Morning Warm-Up: Detroit 2026

For the third consecutive race, Álex Palou is starting on pole position. Palou ran the fastest lap in the final round of qualifying for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix with a lap at 61.9017 seconds. It is Palou's 16th career pole position, and he has already won from pole position nine times in his career, including in this race three years ago. After winning the inaugural race on this Detroit track configuration in 2023, he has finished 16th and 25th in the last two visits to the Motor City. His 25th-place finish was the third-worst result of his IndyCar career. Palou entered this weekend with a 37-point lead in the championship. He has led the championship after 58 races in his IndyCar career, the fourth-most all-time. 

Will Power was 0.2232 seconds slower than Palou in the final round of qualifying, but it did earn Power second on the grid, his best starting position of the season. Power is hoping to avoid five consecutive finishes outside the top ten for the first time since 2021. That streak encompassed the Texas doubleheader, the May races from Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the first race of the Belle Isle doubleheader. Power has not won a street race since the final race on Belle Isle in 2022.

Scott McLaughlin was 0.5542 seconds off Palou in third. This is McLaughlin's best start since he was on pole position for the St. Petersburg season opener. With a third-place finish in the Indianapolis 500, it was the fifth podium finish for McLaughlin since his most recent victory in the second Milwaukee race in 2024. It has been 25 starts since McLaughlin won that race. His best finish on the Detroit configuration is seventh.

Scott Dixon makes it an all-New Zealander row two, as Dixon was 0.7068 seconds behind his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate. However, this is Dixon's best starting position of the season, and it is his best start since he started fourth for last year's Indianapolis 500. Dixon has finished in the top ten in the eighth race of the season for ten consecutive years. This streak includes victories at Detroit in the eighth race of 2019 and at Gateway in the eighth race of 2020.

Christian Lundgaard starts fifth after being 0.8853 seconds from the top spot. After opening the season with three top ten finishes from the first four races, Lundgaard has finished outside the top fifteen in two of the last three races. He also won the Grand Prix of Indianapolis during that span. Lundgaard has not had consecutive finishes outside the top fifteen since 2023 when he was 19th in the Indianapolis 500 and 16th at Detroit. 

Kyle Kirkwood had a lock up and ran wide in the hairpin to ruin his lap in the final round of qualifying, leaving Kirkwood sixth on the grid. Kirkwood has finished in the top ten in all three races on this Detroit configuration, and his average finish is 3.667 across those three races. Five of Kirkwood's six career victories have come on street courses. While he has won twice from pole position, he won from seventh at Arlington in March and from eighth in Nashville in 2023. However, all three races held on this Detroit configuration have been won from the top five.

Patricio O'Ward missed out the on the Fast Six by 0.0480 seconds, and O'Ward will start seventh. O'Ward has 11 top ten finishes in his last 16 starts. He has finished 17th or worse in those other five races. He has not finished between sixth and tenth since he was seventh at Detroit last year. The only time O'Ward has won from seventh in his career was the second race of the 2022 Iowa doubleheader.

Marcus Armstrong fell 0.1487 seconds shy of advancing to the final round, and Armstrong takes eighth on the grid. Armstrong is coming off his second top five finish of the season as he was fifth in Indianapolis. He was also fifth at Phoenix. He has never had consecutive top five finishes in his IndyCar career. The most recent race won from eighth starting spot was Álex Palou at St. Petersburg in 2025.

For only the fifth time in his IndyCar career, Christian Rasmussen will start in the top ten. Rasmussen ran the ninth-best time in the second round of qualifying. This will be his 39th career start. Rasmussen's career average finish in 11 street course start is 20.909. His 15th at Long Beach was only the third time he has finished in the top fifteen on a street course in his IndyCar career.

Marcus Ericsson rounds out the top ten on the grid. This ends a streak of three consecutive races starting outside the top ten for Ericsson. The Swede has finished outside the top ten in three consecutive races. Since joining Andretti Global in 2024, Ericsson's average finish on street courses is 10.818 with four top five finishes and six top ten finishes in 11 street races.

Louis Foster leads an all-Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing row six, as Foster wound up 11th in qualifying. This was the third time Foster made it out of the first round of qualifying this season. He had started in the top ten at St. Petersburg and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Foster started and finished 21st in the Indianapolis 500.

One week after finishing a spot ahead of Foster in the Indianapolis 500, Graham Rahal starts a position behind Foster as Rahal occupies 12th on the grid. Rahal has made it to the second round of qualifying in four consecutive road/street course races. Rahal has finished 15th or worse in his last four trips to Detroit. His most recent top five finish on a street course was fourth at Toronto in 2022.

Nolan Siegel was 0.0370 seconds off advancing to the second round of qualifying, but he does have his best starting position of the season on a road or street course in 13th. With finishes of 12th, tenth and 11th in the last three races, it is only the second time Siegel has had three consecutive top fifteen finishes in his carer. The other time was last season with finishes of ninth, 13th and 13th over Barber Motorsports Park and the two Indianapolis races.

Alexander Rossi was 0.2601 seconds off advancing from group two in the first round, and Rossi will start 14th. Through seven races, Rossi has yet to finish in the top five. The only other season where he went more than seven races before his first top five finish was 2021, where his first top five result came in the tenth race at Mid-Ohio. It was a fifth-place finish.

Dennis Hauger fell 0.0963 seconds shy of advancing to the second round, placing him 15th on the grid. Since moving to the downtown Detroit circuit in 2023, Dale Coyne Racing has not had an entry finish better than 17th. The team's most recent top ten fins in the city of Detroit was Ed Jones finishing ninth in the first race of the 2021 doubleheader. Hauger has finished tenth, 16th and 11th in the three street races this season.

Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist will start 16th. Rosenqvist had started in the top five in three consecutive races and in four of the last five. He started 14th last year at Detroit but ended up caught in an accident and finishing 21st. Since 2001, the average finish for the Indianapolis 500 winner in the following race is 10.1304. In the last three years, the Indianapolis 500 winner has finished tenth, 26th and 25th, all of which were at Detroit.

Kyffin Simpson has the inside of row nine covered. Last year, Simpson picked up his first career top five finish when he was fifth at Detroit, and he started 19th in that race. He was tenth in the most recent street race at Long Beach. Simpson is one of six drivers to complete every lap this season. Of those six drivers, Simpson is the only one without a top five finish.

Rinus VeeKay has the outside of row nine covered. VeeKay is coming off his best finish of the season as he was sixth in the Indianapolis 500. In six Detroit starts between Belle Isle and the downtown course, VeeKay has an average finish of 15.833. He was second in his first Belle Isle race. Since then, his best finish was 14th.

Caio Collet will make his first Detroit Grand Prix start in 19th. This is the seventh time in eight races this season Collet is starting outside the top fifteen. He has finished better than his starting position in four of seven races this season. His accident in the Indianapolis 500 was Collet's first retirement of the season. Collet was runner-up in both of his Indy Lights starts at Detroit.

Romain Grosjean will take 20th on the grid. In two starts on this Detroit circuit, Grosjean has finishes of 24th and 23rd. Expanding to include his three Belle Isle starts, Grosjean's best finish in the Motor City is 17th, and his average finish in five races is 22.2. In each of his IndyCar seasons, Grosjean has had consecutive top ten finishes on at least one occasion. Grosjean was ninth last week in the Indianapolis 500.

Josef Newgarden finds himself starting 21st as this has been a difficult weekend for the two-time champion. Newgarden has been on crutches due the injury he sustained in his accident at the Indianapolis 500. He has not been ranked in the top twenty in any sessions. While he has two top ten finishes on this circuit, his best finish here is ninth, which occurred last year.

Santino Ferrucci matches his worst starting position of the season in 22nd. Last year, Ferrucci scored his career-best finish in this race when he was second, and he started 21st in that race. However, the team was docked 26 points due to incorrect driver equivalency weight on the car. Ferrucci matched his best finish of the season at the Indianapolis 500 when he was eighth. He was eighth in the most recent street race at Long Beach.

Mick Schumacher lost his fastest two laps after he hit the wall in turn seven and brought out a red flag in the first round of qualifying. This relegates Schumacher to 23rd on the grid. At the Indianapolis 500, Schumacher was the top finishing rookie for the first time this season in 18th. His best finish this season was in the most recent street race, 17th at Long Beach.

