Credit to Wikimedia Comms: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
It has now been a week since Memorial Sunday but the thrills of this weekend are still on everyone's minds. All within one day we had four spectacular and prestigious races to grace our TV screens. Four different disciplines of racing but four races delivering the same levels of excitement and drama. Formula E’s double header at Shanghai took the morning slot, the Monaco Grand Prix then took place at midday and rounding off the day was Nascar’s Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. You could talk in great length about any of these races but for today, we are here to talk about the race that every motorsport fanatic longs for. The one race that eclipsed every event last Sunday and remains to this day as the greatest spectacle in racing. The Indianapolis 500.
Once a year on every memorial weekend in America, 33 of the quickest drivers on the planet duke it out for eternal glory on one of the world's greatest tracks, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is a two and a half mile 200 lap flat out race at speeds in excess of 230 mph and challenges the nerves of the world's greatest racing talents. It is the largest seated sporting facility in the world and sells out all 400,000 of its seats every year. To win here is to be immortalised in racing history, to earn a place on the Borg Warner Trophy and to conquer one of motorsports highest peaks. A winner of one third of racing's triple crown. A winner of the fastest race on the planet. A title of the fastest driver on the planet. Drivers and engineers throw everything they have in their capacity to win this event. To some, no other event on the Indycar schedule matters. This is the ultimate goal. To win an Indy 500 is as important as the overall championship.
Every driver and team has their own story to tell and this year's race brought a host of new exciting moments to grace our screens. There were tales of glory, moments of heartbreak and stories of redemption. All packed into one race delivering unrivalled tension that you would struggle to find from any other race series. To sit here and discuss every driver and team would turn this article into a novel so I have decided to handpick seven stories that I followed throughout the race and found to be amongst the most captivating all the way to the chequered flag. This is your rundown of seven driver/team stories to emerge from the 108th Indianapolis 500.
Newgarden in command
Who would have thought after one of the longest droughts before a maiden Indy 500, Josef Newgarden would become the first driver to go back to back for the first time since Helio Castroneves when he achieved the feat in 2001 and 2002. Newgarden, the accomplished two time Indycar champion, was a driver that was once cursed from ever winning this race. Time and time again he tried and failed but almost in a flash, he has obliterated his own burden. And this time, there was no advantage handed to him. Sceptics were quick to judge 2023 as a gift from the timing of the red flag near the end of the race. But this time, there were no red flags to reset the field. His championship winning crew was also completely replaced after the suspensions from the season opening race at St Petersburg. That disqualification suspended long time members of Newgarden's squad including strategist and team principal Tim Cindric. The allegations being fired against him also completely destroyed his morale and we saw for the first time an emotional and mentally defeated Newgarden emerge. Everything was stacked against him but Newgarden defied everything to pull through for a spectacular victory on racing's biggest stage. He remained aggressive, decisive and tactical with every move he made during the whole race. Other drivers nearly had the measure of him. Others faded towards the end. Other contenders even lost it under this immense pressure. But through it all, Newgarden was always a factor. Key to this was Newgarden’s car which was locked in on rails for the whole day. There was never a hint of Newgarden or his car being out of control. He remained steady with his hands and kept on top of his car balance through every change with his roll bars and aerodynamics. It was man and machine in harmony and Newgarden was dancing beautifully with his car. His prowess was on full display when a late run by Pato O’Ward on the final lap set up the Arrow McLaren man for a first win. Newgarden though responded beautifully with a draft up the back straight followed by a spectacular pass on the outside of turn three to curelly deny O’Ward a maiden win. No one else could have pulled that move off that late in the race except Newgarden. In his car, he was simply unstoppable and he came through to join the elite in Indy 500 history and within team Penske. It now marks Penske’s 20th Indy 500 win and Newgarden a second Indy 500 win. And it also proves the naysayers that whatever happened in 2023 was no fluke. He is the real deal and he has refound momentum at such a crucial point in the title race.
