INDIANAPOLIS — Josef Newgarden won his second consecutive Indy 500, outdueling Pato O’Ward with a last-lap pass to win the Greatest Spectacle in Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Newgarden became the first driver to win consecutive Indy 500s in 22 years since Helio Castroneves, who also did it for Team Penske in 2001-02. He edged O’Ward by 0.3417 seconds.
“I knew we could win this race again,” Newgarden said. “It was just a matter of getting it right. There’s no better way to win a race than that. I got to give it up to Pato as well. He’s an incredibly clean driver. It takes two people to make that work.
“It’s not just a good pass, it’s also someone that you’re working with that’s incredibly clean. I have to give hats off to Pato. He could have easily won this race, too, but it just fell our way. I’m just so proud of everybody. I’m proud of this whole team.”
It’s the record-extending 20th victory in the Indy 500 for team owner Roger Penske.
Newgarden and O’Ward traded the lead four times in the last eight laps. O’Ward, who led 12 laps, has finished second twice in the last three Indy 500s and has led four consecutive races on the IMS oval.
“It’s hard to put it into words,” an emotional O’Ward told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns. “I’m proud of the work we did today. Just so close again. So (expletive) close. It’s so painful when you put so much into it and two corners short. You just don’t know how many opportunities you have.”
Scott Dixon finished third, followed by Alexander Rossi and Alex Palou.
Pole-sitter Scott McLaughlin was sixth with Kyle Kirkwood, Santino Ferrucci, Rinus VeeKay and Conor Daly rounding out the top 10.
Newgarden earned a $440,000 bonus from BorgWarner as a repeat Indy 500 winner. His No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet team also found redemption after Newgarden had his victory in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg season opener disqualified for illegally using push to pass on restarts.
Team owner Roger Penske also suspended four team members from working at IMS this month, including team president Tim Cindric, Newgarden’s race strategist, and Luke Mason, his engineer.
“Absolutely,” Newgarden said when asked by NBC Sports’ Marty Snider if he had extra motivation to win. “They can say whatever they want after this point, I don’t care anymore. I’m just so proud of the team. They crushed it. They came here with the fastest cars. We’ve worked our tails off. Team Chevy brought it. Luke, Tim, they’re not here today, but they’re a huge part of this. I’m just so proud of everyone at Team Penske. That’s the way I wanted to win the thing right there.”
Kyle Larson finished 18th in his Indy 500 debut and then hustled to Charlotte Motor Speedway to finish the Coca-Cola 600 as a relief driver after a four-hour rain delay ruined his chance to complete 1,100 miles of racing in NASCAR and IndyCar.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion was running sixth with 70 laps remaining but was penalized for speeding on entry to the pits. He still managed to lead with 20 laps remaining before his final pit stop.
L150 — Dixon leading under caution
With 50 laps remaining, Scott Dixon is leading the 108th Indy 500, but his fuel-saving advantage might have been hindered by a crash that bunched up the field.
Will Power, who qualified second but struggled in the race, spun off the exit of Turn 1 on Lap 147 for the eighth yellow.
On Lap 150 of 200, Dixon leads Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay.
L130 — Larson speeds in pits
Kyle Larson was hit with a drive-through penalty for speeding on entry to the pits under green on Lap 130 of 200.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion locked up his brakes while pitting with several other drivers after defending race winner Josef Newgarden pitted from the lead a lap earlier.
Larson had been running sixth before the penalty in his Indy 500 debut, rebounding from a shifting mistake on the race’s first restart on Lap 9. He fell a lap down in 22nd after serving the penalty.
The Hendrick Motorsports superstar had been practicing pit stops throughout the past two weeks and had said it was among his biggest concerns, along with restarts, during his IndyCar debut.
L100 — Newgarden leads at halfway
Josef Newgarden is leading the Indy 500 at halfway point of trying to defend his 2023 victory in the race.
Santino Ferrucci, who finished a career-best third last year, is second, followed by pole-sitter Scott McLaughlin, Sting Ray Robb, Conor Daly, Alex Palou, Kyle Larson, Alexander Rossi, Helio Castroneves and Christian Rasmussen.
Agustin Canapino, Pato O’Ward, Will Power, Takuma Sato and Marco Andretti rounded out the top 15.
There’s a little recent history between the top two in the running order. Team Penske formed an alliance with A.J. Foyt Racing, whose engineer Scott Cannon is known for being one of the sharpest minds at the Brickyard.
But Newgarden has disputed the idea that the team is using any of Foyt’s info. Ferrucci, who is among the series’ most controversial and confrontational drivers, disagreed with that view and took a thinly veiled shot at Newgarden on Indy 500 Media Day.
The race’s seventh yellow flew on Lap 107 when Ryan Hunter-Reay spun through the backstretch grass after contact with Scott Dixon. The six-time series champion seemed to initiate the incident by blocking low on Hunter-Reay but drew no penalty from the stewards.
“Yeah, I was shocked on both fronts,” Hunter-Reay told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “I’ve been racing Scott Dixon for two decades and never seen anything like that on a superspeedway. So it was a shock. We had been racing each other clean.