Sting Ray Robb will start 24th, his fourth time starting on row 12 this season. Since finishing ninth at Long Beach last year, Robb's average finish in the last five street races is 19.4. He has not finished on the lead lap in five of seven races this season. The exceptions are Long Beach ad the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

David Malukas hit the barrier entering turn seven and it ricocheted Malukas into the outside barrier as he was about to complete his final lap during the group two session. This accident knocked Malukas down to 25th on the grid, and he was in position to possibly advance to round two. Malukas has finished second in the last two races. Since 1946, there have been 13th instances of drivers having three consecutive runner-up finishes. The most recent was in 2008 when Hélio Castroneves was second at Mid-Ohio, Edmonton and Kentucky.

Fox's coverage of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix begins at 12:30 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 12:52 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 100 laps.

Best of the Month: May 2026

Cross off another month. May is the fastest month we have even if it is one with 31 days. It begins chilly, not quite cold, but not entirely spring, or perhaps that is what spring is supposed to be. When it is over, it is glorious. It feels like this should have been this way for quite some time. Soon, it will be a little warmer than we would have liked, and these days will feel too few in our consciousness. 

Cleaning Up The "500"

We end May with what has a stranglehold over the entire month. Another Indianapolis 500 has been completed, and we have touched upon it, but let's try to put to bed what we have seen from the 110th edition of this race. 

General Moments of Wow!

This year's Indianapolis 500 had 70 lead changes, a new record, and the margin of victory was 0.0233 seconds. Yeah! That is nuts. 

Oh, and this year's race occurred on the 34th anniversary of the previous closest finish with Al Unser, Jr. defeating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds.

We had 14 different leaders, but only four drivers led more than ten laps.

We had three different leaders in the final three laps of the race. Marcus Armstrong led lap 198, David Malukas is credited with leading lap 199 as he passed Armstrong before the start-finish line. Rosenqvist led lap 200.

That had never happened before in Indianapolis 500 history! We had only four other races where a pass for the lead had occurred on the final lap. In 2006, Marco Andretti led laps 198 and 199 before Sam Hornish, Jr. led lap 200. The same thing happened in 2011. J.R. Hildebrand led laps 198 and 199, but Dan Wheldon led lap 200. Two years ago, Marcus Ericsson had led laps 196 through 199, but Josef Newgarden took the lead on lap 200. In 2024, Newgarden led laps 196 through 198, Patricio O'Ward led lap 199 before Newgarden retook the lead on lap 200.

Swedish Hat Trick

With Rosenqvist's victory, we now have three Swedish drivers to have won the Indianapolis 500.

Kenny Bräck was the first in 1999. Marcus Ericsson won in 2022. Now, we add Rosenqvist. 

Five countries have produced at least three Indianapolis 500 winners. The United States leads the way with 55. The United Kingdom has five (Dario Resta, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Dan Wheldon and Dario Franchitti). Brazil has four winners (Emerson Fittipaldi, Hélio Castroneves, Gil de Ferran and Tony Kanaan). France has four winners (Jules Goux, René Thomas, Gaston Chevrolet and Simon Pagenaud). 

Who had Sweden having three Indianapolis 500 winners? Meanwhile, Canada is still on one. Italy's only winner was 111 years ago. New Zealand is responsible for one of the greatest IndyCar drivers ever and has only won once. Australia has only one. We just ended a century-plus long streak between having a German driver start the race, and we are somewhat far off a German winning one. Mexico hasn't produced a winner yet. Did you know Belgium has had the most drivers start the Indianapolis 500 to not have produced a winner with eight? 

There have been five Swedish drivers to start the Indianapolis 500. That is 60% of their drivers have won the Indianapolis 500! If you want to win the Indianapolis 500, get yourself a Swede!

Top Five Returnees

Looking over this year's top five finishers, three of them were in the top five last year. Felix Rosenqvist was fourth last year and was first this year. David Malukas was second for a second consecutive year. Patricio O'Ward dropped from third in 2025 to fourth in 2026. 

It had me wondering, when was the last time three drivers finished in the top five in consecutive Indianapolis 500s?

Well, it just happened in 2024. Josef Newgarden won for the second consecutive year, and Álex Palou and Alexander Rossi flipped finishing fourth and fifth. However, this year's race was just the 12th time at least three drivers finished in the top five in consecutive Indianapolis 500s.

There has never been a case where the same five drivers finished in the top five in consecutive years. There have been two occasions where four of the five top five finishers were the same.

The first was 1960. Jim Rathmann, Rodger Ward, Paul Goldsmith and Johnny Thomson all finished in the top five a year after they were all in the top five in 1959. The change was Tony Bettenhausen was fourth in 1959 and Don Branson cracked the top five in 1960. 

The other time was in 1983. Tom Sneva, Al Unser, Rick Mears and Kevin Cogan were all back in the top five. The 1982 winner Gordon Johncock was not in the top five. Geoff Brabham took that last spot. 

When was the last time there were no carry over top five finishers? 

It happened in 2021. We had a complete line change. 

Takuma Sato, Scott Dixon, Graham Rahal, Santino Ferrucci and Josef Newgarden were out. Hélio Castroneves, Álex Palou, Simon Pagenaud, Patricio O'Ward and Ed Carpenter were in. 

On 23 occasions has the top five in the Indianapolis 500 been entirely different from the year before.

There is some good news, or perhaps bad news for this year's top five finishers. 

The last three Indianapolis 500 winners all finished in the top five the year before. However, only once has four consecutive Indianapolis 500s seen the winner finish in the top five the year prior. That would be from 1975 to 1978.

So... You want to change the banquet?

It isn't really changing the banquet, but not announcing the purse earnings for each entry as the drivers are on stage for the banquet. This came up on Off Track with James Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi. This has been mentioned a number of times before. We will discuss the purse a little more in depth on Monday, but the drivers' biggest gripe is they are essentially presented with the earnings, but that isn't the driver's money. That goes to the team. The driver gets a cut of it... sometimes. 

Motorsports is the biggest misconception in all of sports. It is presented as an individual sport. One name gets all the glory and attention. In reality, it is a collective effort that determines who wins not just the performance of one man or woman. There is a figurehead that is attributed all the success if it goes right and all the blame if it goes wrong. 

The banquet has been held for I don't know how many years, but it has always honored the figurehead, the driver, and the driver gets all the glory. After all, it is the driver who puts himself or herself in danger out on the racetrack. Money comes with that glory, at least what the team gets, and what the drivers do not like is it is misconstrued as that is their cut. 

Felix Rosenqvist isn't $4.34 million richer. Meyer Shank Racing earned $4.34 million. There aren't 22 drivers that made over $1 million on Sunday. In all likelihood, Rosenqvist is the only driver who made over $1 million for one race's worth of work, but the purses announced tell us a different story.

There is a simple solution. Just have the car owner come up and get the money. Stop presenting it to the driver. Have Mike Shank and Jim Meyer come up and collect two checks. Have Roger Penske get up three times. Have Zak Brown waddle up their four times. Larry Foyt can collect it for A.J. Have Ed Carpenter... well, the Ed Carpenter Racing cars finished 27th, 30th and 31st, we could probably give him all his checks at once. 

That is the easiest way to do it. Hand the check to the team owner. Never mention the money to the driver. Always say it to the team owner while handing over the check. Make it clear whose money it is. 

The other choice is a driver collective to say on stage what exact percentage they will receive. In recent years, the drivers have made it clear it isn't 100% theirs, but the statement that would be clear if the driver spoke up and said, "Under my contract, I will earn whatever-amount-of-money for my finish in the Indianapolis 500." The drivers can make it clear, and if they are uniform about, essentially using the same canned answer and just changing the amount, that will get the message across.

That requires the drivers to be open and honest about money and their contracts, and that will not look good for some drivers. It will be telling, and we will find out who is getting a raw deal, who is truly making nothing and basically did the race for the love of it with hopes it leads to greater opportunities, and who should be thanking their manager every night before they go to bed. 

The comfort level might not be there for the drivers to commit to it, but the only way it changes, the only way people learn is if something is done different, whether that is presenting the money to the proper party who will handle distributing it throughout the team or the drivers being blatantly honest about what they are getting and fully peeling back the curtain to show how the sausage is made. 

What Else Happened?

Scott Dixon surpassed 700 laps led in his Indianapolis 500 career, as Dixon has reached 709 laps led. No other active driver has led even half of Dixon's total. Only one other driver has led more than 200 laps. Those drivers are Hélio Castroneves (326) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (219). The next closest who is full-time? Of course, it is Álex Palou (192).

