The 108th running of the INDIANAPOLIS 500, the greatest spectacle in racing lived up to its monicker. The entire day proved more insane than silly season, which offered up craziness and unexpected outcomes across the board. And it lived up to its promise of being the longest sporting event held in a day.
THE DAY THAT PROVED INCREDULOUS
From the fans being forced to flee the stands and the snake pit to seek shelter due to impending inclement weather, to Audrey Larson, daughter of Kyle Larson, rooting for Alexander Rossi to win the race and hoping her father would finish second, all the while he was hoping to become a modern version of AJ Foyt by completing Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 in North Carolina on the same day…
From Team Penske locking up the front row for the first time since 1988, to sophomore driver Sting Ray Robb being the first driver in history to be running under a faith-based sponsor Prayer.com to Ed Carpenter pulling off the fastest qualifying time in the history of the race…
From the drop of the green flag at 4:46 p.m. these drivers proved that you have to work harder at Indy than any other race to win it and every lap of this running proved it.
GREEN, GREEN, GREEN, YELLOW
The race began with every driver’s nightmare, a first lap crash taking out Marcus Ericsson, Tom Blomqvist and Pietro Fittipaldi. And it ended with the most exciting last-lap finish in Indy racing history.
By race end, nine drivers were out. Armstrong, Blomqvist, Fittipaldi, Ericsson, Legge, Rosenqvist, Andretti, Hunter-Reay, Power. Two of Ericsson's teammates, Colton Herta and Marco Andretti also had hit the wall, while a third, Kyle Kirkwood, saw his hopes end with a penalty for avoidable contact on pit row. Ericsson, Blomqvist and Pietro Fittipaldi all got collected in the first-lap crash. Rookie Linus Lundqvist of Chip Ganassi Racing hit the wall in the first turn of Lap 28. Even Will Power of Team Penske, a two-time series champ and 2018 Indy winner, couldn't avoid crashing — hitting the wall between the first and second turns on Lap 148.
DASHED HOPES
Hélio Castroneves, four-time winner, was seeking to make history as the first five-time winner and his attempt left him falling short. “Spider-Man” as he has come to be called after scaling the trackside fence after a win came in at the late spot of 20th. Making his debut in 2001 at Indy, the Brazilian born driver, who competes part-time in the Indy series, driving the No. 6 Dallara-Honda for Meyer Shank Racing, also competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, won his first 500 as a rookie in the IRL. The lack of win, however, did not dampen his fan base as one of the most popular drivers.
RECORD BREAKERS AND THOSE WHO TRIED
Eighteen different drivers led at least one lap, an event record, previously the bar was at 15 drivers in both 2017 and 2018.
While Team Penske repeated its feat of sweeping the front row in qualifying and winning the race at record high of 20, with the closest its contender Chip Ganassi in second with six wins. As well, Roger Penske is the first team owner to have two drivers win back-to-back Indianapolis 500s, with Helio Castroneves in 2001-02 and Newgarden this year and last.
Pushing the limit and nearly breaking the record, there were 21 cars on the lead lap at the finish, short of the event record of 22 set in 2021 and 2022. Hedging in attempt to best Honda(15 wins) and marching toward outing Offenhauser(27) wins, Chevy saw its 15th Indy win.
NOTHING SHORT OF MIRACULOUS
For Sting Ray Robb, who started in row eight at position 23, the day was just one more to add to his testimony of faith that all things work together for the glory of God. His rookie run at the track in 2023 left him with not even finishing the race and this year saw him running in first for 26 laps, bested only by Scott McLaughlin who led a race-high 64 laps. Robb joined 6 other drivers, McLaughlin, Christian Lundgaard, Kyle Kirkwood, and rookie drivers Kyffin Simpson, Kyle Larson and Christian Rasmussen who hit the number one position at the track for the first time in their careers.
THE FINAL CORNER REDEMPTION
Team owner Roger Penske took home his 20th win when with one final pass on the white flag lap, Josef Newgarden waited till the final corner to pass Pato O’Ward becoming the sixth driver to win consecutive Indianapolis 500s. With the win Newgarden redeemed himself from the scandal at race season’s opener in St. Petersburg after he was stripped of his win there due to illegal use of push-to-pass.
LAST FLAG DROP
The race did not disappoint. Fans were left with one of the most memorable days of the race run on the last Sunday in May. It was a dream for some fans who got to party in the snake pit longer than ever before. It was a nightmare for those racers who didn’t finish and for Pato O’Ward who lost in the last turn. But, as always it left drivers and fans counting the days till next year’s run.
.webp)
