Indianapolis 500 Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – Ed Carpenter Racing had quite an interesting day in the 105th Indianapolis 500, especially for the boss man. On a day Rinus VeeKay and Conor Daly set the tone throughout the first half of the race, Carpenter had a different afternoon. While running with the leaders early on, Carpenter’s day went south during the first green flag stops. His car stalled, costing him dearly and had to play recovery mode. As race’s end, Carpenter did found his way back towards the leading pack.Read More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – Their day started with an emotional pep talk from legendary former driver Lyn St. James and ended with a lament that showed they’re real racers.  The woman-dominated Paretta Autosport team finished 31st Sunday in the Indianapolis 500 after driver Simona de Silvestro’s brakes failed before a late-race stop and she spun in the pits.  Disappointing as it was after running inside the top 25 earlier in the race, the effort was a source of pride for owner Beth Paretta, whose team became the first in 500 history to beRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer  INDIANAPOLIS – Six months ago, I wasn’t sure this day would happen. Or to be precise, could happen.  The COVID-19 pandemic was strangling the world last December, and nobody knew how to loosen that grip or when it would. Positive test numbers climbed at an alarming rate, and while some people got over it fairly easily, many got really sick. And people died, some I knew personally, and it scared the you-know-what out of me. A vaccination was on its way, but when?  Frankly, when I got my first vaccination on Valentine’s Day and the secondRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – “Helio! Helio! Helio!” The Indianapolis Motor Speedway were chanting the name of Helio Castroneves, who won the 105th Indianapolis 500. In one of largest sports gathering since the pandemic, they witnessed history as Castroneves joined AJ Foyt, Al Unser, and Rick Mears as the only four-time Indy 500 winners. This triumph not only marked the 46-year-old’s first Indy 500 win in 12 years, but Meyer Shank Racing’s maiden INDYCAR victory. The organization that was once solely known for sports cars, showcased they gotRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 ended with only two cautions, both of which came as a result of issues on pit road. Stefan Wilson spun on pit road on lap 35 to bring out the first caution, with the second involving Graham Rahal shortly after leaving pit road on lap 119. Rahal had come to the attention of his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing crew for his third pit stop of the day, but the crew failed to get the left rear tire fully secureRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – What started off as a three-man rookie class, one man stood out throughout the Month of May. That man being Scott McLaughlin, who wins this year’s Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors. Far from an ideal race indeed, but the 20th place finisher will leave IMS with an accolade. His fellow rookie competitors Pietro Fittipaldi finished a lap down in 25th while RC Enerson failed to qualify. After the race McLaughlin described his Indy 500 debut as a “pretty awesome experience.” “ReallyRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor At Indianapolis, the smallest mistake can have wide reaching repercussions and an early race incident on pit road by Stefan Wilson would cause a ripple effect that would involve two of the biggest names in the field – pole sitter Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi. The issues began as green flag pit stops were underway on lap 35 and Wilson was bringing his No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda to the attention of his crew.  As soon as he reached the start of the pit road speedRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – A 1-2-3 finish at the Indianapolis 500. Never been done. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing did score a first and a third in last year’s 500, won by Takuma Sato won. Graham Rahal got a career-equal result of third. Spencer Pigot on the other hand, had a noble run but his day was cut short after a violent Turn 4 crash. It ended the race, securing the other RLL competitors track positions. A P1 and P3 finish has been done in the past withRead More

By Kirby Arnold, David Morgan and Luis Torres In a leadup into Sunday’s 105th Indianapolis 500, Motorsports Tribune had a roundtable discussion about seven questions regarding the race. More than just about who’ll win the race, our writers gave their thoughts on some themes that defined this Month of May. Without further ado, here’s what Kirby Arnold, David Morgan and Luis Torres’ responses: This year’s lead up to the 105th Indianapolis 500 has had a lot of unknowns. There could be as many as 8-12 guys who can win theRead More

By Kirby Arnold, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS – A generation has passed since anyone witnessed a driver win the Indianapolis 500 for the fourth time. The most recent was 1991 when Rick Mears joined A.J. Foyt and Al Unser in the four-timer club.  If that makes you realize you’ve been around a long time, how do you think Helio Castroneves feels?  The 46-year-old won the 500 in 2001, 2002 and 2009, and driving for powerful Team Penske it seemed he not only was speeding toward a fourth victory, five (or more) seemed entirely possible.  He’s still waiting.  In the 11 Indy 500sRead More