This was the seventh consecutive Indianapolis 500 where the driver who led the most laps did not win the race. The only longer period without the driver leading the most laps winning is the eight-year stretch from 1990 to 1997.

This was the fifth consecutive Indianapolis 500 where at least one team had at least two top five finishers. Even better, this was the third time in five years there were two teams with multiple top five finishers.

2022: Chip Ganassi Racing (First and third), Arrow McLaren (second and fourth)

2023: Chip Ganassi Racing (Second and fourth)

2024: Arrow McLaren (Second and fourth), Chip Ganassi Racing (third and fifth)

2025: A.J. Foyt Racing (Second and fifth)

2026: Meyer Shank Racing (First and fifth), Team Penske (second and third)

Felix Rosenqvist became the second driver to win the Macau Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. The first driver was Takuma Sato, who won at Macau in 2001 and won at Indianapolis in 2017 and 2020.

Rosenqvist is a two-time Macau winner. He won his first in 2014. Who was eighth in the 2014 Macau Grand Prix? Santino Ferrucci. Who was eighth in the 2026 Indianapolis 500? Santino Ferrucci. Who was seventh in the 2014 Macau Grand Prix? Max Verstappen! Who was 16th? Álex Palou!

Among the 269 drivers to start at least five Indianapolis 500s, Santino Ferrucci and Patricio O'Ward now rank fourth and fifth all-time in average finish at 6.375 and 6.4285 respectively. Álex Palou ranks ninth with an average finish of eighth.

Speaking of Ferrucci, he has eight top ten finishes in the Indianapolis 500, and he is one of 17 drivers with at least eight top ten finishes in this race. He has more top ten finishes than Arie Luyendyk, Josef Newgarden, Will Power, Bobby Rahal, Alexander Rossi and Rodger Ward. He has one fewer top ten finish than Rick Mears, Ted Horn and Michael Andretti. Horn and Andretti are the only drivers with more top ten finishes than Ferrucci who have not won the race. The only active drivers with more top tens in this race are Hélio Castroneves (17) and Scott Dixon (14). 

Among the 269 drivers to start at least five Indianapolis 500s, Katherine Legge ranks 269th. Legge join the list as this was her fifth start. With finishes of 22nd, 26th, 33rd, 29th and 33rd, her average finish is 28.6. The previous low-water mark for this group was Spike Gehlhausen, whose average finish in five starts is 26.4.

In case you are wondering, the middle of 269 drivers is somewhere between's Scott Goodyear's 16.72727 and Robbie Buhl's 16.75.

Where does Felix Rosenqvist rank? After eight starts, Rosenqvist ranks 121st with an average finish of 16.25, just between Felipe Giaffone (16.1667) and Tony Bettenhausen (16.2667).

Ken Roczen Appreciation

We cannot end May without recognizing Ken Roczen's AMA Supercross championship. 

At the end of April, Supercross was about to enter its final two races, and Roczen held a four-point lead in the championship over Hunter Lawrence. 

Lawrence cut the championship gap to one point with a victory in the penultimate round from Denver with Roczen finishing second. It essentially came down to who would finish better in Salt Lake City. Roczen got off to a great start while Lawrence was trailing. Lawrence then had an off-track excursion quickly followed with a fall and it sealed the championship for Roczen, who would hold on to finish fifth while Lawrence could only recover to finish seventh. 

Prior to Denver, it felt unlikely both riders would have two clean races to close the season and who did not make the mistake in the final events would be champion. It could have come down to who could make the fewest mistakes. Both riders were flawless in Denver. At Salt Lake City, Lawrence cracked, and it allowed Roczen to ride easy.

When previewing the final two races, I said it felt like this was the greatest chance for each rider to win the Supercross championship. Lawrence has time for another chance at it. It really comes down to whether or not his brother Jett remains healthy. This was it for Roczen. He turned 32 years old just prior to Denver, but he is an old 32. His body beat up seven ways to Sunday, there is no guarantee he will be this fit and quick for an entire season again. This was Roczen's moment to grab. 

There was something cathartic in seeing Roczen win this championship and the jubilation in the crowd over his accomplishment. We knew it was deserved. We knew Roczen was more than qualified to be champion. He was already great. The championship is extra recognition, written down in a record book for generations to see. It leaves no doubt about someone's legacy. Roczen was always fit to receive such an honor. His name will not be lost to history.

June Preview

June has two problems. It has a handful of notable events, and simultaneously doesn't have one stand out event.

I know what you are thinking, but we are going to preview the 24 Hours of Le Mans properly in about two weeks, but even then, it doesn't feel much different from the last few Le Mans. 

There is a general sourness over convergence and the actual competitiveness of the Hypercar class. Porsche is gone. Alpine is heading for the door. Genesis isn't going to win it in year one. Aston Martin isn't going to win it in year two. 

It is Le Mans, but we have seen the last few years and there is no reason to feel overly optimistic it will be much differnet. Who would have thought having 18 entries from eight manufacturers would be this anticlimactic? 

There is the 24 Hours of Spa two weeks after Le Mans, which also falls on the 6 Hours of the Glen weekend for IMSA. I think I am GT3-out. It is cool that it has 70 entries, but something is missing with the event. That is the case for almost every endurance race at the moment. It is going to end with a half-dozen cars or more on the lead lap after 23 hours. Endurance races do not feel as grueling or as spontaneous as they once were. 

The saving grace for the 24 Hours of Spa is there have been six different manufacturers to win in the last six years.

Porsche won in 2020 with Earl Bamber, Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor. 

Ferrari took victory in 2021 with Côme Ledogar, Nicklas Nielsen and Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Mercedes-AMG won in 2022 with Jules Gounon, Daniel Juncadella and Raffaele Marciello.

In 2023, BMW won with Philipp Eng, Marco Wittman and Nick Yelloly. 

Two years ago, Aston Martin won the event for the first time since 1948 with Mattia Drudi, Marco Sørensen and Nicki Thiim. 

Last year, Lamborghini scored its first Spa victory with Mirko Bortolotti, Luca Engstler and Jordan Pepper.

What manufacturers could extend this streak? 

Corvette, though unlikely as its two entries are in the Silver Cup and Bronze Cup classes.

McLaren has eight entires, but only one, the #59 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO of Joseph Loake, Dean MacDonald and Marvin Kirchhöfer, is entered in the top class.

Ford has two Mustangs entered with HRT Racing. The #64 Ford is in the top class with Arjun Maini, Fabio Scherer and Thomas Drouet. The #65 Ford is a Silver Cup entry with Finn Wiebelhaus, Maxime Oosten, Eduardo Coseteng and Max Reis.

There are six Audis in this race. Only one is in the top class. The #84 Eastalent Racing Audi has Christopher Haase, Simon Reicher and Markus Winkelhock entered. Audi last won this race in 2017. Haase and Winkelhock were two of the winning drivers that year. Winkelhock also won in 2014.

Other events of note in June:

NASCAR's final two road course races of the season happen in June. The first is on a temporary circuit around the Coronado Navel Base outside San Diego. The other is Sonoma, which doubles as the opening round for the in-season tournament. 

MotoGP has an Eastern European swing to Hungary and the Czech Republic, before the Dutch TT. 

We will have the Monaco Grand Prix before the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and then Austria.

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters have one round at the Lausitzring.

IndyCar will be at Gateway and Road America.

The World Rally Championship will contest the Acropolis Rally.

Track Walk: Detroit 2026

The eighth round of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season officially closes the month of May, but it is not in Speedway, Indiana, rather it is on the streets of Detroit for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. The midway point of the season is approaching quickly and we have had five winners already this season. Ten drivers have stood on the podium and 13 drivers have finished in the top five. Twenty-two drivers have scored a top ten finish already. This will be the fourth year back on the downtown Detroit course. There has yet to be a repeat winner. Dating back to the final races on Belle Isle, there have been six different winners in the last six Detroit races.

Coverage

Time: Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday May 31 with green flag scheduled for 12:52 p.m. ET.
Channel: Fox
Announcers: Will Buxton, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Georgia Henneberry and Jack Harvey will work pit lane.

IndyCar Weekend Schedule

Friday:

First Practice: 3:00 p.m. ET (75 minutes)

Saturday:

Second Practice: 9:00 a.m. ET (60 minutes)
Qualifying: 1:00 p.m. ET 
Sunday:
Warm-up: 9:35 a.m. ET (30 minutes)
Race: 12:52 p.m. ET (100 laps)

Where Do We Stand?

