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The Indianapolis 500 was delayed four hours on Sunday due to inclement weather. Once it got started, it provided a familiar result.
Josef Newgarden won the 108th edition of the race, defending his title from a year ago. He narrowly held off Pato O'Ward and Alexander Rossi, passing O'Ward on the final lap to conclude a long and dramatic evening.
He became the first driver to win the event in back-to-back years since Hélio Castroneves in 2001-02.
Kyle Larson, who led with 20 laps remaining, ultimately finished 18th after a speeding penalty ruined his day:
He was attempting to become the fifth driver ever to run the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. Tony Stewart is the only driver to ever successfully run every mile in both races in the same day.
The weather delay—which included pounding rains and whipping winds—will prevent Larson from fully participating in both races.
Sunday was quite the day on a number of fronts.
After the long weather delay, it didn't take long for the first crash of the evening, as several cars were taken out of commission in the very first lap.
Racers like Felix Rosenqvist, Colton Hera, Marco Andretti and Will Power would later see their races cut short:
Ryan Hunter-Reay also saw his race finish after he was bumped by Scott Dixon, which surprisingly didn't earn Dixon a penalty of any sort:
There was even drama in the pits:
But ultimately, the day belonged to Newgarden.
"I'm just so proud of the team. They crushed it," he said on the NBC broadcast after the race. "I mean, crushed it. They came here with the fastest cars. We worked our tails off,"
Scott McLaughlin will sit on the pole for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.
McLaughlin completed the fastest pole pole in Indy 500 history with an average speed of 234.22 miles per hour.
McLaughin beat out a Fast Six qualifying round pool of Will Power, Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, Kyle Larson and Santino Ferrucci to earn the position.
Here's a look at the full starting grid for next Sunday's Indianapolis 500.
2024 Indianapolis 500 starting grid
Row 1: Scott McLaughlin (pole), Will Power, Josef Newgarden
Row 2: Alexander Rossi, Kyle Larson, Santino Ferrucci
Row 3: Rinus Veekay, Pato Oward, Felix Rosenqvist
Row 4: Takuma Sato, Kyle Kirkwood, Ryan Hunter-Reay
Row 5: Colton Herta, Alex Palou, Callum Ilott
Row 6: Marcus Armstrong, Ed Carpenter, Kyffin Simpson
Row 7: Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon
Row 8: Agustin Canapino, Sting Ray Robb, Christian Rasmussen
Row 9: Tom Blomqvist, Romain Grosjean, Linus Lundqvist
Row 10: Christian Lundgaard, Conor Daly, Pietro Fittipaldi
Row 11: Katherine Legge, Marcus Ericsson, Graham Rahal
McLaughlin's race paced the previous pole standard of 234.217 mph set by Alex Palou last season.
Watch the historic qualifying run below:
McLaughlin was followed by teammates Power and Newgarden at the top of the Fast Six leaderboard, marking the first time Penske has swept the Indy 500 first row since its lockout in 1988.
Newgarden is the defending Indy 500 winner, while Power previously won the race in 2018.
Alexander Rossi will come in fourth behind the Penske trio after opening the race with a 234.062 mile-per-hour lap.
Rossi took provisional pole before he was bumped, which he said would serve as motivation for the Indy 500.
Larson will start fifth as he attempts an Indy-NASCAR double by trying to compete in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
The green flag will drop for the Indianapolis 500 at 12:45 p.m. ET next Sunday on NBC and Peacock.
IndyCar owner Roger Penske expects to see an investigation into what caused a tire from Kyle Kirkwood's car to sail over the catch fence during Sunday's Indianapolis 500.
"We have tethers on the wheels, and it was a rear wheel that came off," Penske said. "And I'm sure the guys at IndyCar will look at it, will determine what really happened."
On Lap 185, Felix Rosenqvist lost control after hitting the wall and clipped Kirkwood, which caused one of Kirkwood's tires to fly off the car and sail near one of the grandstands.
"We haven't had a wheel come off in a long time," Penske said of the situation. "We were very fortunate we didn't have a bad accident."
The tire wound up hitting a car parked outside of the track.
Robin Matthews was the fan whose car was damaged, and she had the chance to walk onto the track after the race for her trouble.
The incident was especially surprising because RACER's Marshall Pruett reported in December the IndyCar Series was planning to utilize "new and stronger rear wheel tethers" intended to provide more stability and security.
Based on Penske's comments, it may not be long before IndyCar officials are implementing changes to avoid what happened at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Josef Newgarden is an Indy 500 champion for the first time in his career, and he couldn't have achieved the dream in more dramatic fashion.
There were three red-flag restarts in the final 10 laps, and Newgarden made a late move on the final two-lap sprint to the finish after the last one to prevail at the 107th running of the famed race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.
He passed Marcus Ericsson near the end and outlasted the second-place finisher. Santino Ferrucci and Alex Palou rounded out the top four.
