Indianapolis 500 Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service What if?… That’s the question that will continue to haunt us after a long day of auto racing on Memorial Day weekend. What if Mother Nature hadn’t intervened, delaying the start of the Indianapolis 500 and shortening the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night? A weather system that battered the Midwest forced Hendrick Motorsports to change plans that had been in the works for a full year. Delayed from the planned 12:45 p.m. start, the green flag at the Indy 500 flew nearly four hoursRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Detroit can’t come soon enough for Marcus Ericsson. Since crashing his primary car in practice ahead of qualifying weekend for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500, it has been one thing after another for the driver of the No. 28 Andretti Global Honda. Struggling to find speed with his back-up car, Ericsson nearly missed out of the race altogether after falling into the Last Row Shootout to even have a chance to make the 33-car field. In that Sunday session to determineRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – As Josef Newgarden celebrated his second straight win in the Indianapolis 500, runner-up finisher Pato O’Ward pulled into his pit box, started to climb from his car and laid his head on the top of the cockpit as he tried to gather his thoughts about coming so close to accomplishing a life-long dream. The 25-year-old Mexican has come close to winning at Indianapolis before, but this time, it just seemed to sting more. Starting the day in eighth-place, O’Ward held steady among theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – For the second year in a row, Josef Newgarden took matters into his own hands in the final lap of the Indianapolis 500, passing Pato O’Ward to secure back-to-back wins in the biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series. In a race delayed by rain for more than four hours, Newgarden and O’Ward were racing daylight as the laps wound down Sunday, with the two drivers trading the lead over the final seven laps of the race, with fan-favorite O’Ward taking the leadRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – A decision to stay in Indianapolis for his debut in the Indianapolis 500 instead of heading to Charlotte for his NASCAR Cup Series duties seemed to be paying off for Kyle Larson – until it wasn’t. After a four-hour rain delay pushed the Indy 500 to a late afternoon start, Larson and his team made the decision to stay in Indianapolis to give Larson a chance to compete at Indianapolis. Earning his worth as a part of the four-car Arrow McLaren stable ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Is 2024 Scott McLaughlin’s year to win the Indianapolis 500? Making his fourth start in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet has his best starting position yet, rolling off from the pole after setting a record pace in qualifying last weekend. Joined by his teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden on the front row, McLaughlin looks to turn his speed from qualifying into speed during Sunday’s race to join them as Indy 500 champions. NewgardenRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Thus far through the Month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Team Penske has elevated themselves as the favorites to take home the Borg Warner Trophy when the checkered flag falls on the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. But the 30 other drivers in the field are hoping to play spoiler on Sunday, including the four drivers from the Arrow McLaren stable – Alexander Rossi, Pato O’Ward, Callum Ilott, and NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Larson running in his first Indy 500. RossiRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Conor Daly has grown up around the Indianapolis 500 and even after all these years, isn’t taking it for granted that he has the opportunity once again to try and make his mark on the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. After unceremoniously losing his ride with Ed Carpenter Racing midway through the 2023 season, Daly is back at Indianapolis in a one-off deal with Dreyer and Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports to try once again to win in front of his hometown crowd. Though qualifying didRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – In the past two Indianapolis 500s, “The Dragon” has been synonymous with the closing laps of the race with drivers weaving back and forth, especially off Turn 2 and Turn 4 in an effort to keep the driver in second place behind them. First with Marcus Ericsson pulling the move to keep Pato O’Ward behind him in 2022 and then last season when Josef Newgarden flipped the script and used the move against Ericsson to win the race. The rub came with theRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor SPEEDWAY, Ind. – There’s something to be said about experience at Indianapolis. Two of the most veteran drivers in the 33-car field for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 – Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves – put their track knowledge to work during Friday’s Carb Day practice, leading the final two-hour session before the green flag drops on Sunday. Dixon topped the board at 227.206 mph, followed by Castroneves at 226.939 mph. Both drivers will have some work to do on Sunday starting from RowRead More