Through seven rounds, Álex Palou continues to lead the championship but with fewer points than expected after the Indianapolis 500. In post-race inspection, it was found Palou's front wing height was not within regulation in terms of minimum and maximum heights. IndyCar officials determined the result of this violation was due to assembly errors and not an intentional modification. Instead of disqualification, Palou and the #10 Chip Ganassi Racing team each lost five points in the drivers' and entrants' championships, and the team was fine $10,000. 

The points penalty does not hurt Palou that much as he was seventh in the race with 12 points for pole position plus an additional three points for leading the most laps in the Indianapolis 500. Instead of leaving with 41 points, Palou scored 36 points in the "500," the fifth-most points scored in the race. Without the penalty, Palou would have scored the third-most points in the race, behind only Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas, the top two finishers in the race.

Palou sits on 273 points, and he has a 37-point lead over Malukas. With his worst two finishes in the last two races, Kyle Kirkwood has dropped to third in the championship. Kirkwood's top ten finish streak ended at seven consecutive races, dating back to last season's Nashville finale, as he was 16th in the Indianapolis 500. He trails Palou by 49 points. 

Arrow McLaren rounds out the top five in the championship. Despite an anonymous Indianapolis 500, Christian Lundgaard is fourth in the championship 78 points back. Patricio O'Ward is fifth in the championship, 85 points behind Palou. Scott McLaughlin's surge to third in the Indianapolis 500 has him 92 points off the championship lead in sixth.

An Indianapolis 500 victory lifts Felix Rosenqvist from 11th to seventh in the championship and he is 97 points behind Palou. There is a tie for eighth between Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon, two drivers who likely know they could have finished better at Indianapolis than where they wound up in the final result. Newgarden owns the tiebreaker thanks to his Phoenix victory, but both drivers are 106 points for the top of the championship. Marcus Armstrong remained tenth in the championship after his fifth-place finish. Armstrong is 119 points from the top spot. 

Graham Rahal dropped to 11th in the championship on 151 points, but there is some breathing room to Marcus Ericsson in 12th, who has 129 points. Seven points cover Ericsson in 12th to 15th and 18 points covers 12th to 18th. 

Alexander Rossi is on 127 points, two more than Rinus VeeKay while Santino Ferrucci is 15th on 122 points. Kyffin Simpson sits on 116 points, four more than Will Power. Dennis Hauger is the top rookie in 18th on 111 points.

From Hauger, there is another 16 points back to Louis Foster and Nolan Siegel, who are tied for 19th. Foster owns the tiebreaker as his best finish is seventh to Siegel's tenth. Despite finishing ninth at Indianapolis, Romain Grosjean is still 21st in the championship on 92 points. 

Another 16-point gulf opens to the bottom four drivers in the championship. Caio Collet has 76 points while Christian Rasmussen is on 71 points. Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Mick Schumacher is off the very bottom of the championship, but he is still only on 66 points. Sting Ray Robb rounds out the top 25 on 62 points.

Turning a New Leaf

Felix Rosenqvist heads to Detroit with the wind beneath his wings. Rosenqvist's 98-race winless streak is over. It is the second-most starts between victories in IndyCar history. At five years, ten months and 13 days between victories, it is the 17th-longest stretch between victories in IndyCar history. With 120 starts under his belt and coming off the greatest triumph of his career, Rosenqvist can look forward to rising to another level. 

Prior to Indianapolis, this had not been the greatest start to the season. Rosenqvist had not finished in the top ten in the first four races. He lost a potential top ten at Arlington for passing early on the final restart and was relegated to 19th. He did win pole position in Long Beach and led the most laps before finishing second to Álex Palou. However, in next race at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Rosenqvist's day was derailed from the opening corner when he earned an avoidable contact penalty for contact in turn one with Patricio O'Ward. Contact in the penultimate corner later in the race with Kyffin Simpson ended Rosenqvist's day and placed him 23rd. 

This was the third time in his eight IndyCar seasons Rosenqvist failed to score a top ten finish in the first four races of the season. However, things have been turning around. The Swede has started in the top five in four of the last five races. At Long Beach, he and Meyer Shank Racing were plain beat but made no mistakes. Palou was just better.

At Meyer Shank Racing, Rosenqvist has found good form. While in his first season he was 12th in the championship, level to where he was in his final season with Arrow McLaren, Rosenqvist improved to sixth in the championship last year. His four top five finishes were his most since he had six in his rookie season in 2019. His ten top ten finishes in 2025 matched his best in a single season. 

This Detroit circuit has been a reasonably good place for Rosenqvist, but it has provided some difficult moments. While he started ninth and finished third in 2023, he had to start 22nd in 2024 and he suffered a tire puncture on the opening lap. However, the cautions kept him in the fight and he was able to secure an eighth-place finish. Last year, he had an early spin but had no damage. He climbed his way back into position for a top ten finish until Louis Foster had a suspension failure directly behind Rosenqvist entering the hairpin and collided with the back of the Swede. This left Rosenqvist 21st in the final results.

Rosenqvist has scored at least one podium finish in seven of his eight IndyCar seasons. The 2021 season is the one outlier. However, Rosenqvist has never had consecutive podium finishes in his career. This is only the third season in which he has had multiple podium results. He had two in his rookie season in 2019 and he had two in 2023, his final year with McLaren. 

The last driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and the following race was Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000. Since 2001, only four times has the Indianapolis 500 winner finished on the podium in the next race, and all four of those drivers finished second. Dario Franchitti was second to Tony Kanaan at Milwaukee in 2007. Scott Dixon was second to Ryan Briscoe at Milwaukee in 2008. In 2012, Franchitti was second at Belle Isle to Dixon. Takuma Sato was runner-up to Dixon at Gateway in 2020. 

Only twice in Rosenqvist's career has he had consecutive top five finishes. He ended his rookie season in 2019 with finishes of second and fifth at Portland and Laguna Seca respectively. Last season, he was fifth at Thermal Club and then fourth at Long Beach.

Malukas' Close Calls

As much as we basked in Felix Rosenqvist's celebration, the anguish in David Malukas' face when he finally stepped out of his car after the Indianapolis 500 left an indelible mark on how we will remember the 110th Indianapolis 500. 

Malukas was second after starting second. He led 30 laps, the third-most in the race behind only Álex Palou's 59 and Scott Dixon's 32. Malukas had made a pass for the lead at the start of the final lap on Marcus Armstrong, only to be 0.0233 seconds short of victory when it came time to take the checkered flag, the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. It was the 17th-closest finish in IndyCar history. This was the second consecutive year Malukas finished second in the Indianapolis 500. He became the seventh driver to have consecutive runner-up finishes in the famed race.

For all the pain Malukas expressed, it should not cloud out what has been an excellent start to the 2026 season. In his first year with Team Penske, Malukas has been the best Team Penske finisher in four of seven races, and he has been the best Penske starter in six consecutive races. 

Entering this season, Malukas has three career podium finishes. He has had three podium finishes in the last six races. Malukas has six consecutive top ten finishes. His most top ten finishes in a single season was six in 2023. He has led 130 laps through the first seven races this season. He had led 128 laps in his first four seasons in IndyCar. 

Is victory coming for Malukas? 

The Indianapolis 500 runner-up has respectable results in the subsequent race in recent years. Over the previous five years, the runner-up has finished in the top ten three times and has finished no worse than 15th. However, the only top five finisher was Patricio O'Ward, who was fifth at Belle Isle after being second at Indianapolis in 2022. 

The most recent Indianapolis 500 runner-up to respond with a victory in the next race was Scott Dixon in 2020. He was second at Indianapolis and then he won at Gateway. Prior to that, the next most recent runner-up to win the next race was... Scott Dixon in 2012, who won at Belle Isle after finishing second to Dario Franchitti at Indianapolis. 

Since 1996, there have been two other occasions where the "500" runner-up responded with a victory. Paul Tracy did it in 2002, but his victory came in CART at Milwaukee. Tony Kanaan was second to Buddy Rice in the 2004 Indianapolis 500 and Kanaan followed it with a victory at Texas.