A crushing defeat
When there is a winner, there will always be a runner up. And in the context of Indy, second place is the cruellest prize which this year was taken yet again by Patricio O’Ward. But the feeling should not be disappointment in the shoes of O’Ward. The first word that comes to mind describing his drive should be proud. Proud of the fact that he came from deep in the field to the very front. Proud that he put himself and Arrow McLaren in a position to win racings greatest prize. Proud that he nearly defeated the invincible squad of Team Penske. It was a performance worthy of only legends and in a car that was far from stable and dancing on the knife's edge of control all race long. He was wrestling and hustling his Arrow McLaren throughout the whole race, his hands darting left and right to keep the car straight and constantly fighting the back end from stepping out on him. He went on to the alternative strategy causing him to be out of sync with the front runners. But by using the cautions and yellow flags to his advantage, through saving fuel and tire wear, he managed to join the top five by the last quarter of the race and was fighting through the opposition with his loose race car. He was following the tail of Dixon throughout the race and by the last twenty laps, he pounced on the opposition. He passed Dixon and then Newgarden and was up front with Rossi trading blows and saving more fuel. But the car was still a handful and Newgarden was sitting strong behind. Lessons of the past saw O’Ward be too conservative and this time, he kept his foot flat to surge past Newgarden and take the lead on the final lap. But Newgarden was ultimately too strong and despite a strong defensive move, O’Ward was powerless and came home runner up yet again. Nothing could hide the emotional distraught of once again losing out at Indianapolis and to see O’Ward breakdown in his post race interviews was truly upsetting to watch. That shows the emotional weight Indy carries but sadness should not be the feeling from O’Ward. Only pride. O’Ward will win one day. He is a consistently great performer at the speedway but that opportunity to win will have to wait another agonising year.
Tip of the hat
Finishing in 18th does not tell the full story of Kyle Larson’s race. The uninitiated will see this Nascar star finishing this low as underwhelming. But all race long, Larson was easily looking to be in the top five today and possibly in the conversation for victory. There was a real threat with the rain delay that Larson would pack his bags and run the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte but the decision was quickly made for him to remain at Indianapolis. And thank goodness because he performed a frankly incredible drive in one of the toughest races on earth. There were still rookie mistakes of course. The first green flag restart saw him upshift early to neutralise wheelspin but he shifted up too many gears, stalled his engine and left him vulnerable to the rest of the field. He also entered the pits near the end of the race and failed to adhere to the pit lane speed limit causing him to serve a drive through penalty. This dropped him down to his final finishing position but aside from these two errors, he performed masterfully as an Indy 500 rookie amongst the Indycar veterans. He was riding on every line up and down the speedway and was making wild passes around every corner against Indycar’s elite. To come from the world of heavy powerful stock cars and perform this well in an open wheel spaceship is incredible. His talent was on full display and shows why he is one of the most talented drivers currently walking this planet. But what was expected to be a double effort turned into a huge disappointment for Larson. The rain delay at Indianapolis meant Larson would be unable to complete his ‘double duty’. Indy was made the priority meaning that over in Charlotte, Justin Allgier would need to take Larson’s seat at Hendrick Motorsports for the race start. When Indianapolis finished, Larson jumped into a helicopter and rushed to Charlotte to join midway through the Coke 600. But as he arrived and climbed into his car, rain began to fall in Charlotte causing the race to be called early and Larson ended up only running 500 miles of the 1100 mile challenge. A real disappointment after a year of hype and in a post put out by Larson himself, he himself was gutted with how his day panned out. Whether he does the double again is still up in the air. But his run this year shows that he does not need to think about coming back. He needs to come back. And when he comes back, he will be a serious threat.