“I’m not really sure what that was about. He knows I was there, I don’t know where he’s going. How it’s not a penalty is beyond me.”
L86 — Herta out after running well
After seeming to have one of the best handling cars in the field, Colton Herta lost control of his No. 26 Dallara-Honda entering Turn 1 on Lap 86.
Though the Andretti Global star radioed his apologies to the team, it was unclear if the spin was due to a mechanical issue. Herta exited his cockpit after the incident, but his car was deemed salvageable after being returned to the garage.
After changing a front wing, Herta returned to the track nine laps down.
Pole-sitter Scott McLaughlin was leading under the race’s fifth caution period ahead of Josef, Santino Ferrucci, Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi. Rinus VeeKay inherited the lead on the Lap 92 restart after the lead pack pitted.
L55 — Rosenqvist lastest Honda failure
Felix Rosenqvist became the latest Honda driver to fall prey to engine woes.
On Lap 55, the No. 60 began trailing smoke into Turn 1, and Rosenqvist parked the car to bring out the race’s fourth yellow flag.
Rosenqvist joined Marcus Armstrong and Katherine Legge on the sidelines as Honda’s engine problems continued at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The manufacturer changed several engines during the past two weeks after multiple failures in practice.
If Rosenqvist and rookie teammate Tom Blomqvist out of the race, Meyer Shank Racing’s lone remaining entry is the No. 06 of four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, a minority owner of the team.
L9 — Tough restart for Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson made a rookie mistake on a Lap 9 restart, losing momentum after accidentally shifting into third gear.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, who is making his Indy 500 debut, lost 10 spots and fell from sixth to 16th in his No. 17 Dallara-Chevrolet while making brief contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Larson managed to steady himself through the race’s second yellow for smoke from Katherine Legge’s No. 51 Dallara-Honda.
Rookie Sting Ray Robb stayed on track to lead the Lap 26 restart after pit stops for the lead pack.
The yellow flew again two laps later as rookie Linus Lundqvist spun between Turns 1 and 2 while trying to go four wide in the short chute.
L1 — More trouble for Marcus Ericsson
Marcus Ericsson’s nightmarish season continued on Lap 1 of the Indy 500.
The 2022 Indy 500 winner, who finished second to Josef Newgarden last year on a final-lap pass, was collected in a crash in the first corner as rookie Tom Blomqvist lost control of his No. 66 Dallara-Honda on entry.
Ericsson slammed his steering wheel as his No. 28 Dallara-Honda came to a rest and then stomped away from the scene of the crash while tossing away a driving glove and throwing up his hands in frustration.
The Swede, who moved from Chip Ganassi Racing to Andretti Global this season, already had finished outside the top 15 in three of the first four races. He barely made the Indy 500 field after crashing his primary in practice.
“I can’t believe it,” Ericsson told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns. “It’s unbelievable. It’s just so frustrating, I don’t know what to say. We had to work so hard, the team did such a good job rebuilding that car. We fight it all last weekend, we fight it all week to be good and then this happens. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it.”
Pietro Fittipaldi and Callum Illott also were involved in the crash. Fittipaldi was unable to continue, but Ilott soldiered on after banging wheels. Ilott had started from the rear after a problem with his weight-jacker on the pace laps.
Blomqvist, who was making his Indy 500 debut, took the blame for the wreck.
“I’m just so disappointed for the guys,” he told NBC Spors’ Dave Burns. “I haven’t had a racing mistake all month long, and I make a silly error like that at the start.
“I just got too low, clipped the curb and spun me around. I’m gutted for the guys involved in that mess. I’m disappointed for the team. Theyv’e worked so so hard. I think the cars are really, really good in these race conditions. I’m just sad for them more than anything. I’m obviously very annoyed.”
Through six laps, Blomqvist, Ericsson and Fittipaldi were out of the race along with Marcus Armstrong, who suffered an apparent engine problem.
At the front, the Team Penske trio of Scott McLaughlin, Will Power and Josef Newgarden remained 1-2-3 while Santino Ferrucci jumped from sixth to fourth ahead of Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi and Kyle Larson.
Race begins after four-hour delay
Though Kyle Larson’s attempt at 1,100 miles of “The Double” will go unfulfilled, the 108th running of the Indy 500 finally got under way at 4:45 p.m. ET, a delay of exactly four hours from the originally scheduled green flag.
Per an IndyCar spokesman, the Indy 500 will be run until 8:15 p.m. ET in agreement with local law enforcement to ensure an orderly and safe egress from the track. Barring any lengthy delays, the three-and-a-half-hour window should be enough time to run 200 laps.
The updated tentative schedule for the #Indy500. pic.twitter.com/gvFlbN2VPg
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 26, 2024
Larson, who was attempting to become the fifth driver to run the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, will stay in Indianapolis to start the Indy 500 and miss the 6:22 p.m. green flag of the Coke 600.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion and team owner Rick Hendrick told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider that he plans to head to Charlotte Motor Speedway immediately after he’s done in Indy and relieve Justin Allgaier, who is starting the No. 5 Chevrolet.
The Indy 500 is being shown on NBC and Peacock.