Generally, the Indianapolis 500 runner-up has done well in the next race. Since 1996, that driver has an average finish of 8.333 in the following race, and only twice has the Indianapolis 500 runner-up finished outside the top twenty in the following race during that span. Those drivers were Vitor Meira in 2008, who was 22nd at Milwaukee, and J.R. Hildebrand in 2011, who was 23rd in the first Texas race of a doubleheader weekend. 

This will be Malukas' 69th career start. The most recent driver to have a first career victory come after a second place finish was Robert Doornbos in 2007. Doornbos was second at Cleveland and then won at Mont-Tremblant the following weekend.

Starting Over

It is not quite the halfway point, but seven races is a healthy chunk of the season and results have become trends. The best teams are the best teams and the ones finishing at the back are no longer just having poor days. A few teams will be looking for a reset after Indianapolis, even the teams that have been doing somewhat adequate. 

Andretti Global is not entirely in the gutter, but it is hoping to turn things around after the two race weekend in Indianapolis, specifically Will Power.

Power has finished outside the top ten in six of seven races. A third in Arlington is his only saving grace this season. His race results are not being helped by his qualifying results either. Four times he has started 19th or worse this season. In those four races, his average finish is 17.5. This includes his 29th-place result in the Indianapolis 500 after suffering a gearbox failure. 

In the one race Power has started in the top five, he was on the podium. He has not started on the front row since he was on pole position for Gateway last June, a 16-race streak. 

Marcus Ericsson has been better than Power, but the last three races have been rather rough on the Swede. After opening the season with three top ten finishes in the first four races, including a fourth from his first career pole position in Arlington, he has finished outside the top ten in three consecutive races. Mechanical issues took him out at Long Beach and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Ericsson had a good drive in the Indianapolis 500, and could have finished in the top ten, but the pit strategy shuffled him back to 13th. 

Kyle Kirkwood is looking to stop the bleeding. A 16th in the "500" isn't the end of the world, but it stings when his two main championship rivals have both finished ahead of him in the last two races. Like Ericsson, Kirkwood had a good drive into the top ten during the "500" but the way pit strategy shook out, it left Kirkwood mired back in 16th when a top ten was achievable. 

The good news for Kirkwood is he has finished in the top five of all three street races this season, and he has 12 consecutive top ten finishes in street races dating back to his victory in Nashville in 2023.

Though he has a victory this season, Josef Newgarden is likely smarting after his accident while running in the top five of the Indianapolis 500. Newgarden's Team Penske teammates finishing second and third are not helping him either. It was the second consecutive year Newgarden has retired from the "500." While he is eighth in the championship, results have not exceptional. 

Newgarden won at Phoenix, but he has been the worst Penske finisher in three races. Phoenix is the only time he has been the top Penske driver. He has not had a top five finish on a street course since he was third at St. Petersburg in 2025. His most recent street course victory was over four years ago at Long Beach in 2022. He has not had consecutive top five finishes since he was third in the 2024 Nashville finale and then third in the 2025 St. Petersburg season opener. The last time Newgarden had consecutive top five results within the same season was first at Gateway and third at Portland in 2024. 

The Andretti drivers and Newgarden are four drivers who want to be better but haven't been bad, except for Power. A few teams really could use a great result. 

Christian Rasmussen is outside the Leader Circle spots through seven races. Though few drivers have been closer to victory this season than Rasmussen was at Phoenix, his multiple glances with the wall dropped him to 14th in the final result. It remains his best finish of the season. Mechanical issues took him out of both races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Mick Schumacher has still not finished better than 17th this season. While he ran ever lap at the Indianapolis 500, he is the worst rookie in the championship, and he is ten points outside a Leader Circle spot. Sting Ray Robb is the only one spot beneath Schumacher, and Robb has finished outside the top twenty in six of seven races. Schumacher's entry and Robb's entry are two of the three charter entries that finished outside the Leader Circle money in 2025, making it imperative they get back in the money this season. 

The Leader Circle scrap is quickly becoming a four-driver fight for those final three spots. For all the praise Caio Collet received for his Indianapolis performance prior to his accident, Collet has still finished outside the top fifteen in four consecutive races and in six of seven races this season. Three of his last four results have been finishes outside the top twenty. 

Collet is on the Leader Circle bubble, but he is 16 points from breathing room in 21st and only five points out of the cellar. 

Indy Lights

After two weeks off, Indy Lights is back in action for its seventh round of the season from the streets of Detroit. 

Finishes of third and sixth on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course was enough for Nikita Johnson to retain the championship lead. Johnson will have a busy weekend on his hands as he is also competing in the IMSA race driving the #59 McLaren for RLL Team McLaren. 

Johnson has 231 points and he is 11 points ahead of Tymek Kucharczyk, who has yet to finish worse than fifth this season and who scored his first victory in the second IMS road course race. Kucharczyk spent last weekend competing in the USF Pro 2000 race from Indianapolis Raceway Park to gain oval experience. He was third in that race.

Max Taylor dropped to third in the championship, but Taylor is only 14 points off the championship lead. He was fifth and second on the IMS road course. Enzo Fittipaldi won the first race of the IMS road course doubleheader, and he was third in the second race. Fittipaldi is 16 points behind Johnson. 

A gulf is opening between the top four in the championship and the rest of the field. Lochie Hughes is fifth  on 167 points. Hughes was second and fourth at IM. Alessandro de Tullio started on pole position for the fourth time this season in the first IMS race, but he was ninth in that race and fifth in the second. De Tullio is on 162 points. 

Neither Juan Manuel Correa nor Jordan Missig had a top ten finish at IMS, but they are still seventh and eighth in the championship. Correa has 134 points and Missig has 125 points. Myles Rowe was seventh in the first race, but brake issues ended his second IMS road course race and placed him last. Rowe is ninth in the championship on 119 points, one ahead of Sebastian Murray.

Indy Lights will race at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday May 31. The race is scheduled for 45 las or 55 minutes.

IMSA

As is tradition in Detroit, IMSA joins IndyCar in the Motor City and headlines the Saturday action with a 100-minute sprint race. The GTP and GTD Pro classes will be on track and feature 21 cars.

With three victories from the first four races, Laurin Heinrich leads the GTP championship on his own. After winning the first two races with Porsche Penske Motorsport, Heinrich and Tijmen van der Helm won at Laguna Seca with the #5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche. Heinrich has 1,396 points while van der Helm is sixth on 1,159 points. 

In second is Jack Aitken, who has four podium finishes from the first four races, including three runner-up results. Aitken is 21 points behind Heinrich in the #31 Whelen Racing Cadillac. Earl Bamber missed the Long Beach round due to FIA World Endurance Championship responsibilities, and he is 11th in the championship. 

After winning the first two races, the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche of Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer is 73 points behind their third driver. Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor are fourth on 1,250 points in the #6 Porsche. 

Meyer Shank Racing won in Detroit last year with the #93 Acura of Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly, and the #93 Acura is on 1,242 points in fifth thanks to victory in Long Beach. The #60 MSR Acura of Tom Blomqvist and Colin Bruan are on 1,126 points and has finished fourth in two races this season.

Each BMW has a third-place finish this season. The #24 BMW of Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor is on 1,139 points while the #25 BMW of Philipp Eng and Marco Wittmann has 1,035 points.

It has been a rough season for Wayne Taylor Racing. Its best finish this season was sixth with the #40 Cadillac of Louis Delétraz and Jordan Taylor. The #10 Cadillac of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor has finished 11th in three of four races with its best result being tenth. 

The #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie of Roman De Angelis and Ross Gunn is coming off its best finish of the season, eighth in Laguna Seca. 

Corvette enters as the GTD Pro championship leaders with Nicky Catsburg and Tommy Milner on 971 points. The #4 Corvette has not won yet this season, but it has finished fourth, third and second in the first three races. Daytona winners Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen are 51 points behind the Dutch-American duo in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW. AO Racing has the #77 Porsche in third with Harry King and Nick Tandy on 908 points after a pair of podium finishes in the last two races. 

Ford Racing is coming off a victory in Laguna Seca with the #65 Mustang of Christopher Mies and Frédéric Vervisch. Mies and Vervisch sit on 897 points, 70 points ahead of the #3 Corvette of Antonio García and Alexander Sims. Pfaff Motorsport is sixth on 785 points with Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell in the #9 Lamborghini. Max Esterson and Nikita Johnson have scored 734 points in the #59 RLL Team McLaren. Ben Barker and Dennis Olsen have scored 731 points in the #64 Ford. The #64 Ford won this race last year with Mike Rockenfeller and Sebastian Priaulx.

