to repeat his victory on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5-mile oval this Sunday. Rossi qualified third and will start on the first row.

JR Hildebrand (No. Preferred Freezer Service Chevrolet) of Sausalito gained national fame after almost winning the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie in 2011 before crashing in the last turn on the final lap. Hildebrand slid over the finish line second and claimed Indy 500 Rookie of the Year honors. He has returned to full-time competition for 2017 with Ed Carpenter Racing and will make his seventh Indy 500 start.

"I think we'll have our work cut out for us like you do every year," said Hildebrand after qualifying sixth for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. "With some good stuff from Chevrolet and our ECR guys in the pits, hopefully we can keep the Preferred Freezer car up front."

The 101st Indianapolis 500 is the sixth of 17 races on the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule, which concludes at Sonoma Raceway, Sept. 15-17. Race coverage on ABC and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network begins at 8 a.m. PST on Sunday.