Newgarden went from third to first on the initial red-flag restart in the closing stretch, but the race had two more stoppages because of crashes. It seemed like Ericsson was going to win under the caution on the final one, but the officials decided to give one more red flag and the late restart sprint.
Newgarden took full advantage and prevailed against a loaded field.
Ellen J. Horrow of USA Today noted there were nine former winners who competed Sunday, including 2021 champion Helio Castroneves. Castroneves was attempting to become the first driver in the sport's history to win the Indy 500 five times.
Yet he and everyone else started the race behind pole winner Palou, who set the record for fastest pole speed in race history during qualifying.
On the opposite side of Palou at the start was Graham Rahal, who had a battery issue before the race began when his car didn't fire. He was forced off the track and didn't get into the race until he was two laps behind.
That wasn't the only early unfortunate news for one of the racers, as Katherine Legge temporarily lost control of her car and forced a member of the pit team to scramble over the wall. Her day also came to an end when she retired from the race.
Pit-road chaos quickly became the name of the game.
The first caution of the race came on Lap 92 when Sting Ray Robb crashed, but the more important development came on the restart when Rinus VeeKay spun into Palou coming off pit road and significantly damaged the chances for both contenders. Palou had led more laps than any other driver to that point, and the crash put him in comeback mode.
Throw in a pit-road speeding penalty that put Agustín Canapino to the rear, and the race took on a different feel following the dramatic stretch.
Andretti Autosport could have done without the pit-road issues, as Colton Herta received a drive-through penalty for colliding with teammate Romain Grosjean ahead of the stretch run. Grosjean then crashed into the wall when he returned to the track, capping off an ugly sequence for the team.
Ferrucci didn't have any trouble with the restarts, though, and made a move to take the lead heading into the final 40 laps.
While the underdog story was battling for the lead, Felix Rosenqvist hit the wall and drifted into the middle of the track. That is where Kyle Kirkwood hit his car, went upside down and had a tire fly near the grandstands in a scary incident that led to a red flag with 14 laps remaining.
According to the NBC Sports broadcast, there were no injuries.
That incident set the stage for the dramatic finish, and Newgarden came through on the final push.
A scary crash during the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday saw Kyle Kirkwood flip his car after he attempted to avoid but ultimately clipped Felix Rosenqvist, who had spun out following a brush against the wall.
Rosenqvist's tire, meanwhile, ended up flying just above spectators who were sitting in the stands and found its way into the parking lot, smashing into a car.
Both drivers were able to get out of their respective cars and appeared to be OK. Kirkwood was talking to safety workers before being taken off the track in an ambulance, heading to the infield care center for further evaluation.
The race was red-flagged with 14 laps to go.
Alex Palou will sit on the pole for next Sunday's Indianapolis 500.
He bested Felix Rosenqvist, five-time pole-winner Scott Dixon, Santino Ferrucci, Rinus VeeKay and Pato O'Ward in the Fast Six qualifying round.
It was a record-setting day for Palou, though by the slimmest of margins:
"It's a tough race," Palou said. "We're going to enjoy for now the P1 in qualifying, celebrate with the boys and get ready for next week."
VeeKay qualified second, followed in order by Rosenqvist, Ferrucci, O'Ward and Dixon.
Earlier in the day, Graham Rahal was the odd man out in the last-row shootout, getting bumped out of the race by his teammate, Jack Harvey.
"I think it's no secret it's been a struggle," Harvey said after qualifying. "I'd even say the first two runs in qualifying weren't awesome. The hope was that all three of our cars could make it. I hate that it was us who bumped Graham out, but I'm grateful to be in the race. It's such a privilege to be able to do this in the first place. The stress of bump day is absolutely real but it doesn't change my love of this place."
A disappointed and emotional Rahal acknowledged that he and his team "weren't good enough."
"This place, it doesn't come easy. It doesn't just happen. ... We were the slowest of our cars—just on pure pace—all week. Unfortunately that happens. But you've got to be positive, you've got to be humble and gracious in victory and defeat. There's next year."
The Indianapolis 500 will be held on next Sunday at 11 a.m. ET on NBC.
On the first of two days of qualifying for the 2023 Indianapolis 500, Felix Rosenqvist paced the field Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With a four-lap average of 233.947 MPH, Rosenqvist turned in the third-best qualifying performance in Indy 500 history, beating out Alexander Rossi, who averaged 233.528 MPH.