VasserSullivan Lexus is last in the championship with the #14 Lexus on 720 points, but Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth have starting on pole position in the last two races. VasserSullivan is entering an extra car for this round. Aaron Telitz and Chaz Mostert will share the #15 Lexus.

The 100-minute IMSA race will take place at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday May 30. 

Fast Facts

This will be the 14th IndyCar race to take place on May 31, and the first since Sébastien Bourdais won the second Belle Isle race in 2015.

The first seven races to take place on May 31 were Indianapolis 500s. 

This race falls on the 40th anniversary of Bobby Rahal's only Indianapolis 500 victory. 

This race alls on the 23rd anniversary of Michel Jourdain, Jr.'s first career victory at Milwaukee, setting the record for most starts before a first career victory in IndyCar history at 129 starts.

Santino Ferrucci will turn 28 years old on race day. 

There have been nine birthday winners in IndyCar history, most recently Dan Wheldon won on his 30th birthday at Iowa on June 22, 2008. 

In three races on this Detroit street course configuration, the average starting position for a winner is third. Álex Palou won from pole position in 2023, Scott Dixon won from fifth in 2024, and Kyle Kirkwood won from third last year.

Seventeen consecutive street races have been won from a top ten starting position. The most recent street course race won from outside the top ten was Nashville in 2022. Scott Dixon won from 14th.

Thirty consecutive IndyCar races have been won from a top ten starting position. The most recent race won from outside the top ten was the second Iowa race in 2024. Will Power won from 22nd.

In the last two Detroit races, at least one podium finisher started outside the top fifteen. Marcus Armstrong went from 19th to third in 2024. Santino Ferrucci went from 21st to second in 2025.

Last year, Kyle Kirkwood won after making three pit stops. The first two Detroit races were won with two-stop strategies. Last year, no driver made fewer than three pit stops. 

In 2023, the top five finishers and eight of the top ten finishers made it on two stops. 

In 2024, three of the top four finishers made it on two stops, but the rest of the top 13 finishers made at least four pit stops, and the only other of the 17 lead lap finisher to make only three pit stops was Rinus VeeKay in 14th.

In each race on this Detroit configuration has the winner led the most laps. 

Honda has won all three races on this Detroit configuration, and Honda has won all three street course races this season.

The average number of lead changes at Detroit is 8.667. There were ten lead changes in 2023, five lead changes in 2024 and 11 lead changes in 2025. 

The latest lead change that has occurred in the last three Detroit races was last year on lap 79 when Kyle Kirkwood took the lead from Santino Ferrucci

The average number of cautions at Detroit is 6.667. There were seven cautions in 2023, eight cautions in 2024 and five cautions in 2025. The average number of caution laps is 29.333. There were 32 caution laps in 2023, 47 caution laps in 2024 and 19 caution laps in 2025.

Last year was the first time IndyCar avoided an opening lap caution in three runs on this Detroit course. Last year, the first caution did not come out until lap 14.

The longest green flag run to complete a race was 27 laps in 2024.

Predictions

Álex Palou, but if it isn't Álex Palou, though it might really be Palou, Kyle Kirkwood will be tough to beat for his second consecutive Detroit race, and if it isn't Kirkwood, the only other driver to finish in the top five of all three street course races this season is Patricio O'Ward. Felix Rosenqvist will make the Fast Six, but he will only finish in the top ten. We will see the fewest caution laps on this Detroit course configuration for the second consecutive year. There will not be any pit lane shenanigans where someone makes up ten spots and suddenly is running much better when previously being unrecognized. Sleeper: Marcus Armstrong.

Musings From the Weekend: All Racing is Fuel Mileage Racing

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

It has been hard to put to words the passing of Kyle Busch. The motorsports side of this loss feels entirely irrelevant to a family who lost a father, son and brother. Everything else this weekend is meaningless. Who cares about the weather and the shortened NASCAR races? Who cares about the World Drivers' Championship? Who cares about the closest Indianapolis 500 and Felix Rosenqvist's victory? There is no point in being smart and clever with these words. It is hard to feel any joy even if we allowed to continue and that is what the Busch family would like us to do. We move forward with heavy hearts.

All Racing is Fuel Mileage Racing

As lead changes continued to rack up during the Indianapolis 500, I was enthralled with what I was watching and I knew exactly what was happening. 

Whether it was Álex Palou and Alexander Rossi trading the lead as soon as the race began or when Palou and Scott Dixon worked in tandem as Chip Ganassi Racing teammates hoping to control the race and set each other up for the most success, it was incredible to watch, and I knew it was all down to fuel mileage. 

With the drag the leader faces running as the head of a line it is a disadvantage to be first at Indianapolis. It is better to be second for a good portion of a stint. After all, the name of the game is being first at the end of the final lap. If you can run second for 199 laps, so be it if you can be first at the end of lap 200. It has been this way essentially since the DW12 chassis was introduced, a car that also made it rather easy to race close and make big runs for passes. 

I knew the number of lead changes was inflated. I know the record we saw yesterday, 70 total, is a little inauthentic. It was not because drivers were constantly fighting to be first and there was some great power that came from leading. The lead changed because nobody wanted to lead. If the drivers could trade it every other lap they would. 

And it doesn't bother me. I don't think it is great, but I don't know how you fix it especially if you want it to be organic. All everyone complains about are gimmicks but isn't anything that is done to enact change a gimmick in and of itself? 

All racing is fuel mileage racing. Unless a race does not require a pit stop, fuel is going to play a role. It is the nature of motorsports in the 2020s, and it has been this way for over a decade. As long as you have cars running on fuel and needing to stop to re-fill tanks, fuel mileage is going to exist, and the goal will be to lose as little time as possible because of re-fueling. 

And people get angry about fuel mileage racing. There is always a push to avoid it or eliminate it, but that is never going to be 100% possible. Even with NASCAR adding planned cautions for stages, it still exists. If a fuel window is 40 laps, there is going to be a team stopping with 42 laps to go or 41 laps to go to try and stretch it and possibly win a race.

A past you are longing for is no longer obtainable, and you might not even want it. If you want to go back to 1975 or 1982 or 1994 and have races where you never heard about saving fuel and cars running all-out, we are not in a place in 2026 to have that. The field is incredibly close, almost unavoidably close because they are all using the same chassis and there is nothing between the engines that Honda and Chevrolet produce. You cannot run away and win a race. The leader isn't just going to run a second faster than everybody on every lap. Even if the leader did, it would mean stopping much earlier and we have seen the power of the pit cycle and wanting to stop as late as possible to not be trapped at the back or trapped a lap down. 

It used to be the case the fastest car was head and shoulders better than most of the field. Let's go back 40 years. Rick Mears had set the Indianapolis track record at 216.828 mph. That is four laps in two minutes and 46.030 seconds. Dick Simon was elevated into the field from the first alternate position after Dennis Firestone had to withdraw due to an accident in Carb Day practice. Simon's four-lap average was 204.978 mph, nearly ten seconds slower than Mears' four-lap run. For comparison, Palou's official pole-winning time this year was 3.8835 seconds faster than the slowest qualifying run from Sting Ray Robb.

Also, nothing fails now. Forty years ago, half the field knew it wasn't going to make 500 miles. There is a good chance all 33 cars will make it 500 miles in 2026. Eighteen cars ran all 500 miles this year and 24 cars took the checkered flag. Only four cars went the distance in 1986, and only 15 cars took the checkered flag. 

All we have is fuel mileage, whether we like it or not, but it has always been there. 

Jerry Grant lost the 1972 Indianapolis 500 because of fuel mileage. Roberto Guerrero lost the 1987 Indianapolis 500 because of needing one more pit stop and it was not handled cleanly. It is now the norm and what dictates the race from the start. 

I don't know how you make it better. Formula One has no fuel stops and even then people are upset with the racing. There could be bigger fuel cells and make it so fuel stops are less important, but unless you had it so a car could go 300 miles on fuel and everyone just has to make one stop over a rather large fuel window, fuel mileage is going to be a factor. 

Minimum speed could change. For most of this race, it felt like the leaders were running laps around 216 mph. Patricio O'Ward was dropping down to 207 mph averages as he was hoping to save fuel to make it to the finish. IndyCar could set a minimum lap time for the leaders that is much higher than we are seeing. It could be set at 220 mph or 40.909 seconds. It wouldn't entirely eliminate fuel saving but it would make everyone run quicker. If everyone is running quicker, they are all saving less fuel.