The nearly men
It was yet again so close but so far for Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon and Alex Palou. Across the whole Indycar grid, these two are the benchmark drivers for performance. Every time they enter the track, whether it is an oval, road or street course, all eyes are upon them and everything they do, from their steering inputs, setup adjustments, throttle control and brake management. The championships between them speak for themselves but the Indy 500 remains that elusive accolade to complete their Indycar resume. They both have the speed and have demonstrated it every single time they entered the speedway. But just through a matter of circumstance, the race never falls their way. Dixon’s only Indy 500 win was in 2008 and that is coming up close to two decades now since he last tasted the milk. Joining the immortals with multiple Indy 500 titles is key for Dixon's legacy but no matter how hard he tries, he is always ruled out through every possible piece of bad luck. Palou, despite his age, is already a two champion and has achieved notable achievement in his short Indycar career. But much like Dixon, Indy has been the goal he cannot achieve. Despite the experience and raw talent that they both share, the 500 has always been beyond their grasp. The writing was seemingly on the wall again this year as both Dixon and Palou were far outside of the top ten. Yet slowly but surely, they both used their prowess to climb up the field slowly but surely. Chip Ganassi decided to split the strategy between their star drivers, with Palou on the primary strategy with the Penske’s and Dixon on the alternative strategy out of sync with the front runners. Palou fought it out hard in the top five and remained a factor until the very end. But Dixon pulled off the impossible and mastered the art of fuel saving to effectively leapfrog the entire front group on strategy alone. He managed to extend his fuel stint so much on the last couple of stops that by the time the last cycle of pit stops were commencing, he had plenty of fuel on board to warrant a shorter pit stop to his rivals. Eventually the last stops were complete and Dixon was far out in the lead of the race with Palou still troubling the top three. But Dixon began to slowly fade as the strength of Penske’s Newgarden and McLaren’s O’Ward was too difficult to usurp. Yet he fought strong to the end and pipped Alexander Rossi to the line to finish a brilliant third place. Meanwhile Palou continued a strong drive but just fell short to come home in fifth place, just behind Rossi at the line. Considering the struggles Honda faced this month and the lack of pace shown by Ganassi, this result for Dixon and Palou is frankly astonishing. But is Indianapolis a curse that either Dixon or Palou can break? Plenty has been said about the Dixon curse at the speedway but is that cloud now overshadowing Palou? Time will only tell but you cannot blame them for any lack of speed or effort. The speedway does not choose the winner. As a driver, you have to make your own destiny and to do that you need to be perfect. Dixon and Palou have always chased perfection because that is the level these two operate at. Anything less than perfect is not acceptable and at a place like Indy, perfection is a necessity both internally in the car and externally on the track.
Missed opportunities
Andretti Global came in looking like possible disruptors for the victory to Penske and Arrow McLaren. Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood were quietly comfortable with their race cars along with Marco Andretti. And despite his practice and qualifying woes, Marcus Ericsson was feeling positive heading into the race. But their Sunday could not have been more disappointing for an organisation with the potential to win. A first lap spin from Meyer Shank’s Tom Blomqvist saw him spin up the track and directly into the path of Ericsson. There was no way for Marcus to avoid Blomqvist and the former Indy 500 winner retired his car after what has been an extremely tough month. One car was down but there was still hope left as the progress from Kirkwood and Herta in the race's early stages was amazing. Herta especially was on a tear. He was so confident with the car underneath him and was making passes inside and outside of everyone in such an aggressive manner. But when it looked like it was all going right, it all went wrong just as fast. He lost control of his car after diving too low into turn one and spun into the wall with a damaged nose cone. A lapse of concentration? Car failure? No one knows except Herta but all that was broken was his front wing and nothing else. He very well could have continued there and then with a quick trip to the pits but he chose to jump out of the car unaware of the little damage he took. Two cars were now gone and it quickly became three as Marco Andretti then succumbed to dirty air on a green flag restart at turn one and also took a trip into the wall. That was now three Andretti cars out of the fight leaving the lone wolf Kyle Kirkwood as the sole remaining chance for a good result. But despite the hope placed in him, he then made contact with Callum Ilott in the pits, punting the Arrow McLaren driver into Ed Carpenter’s pit stall and granting him a drive through penalty. He still finished the race in a strong seventh place but there was clearly more on the table for all four Andretti drivers. A missed opportunity for sure and one that will haunt them until next year.