Rosenqvist and Rossi are two of the 12 drivers who will have the opportunity to vie for the Indianapolis 500 pole position on Sunday. Here is a rundown of how the "Fast 12" and the other 22 drivers fared during Saturday's qualifying session, courtesy of the official IndyCar website:
1. Felix Rosenqvist: 233.947
2. Alexander Rossi: 233.528
3. Alex Palou: 233.398
4. Rinus VeeKay: 233.395
5. Scott Dixon: 233.375
6. Tony Kanaan: 233.347
7. Takuma Sato: 233.322
8. Pato O'Ward: 233.252
9. Santino Ferrucci: 233.147
10. Marcus Ericsson: 233.030
11. Benjamin Pedersen: 232.739
12. Will Power: 232.719
13. Ed Carpenter: 232.689
14. Scott McLaughlin: 232.677
15. Kyle Kirkwood: 232.662
16. Conor Daly: 232.433
17. Josef Newgarden: 232.402
18. Ryan Hunter-Reay: 232.133
19. Romain Grosjean: 231.997
20. Helio Castroneves: 231.954
21. Colton Herta: 231.951
22. Simon Pagenaud: 231.878
23. David Malukas: 231.769
24. Marco Andretti: 231.682
25. Stefan Wilson: 231.648
26. Devlin DeFrancesco: 231.353
27. Callum Ilott: 231.320
28. Agustin Canapino: 231.182
29. R.C. Enerson: 231.129
30. Katherine Legge: 231.070
31. Christian Lundgaard: Bumped
32. Jack Harvey: Bumped
33. Sting Ray Robb: Bumped
34. Graham Rahal: Bumped
In addition to the top 12 drivers competing for the pole Sunday, the bottom four performers from Saturday's session will race for the final three spots in the Indy 500.
Spots 13 through 30 are set, whereas only three of Christian Lundgaard, Jack Harvey, Sting Ray Robb and Graham Rahal will be part of the field.
Rosenqvist, who was the 2019 IndyCar Rookie of the Year and has one career win to his credit, set off a celebration among his Arrow McLaren team when he took the top spot Saturday:
While it was an impressive performance, he is far from guaranteed to secure the pole, as many of the best drivers in the series will also have a shot Sunday.
Included among them are six past Indy 500 winners in Rossi, Takuma Sato, Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Will Power.
Kanaan, who won the Indy 500 in 2013, was responsible for one of the best moments of the day when he jumped from outside the Fast 12 into the sixth position to give himself a pole opportunity:
Another notable accomplishment was Katherine Legge finishing just above the cut-off line in 30th to secure an Indy 500 spot.
Legge is one of just nine different women to have started an Indianapolis 500, but she had not accomplished the feat since 2013.
Past Indy 500 winners Helio Castroneves, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Simon Pagenaud were also among those who ensured their spot in the 2023 race.
If he wins the race, Castroneves will become the first driver in Indianapolis 500 history to win five times.
Jimmie Johnson doesn't plan on giving up racing altogether, but his full-time career is over.
The seven-time NASCAR champion told Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press that he's stepping away from a full-time schedule and will only race in "bucket list" events.
“It’s been an interesting process to feel so fulfilled with the experience and then also try to make a decision,” Johnson said. “In the big scheme of things, there is so much life-planning going on with the kids. We’ve always had an idea of trying to live abroad for a year or two. We love Colorado and want to spend more time there, and there’s just so much swirling personally and professionally that I just wanted to take some time and make the decision not on the back of a positive or negative experience on the racetrack.”
The 47-year-old retired from NASCAR after the 2020 season for open-wheel racing. He spent the last two years racing for Chip Ganassi Racing in IndyCar, where he had little success. The No. 48 driver had only one top-five finish over the last two years and only two top-10s.
“I do have a desire to go back; it’s just at this point, I know what’s required to do a full schedule, and I don’t have that in me,” Johnson said. “I don’t have that passion that I need for myself to commit myself to a full season.”
Racing in his first Indianapolis 500 this year, Johnson placed 28th. One event—or, rather, one accomplishment—that continues to pique Johnson's interest is The Double, which sees a driver race in both NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 and the Indy 500 on the same day.
Johnson has not competed in NASCAR since his 2020 retirement, but he maintains he'd be open for a potential return in the right situation.
Two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden was hospitalized after collapsing in the Iowa Speedway motorhome lot Sunday. He had been involved in a late crash in Sunday's Salute to Farmers 300.
Per ESPN, IndyCar medical director Dr. Geoffrey Billows said Newgarden was transported by helicopter to Mercy One Des Moines Medical Center for evaluation. He had cut open the back of his head when he collapsed, but he was awake and alert while he was being transported.
A driver for Team Penske, Newgarden led 148 of the 300 laps in the race before his car broke with 64 laps remaining. He spun hard into the outside wall and was noticeably rattled during his mandatory check after the crash.
"Definitely was a bit of a shot. I want to cry, so sad for my team. I don't know what happened," Newgarden said. "Everything felt fine to me. Totally unexpected and it caught me by my surprise. Team Penske is the best. I never have this stuff, so maybe we were due. We can't afford it for this year. But we'll fight back. We have a great team here."
Billows said Newgarden passed all his tests at the infield care center and also spoke to the medical staff a second time before returning to the motorhome lot. There was a plan in place for him to be re-evaluated in Indianapolis on Thursday before he collapsed.
The initial report from Chevrolet was that the suspension broke on Newgarden's car. The race was won by Pato O'Ward of Arrow McLaren SP.