It is also difficult to enforce. How are you going to force everyone to run at least 40.909 seconds each lap? The leader is one thing but the car in 22nd? If 22nd second is running 40.909 seconds, the leaders will need to be running 40.6 seconds or faster. What happens if a driver has to back out because of traffic ahead or need to lift to keep the car out of the wall? One slow lap shouldn't be a penalty. Maybe it is limiting how many laps can be below that mark. Only three out of ten laps can be run slower than the 220 mph average. What is the penalty if you go above that mark? A mandatory pit stop? A drive through penalty? Do we want more rules to enforce on the drivers? How upset are you about fuel mileage racing? 

If you don't want teams worried about spending less time on pit lane, you could always slow the pit stops and enforce minimum pit stop times. If everyone in theory had to be on pit lane for a minimum of 60 seconds then saving fuel is not pertinent. Run as hard as you would like. You are still going to be sitting still for the same amount of time.

You may say those are gimmicks but gimmicks are the only way you are going to eliminate fuel mileage or at least eliminate it from being the strategy of choice from the very start of the race. 

Fuel mileage is going to be there, and it is going to play a role in a race. Anger is not going to change it. The 1980s are not walking through that door, and you probably don't even want them to return. It is healthy to watch a race and understand why the number of lead changes are what they are but embrace how the race is going to unfold. The Indianapolis 500 will have a slow burn feel to it. That was the Indianapolis 500's rhythm for a number of years. It wasn't about what happened in the first ten or 15 laps of a stint. It was about the final five laps of a stint as a pit cycle opened, and then how it played out over each stint. A race built up to the final stint and then it was flat-out to the finish. 

Even with all we saw at the start of this year's race and drivers constantly trading the lead, it became a fuel mileage race because there was a caution with 70 laps to go and a bunch of teams decided it was worth the risk to stop and try to make it on two more stops instead of staying out and running another ten laps and still having to make one more pit stop. And guess what? It was still enthralling to watch. We knew some drivers were going to be close on fuel, and we knew a few drivers were going to be set and trying to climb from behind. 

Some try and make it black-and-white and all fuel mileage racing is bad. That is incredibly false. It is never that cut-and-dry. This year's Indianapolis 500 was on edge because Felix Rosenqvist was pretty sure he could make it on fuel, Patricio O'Ward thought he couldn't but was going to try and make it work, and then you had David Malukas and Álex Palou who ended up on the less desirable strategy, but were trying to salvage something and chase down the leaders or at least force them into making an extra stop. 

It wasn't boring that is for sure. Isn't that all we can hope for whether it involves fuel mileage or not?

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Felix Rosenqvist, but did you know...

Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Canadian Grand Prix, his fourth victory of the season. George Russell won the sprint race.

Noel León (sprint) and Martinius Stenshorne (feature) split the Formula Two races from Montreal.

Michael Costello won the Freedom 90 from Indianapolis Raceway Park. Evan Cooley won the Freedom 75.

Daniel Suárez won the Coca-Cola 600. Ross Chastain won the Grand National Series race. Layne Riggs won the Truck race, his second victory of the season.

Sacha Fenestraz and Nirei Fukuzumi split the Super Formula races from Suzuka.

Chaz Mostert, Andre Heimgartner and Broc Feeney split the Supercars races from Symmons Plains.

Matteo Cairoli and Kelvin van der Zande split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from Zandvoort.

Coming Up This Weekend

IndyCar continues racing into Detroit, and IMSA will join them with GTP and GTD Pro.

MotoGP's battered lineup makes it way to Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix.

NASCAR closes out May in Nashville.

GT World Challenge Europe has an endurance round at Monza.

World Superbike will be in Aragón.

The World Rally Championship makes an earlier trip to Japan.

First Impressions: 110th Indianapolis 500

1. When this week started, I pondered who was an apt comparison to Felix Rosenqvist's career. 

Highly successful in junior series, winner in essentially everything he jumped in, immense potential when he arrived in IndyCar, and yet eight years into his career, Rosenqvist did not have a lot to show for it. He had plenty of close calls. He had a rookie season of promise. There have been near turning points that did not lead to more. It has not been the worst career, but considering what we thought we were going to see when he entered in 2019, it had fallen short. 

Until today. 

Rosenqvist has had a good record at Indianapolis. It has been bouncing between fourth and 27th over the last half-a-decade, but he has shown comfort at the famed 2.5-mile speedway. This was lining up for Rosenqvist, but it felt like another turning point that would be a 360º turn to right back to where he started. After falling short of pole position and starting fourth, it felt like another case of Rosenqvist leaving speed on the table. 

In this race, it was not about out-right pace, but Rosenqvist's team, like a handful of others, made a call to stop with about 70 laps remaining, on the cusp of making it on one more pit stop. It was a gamble, but caution laps appeared to make it possible. The laps ticked away and Rosenqvist remained in a good position. A few challengers stopped early, 36 laps from the finish, but Rosenqvist ran a little further, and the race was going to be in his control. 

Rosenqvist and Patricio O'Ward played cat-and-mouse as O'Ward had to save more fuel. With 15 laps to go, Rosenqvist took the lead and the victory was in his grasp. O'Ward could not counter, and the cars closest on fuel were about 18 seconds back and not quite making up enough ground to be a threat at the finish. It was in Rosenqvist's lap, and it was pulled back to be anyone's race when Caio Collet hit the turn two wall with eight laps remaining. 

A red flag bunched up the field and everyone became a factor. O'Ward and Rosenqvist's Meyer Shank Racing teammate Marcus Armstrong would both be safe on fuel. David Malukas was going to be in the picture in fourth, erasing a 15-plus second deficit. Romain Grosjean and Álex Palou would each have an outside shot. It became a true donnybrook to decide the Indianapolis 500. 

On the lap 196 restart, Rosenqvist was a sitting duck and he was dropped to third. Armstrong stormed to the lead and Malukas moved up to second. A caution came out after a corner due to Mick Schumacher brushing the barrier, but the field slowed enough to set up a one-lap shootout à la the 2023 race. 

Armstrong was now in control, and he attempted to restart as soon as he could to try and run away from Malukas. It did not work, and Malukas took the lead in turn one. Rosenqvist took to Armstrong's outside. The Meyer Shank Racing cars ran side-by-side through turn one... and into turn two... and somehow the two did not touch. The two didn't crash. And somehow, the two did not lose speed. 

Somehow, running side-by-side did not cause a disturbance and allow Malukas to fly away despite Malukas having more fuel and about ten-lap fresher tires. Somehow, they closed into turn three. Somehow they ran side-by-side through a third turn, and into a fourth, and midway through turn four, Rosenqvist cleared Armstrong for second and pulled into the draft of Malukas.

It felt like Malukas had done enough to hold on for the final quarter-mile of the race, but Rosenqvist had the run and pulled to Malukas' outside. Malukas defended as much as he could. The cars were side-by-side with the yard of bricks closing. Malukas tried one little more swing to slow Rosenqvist, but the Swede was not deterred, and at the checkered flag, Rosenqvist was ahead by 0.0233 seconds, the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. 

The driver who had yet to have his signature IndyCar moment etched himself in its history greater than most ever have. 

Rosenqvist's legacy had been a driver who has shown speed but never enough. Good enough for a pole position or a front row start, but in the race, he fades. It isn't pole-to-victory performances or vaulting from fourth-to-first and having a little more in the race. It has been pushing upon great but sliding into good. It might still end in a sixth-place result, but it doesn't look as good when starting second. The pace was there for the day to line up for him, but it was not quite falling into place. 

All it took was an overcast day in Speedway, Indiana. 

For a driver who had not won in 98 starts, nearly six years, driving for a team that had not won in nearly five years to the day, they had nothing to lose for their legacies rolling the dice and taking a little risk on strategy. They didn't need a flat-out race to the finish. A caution would be fine, but they were willing to converse in hopes of victory. They saved enough to where the final stint was not much of a concern. When all the dice had been rolled, they were in control of the race. 

Of course, fate made it a little more of a struggle. Rosenqvist had to win this race, something he has not done regularly in his IndyCar career. It was taken from him, but he got another bite at it, and it took an improbable final lap for him to pull off one of the most improbable finishes. 