Rasmussen has arrived
It was not an easy year for the Indy 500 rookies. With the exception of Kyle Larson, the full time Indycar rookies had a day of ups and downs. Tom Blomqvist and Linus Lundqvist both crashed out, Kyffin Simpson was anonymous the whole race and Marcus Armstrong suffered an engine failure early in the race. But wading through it all to the very end was Ed Carpenter’s Christian Rasmussen, the highest finishing rookie at the chequered flag. Expectations were not sky high especially given the calibre of his teammates in oval specialist Ed Carpenter and Indianapolis stalwart Rinus Veekay. But in a surprise twist, the most recent Indy NXT champion proved to be the dominant force come race day but not without scepticism. Rasmussen’s antics during the two weeks of practice ruffled a few of the drivers feathers with his aggression coming under serious scrutiny. With close quarter racing, late dives and sharp defensive manoeuvres, he was viewed with a ‘win it or bin it’ attitude which very much carried through into the race. But come race day, the moves he was making were exceptional and despite Rasmussen having some very nervy and risky moments, he managed to stick the landing with every pass he made. A top ten was in touching distance but the end result for Rasmussen was twelfth place. Veekay was the highest placed ECR driver but compared to his starting position, he fell back two places after suffering various in race penalties. And Ed Carpenter was miles behind both his drivers finishing his race in 17th place. But Rasmussen kept it clean and had a great drive, moving up twelve places from his starting position. He was the best ECR driver on Sunday and has now made his long awaited mark in Indycar as a future challenger for race wins. His opportunistic style of racing may have disgruntled many drivers but this is a business where you need to win. And to succeed in racing is to not be pushed over, which Rasmussen learned in a ballsy display of driving.
The hometown hero
At a place like Indianapolis, very few drivers manage to capture the hearts and admiration of everyone in the grandstands. But Indiana native Conor Daly is the hometown hero that no matter which car he is in, he has the support of everyone watching on. To have an Indiana native win their home race is exemplary for this unwavering support, but it also stems from the perspective of the twists and turns of Daly’s Indycar journey. Up to this point, Conor Daly was in desperate need of a career revival. His premature exit from Ed Carpenter Racing in 2023 left him with a horrible feeling of this being the end. The end of a long career in Indycar. One that was supposed to bring so much but brought so little. Cameos were made for Meyer Shank Racing and Rahal Letterman Lanagin in 2023 but a drive for 2024 was seemingly off the cards, both full time and part time. He was at a dead end in Indycar but the one race where he always excels at is the Indy 500. His last two appearances at Indianapolis were in the top ten and there was no doubt it could have been three when in 2021, he suffered horrible luck by hitting the flying tire of Graham Rahal. So when the opportunity came from Dreyer Reinbold Racing asking him to pilot their two car operation alongside Ryan Hunter Reay at the Indianapolis 500, you can be sure that Conor would not waste his chance. The race he longed for since childhood is now once again a possibility. And straight from the get go, confidence was once again back with him. It was a gut wrenching qualifying session as his Chevrolet engine suffered a plenum event and briefly cut power in his four lap run. But come race day, nothing phased him and he put in a seriously underrated drive to make up the most places out of anyone in the whole field. He started in a lowly 29th place but went to the alternative strategy very quickly after the first caution flag was flown. The Indiana native found himself up into the lead of the race early on and was duking it out with pole man Scott McLaughlin, and the roar from the crowd as he took the lead was unbelievable. The support for Daly has never been stronger but no matter how much the crowd fuelled Daly, the pace ultimately went away from him as the race neared its conclusion. But to end the race in a great 10th place is quite the statement from Daly. He earned the ‘biggest mover’ trophy for making up the most sports of any driver and only proves that the fire within him is still alight. It may not be the win he was hoping for but adding another top ten in three years at the speedway has now placed himself back on the map for another potential Indy 500 ride. And to him, that is what matters most. The hopes of a full season ride and championship run are unfortunately gone but to bounce back and perform this well under his mental circumstances is highly commendable. Within the sea of articles about Newgarden’s win, Daly has gone under the radar and deserves the recognition for putting in a drive that may well have saved his driving career.
Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indianapolis_Motor_Speedway_%2816188939351%29.jpg
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