As the Meyer Shank Racing cars ran side-by-side, it felt like David Malukas won the Indianapolis 500 as he exited turn two. The MSR cars did not fall in line. They were still challenging each other, which held up everyone else behind them. How could either beat Malukas? How could anyone beat Malukas with the MSR convoy running block? 

Malukas almost stopped exiting turn three, and despite running side-by-side, both MSR cars had Malukas within their grasps. Rosenqvist got clear and carried a little more momentum from the outside of turn four. If he was going to win this race, Rosenqvist was going to need to make a move and time it before the finish line. When he swung to Malukas' outside, Rosenqvist kept it clean. He wasn't wild and scrubbed off additional speed. It was a clean move and Rosenqvist held the wheel straight. The power was there to get to the checkered flag first. 

It was a race Rosenqvist won, and one that could not be anymore special. His place in IndyCar history is much more secure than it was when the cannon opened the gates to the track around sunrise. He is no longer a one-time winner, he is a two-time winner. Both victories have been races he won. We forget how he chased down Patricio O'Ward at Road America and made the pass with two laps remaining. Add to it, he is an Indianapolis 500 winner and he won the closest race in Indianapolis 500 history. 

Move over Al Unser, Jr. and Scott Goodyear. 

For 34 years, we have been waiting for something to replace Bob Jenkins "Goodyear makes a move... Little Al wins!" As technology has advanced and the field has closed in competitiveness, the day was coming. It is now here, and at 0.0233 seconds, it is a mark that will be difficult to beat. It could stand for another 34 years. Come 2061, the image could be engrained in the minds of multiple generations causing goosebumps to rise from nowhere. 

Rosenqvist has his moment. We will see if time adds more to his career and how we will remember him, but after this afternoon, he will not be forgotten.

2. After asking how someone won a race, the next question is how was the race lost? How did David Malukas lose this race? 

Conventional wisdom said, as the MSR cars were side-by-side through turn two, Malukas had this in the bag. When have two cars running side-by-side for consecutive corners at Indianapolis ever gained speed on anyone? David Malukas' dream start to his Team Penske career was about to be complete, and it all stalled out in turn three. 

This was not a race where the leader was safe and clean air was king. It helped, but cars were able to make runs. Until the final lap, we really had not seen a leader stall out like that. And yet, it still felt good for Malukas because the MSR cars were still side-by-side turn three and into turn four. 

As much as we get on edge for the drag race to the finish line at Indianapolis, it has seldom proved to be worth the intrigue. In recent years, the race has been won elsewhere. Josef Newgarden won two Indianapolis 500s with passes into turn three. Álex Palou had the race in the bag exiting turn four last year. Even in the years with drag races, the challenger has fallen short.

Alexander Rossi didn't have it for Simon Pagenaud in 2019. Neither did Hélio Castroneves for Takuma Sato in 2017. We saw Castroneves fall short to Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014, and Will Power did not have enough to beat Juan Pablo Montoya in 2015. You must go back 20 years to Sam Hornish, Jr. defeating Marco Andretti for the last successful drag race, and arguably the only successful drag race for the Indianapolis 500 victory. After all, Scott Goodyear fell short in 1992. Even Rick Mears fell short in 1992. 

Prior to this year, there had only been one successful drag race to the line where the car in second exiting the final turn pulled off a victory. Everything was on Malukas' side. 

It was just Rosenqvist's year. Maybe Malukas' last lurch to the right as Rosenqvist was to his outside cost Malukas 0.0233 seconds. Perhaps Rosenqvist always had the steam to pull off the victory. Malukas said he was not sure what else he could have done, and he is probably right. Rosenqvist ran 0.221 seconds faster than Malukas on the final lap, and it was a one-lap sprint. We can wonder how Malukas lost it, but the truth is Rosenqvist won it. We can dissect the lap for the next 100 years and find where Malukas could have found another 0.0233 seconds, but he had already pulled off one pass to take the lead at the start of that lap. He had given it his all. 

Put as we were once all told in the Utah desert, "You lost today, kid. But that doesn't mean you have to like it."

3. Meanwhile, as we had the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history, Scott McLaughlin stole third as 0.0155 seconds covered third to fifth. 

A great pit stop early in the race put McLaughlin in the picture in the second stint of the race, and he ran well, but McLaughlin never took control of this race. For the first 75% of this race, it was Chip Ganassi Racing controlling proceedings with Álex Palou and Scott Dixon and the Team Penske drivers were waiting in their shadows. When the cautions fell in the third-quarter of the race and broke it up to allow some teams to stretch their fuel, it handcuffed the leaders.

In hindsight, it was odd Team Penske did not bring down one of its drivers to run the strategy that proved to be successful for Felix Rosenqvist. They were all stuck to the same plan, and with 20 laps to go, it appeared unlikely either Penske car was going to challenge for the victory. 

This was a good race for McLaughlin, and one fewer caution may have seen a different race and one that featured him and three Team Penske cars going against a pair of Chip Ganassi Racing cars for the victory. It was still a third-place finish and one McLaughlin pulled out of nowhere. It was a one-lap dash Armstrong backing up after finally losing momentum off turn two played into McLaughlin's late charge to third.

4. Patricio O'Ward likely knows he would have been fortunate to win this one. O'Ward was not a factor until he decided to go off-strategy, and even then it wasn't enough. O'Ward had to save an incredible amount of fuel. Not enough to hold off Rosenqvist anyway. As we entered the final 15 laps, O'Ward and the Arrow McLaren team knew this was not going to be their Indianapolis 500. It might have been enough to coast to third. It was better than if they had followed the leaders. 

It is hard to feel like this one got away from O'Ward in the same way 2022, 2023 and 2024 were within his reach. This would have been a make-up for the close calls, one that fell in his favor. You take them however you can get them. 

5. Marcus Armstrong nearly stole this one. Again, you take them however you can get them. Armstrong took the lead on the restart after Collet's accident. Once it was clear the Schumacher incident was not serious, it felt like Armstrong was always going to lose this race. He wasn't going to hold on for a one-lap dash. The leader was always a sitting duck. Credit to him for gassing it early on the final restart. Waiting would have led to the same result, but perhaps it would have kept Rosenqvist from victory as well. 

Unlike Team Penske that had none of its cars go off strategy, Meyer Shank Racing took both its cars off strategy, and it kind of work. It won the race and finished fifth. Armstrong had been running well, but he was going to be in a fight for a top ten finish, not a victory, under normal circumstances. 

6. Rinus VeeKay stole sixth and I have no idea what a jumped restart is. On the penultimate restart, the one after the Collet accident, Rosenqvist brought the field down slowly, but VeeKay was already making a run. 

The rule is you can pass as soon as the green flag is shown, but it is hard to believe all these moves are timed just right that a driver can go from tenth to sixth every time. The first five or six drivers are being watched closely. The rest of the field just doesn't have to do anything blatant. 

That is hating the game, not the player. VeeKay wasn't called for a penalty, but boy does it feel wrong that every oval race, especially if it is late, it is set up for someone to hold back and get a run and make up five spots while others do not get that luxury. 

It isn't going to change. IndyCar doesn't change anything unless someone gets hurt. We still see drivers dicking-around on the start and restarts and the accordion accidents at the back of the field. There is the mess of restarts and some drivers going whenever while others follow the rules. We had this problem three years ago when Marcus Ericsson nearly won the Indianapolis 500 on a restart when the cars didn't even get back to the start-finish line before the next caution was out. 

It is sloppy and IndyCar doesn't care. 

Again, good for VeeKay and Juncos Hollinger Racing to finish sixth.

7. It doesn't feel like Álex Palou did anything wrong in this race other than the cautions did not fall in his favor and it worked out for Rosenqvist and company. If we had one fewer caution, this might have been Palou's day to take a second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory.

It looked like Palou had the best car. Was anyone beating Palou? He was shuffled behind Malukas in those final pit sequences. Palou was restarting sixth after the Collet accident. It felt like he could work his magic in a four-lap sprint. Drivers in third and fourth were getting great runs on restarts all race. It wasn't quite meant to be. It was still a great day. He is still the championship leader. Palou remains the man to beat for the remainder of the season.

8. Eighth Indianapolis 500 start and eighth-place finish for Santino Ferrucci. 

The late cautions and the alternate strategy worked in Ferrucci's favor because without it, he is probably 12th or 13th in this race. He didn't quite have the speed to be a challenger. He didn't spend much of the race in the top ten, and a slow pit stop early for a right front wheel nut issue set him back. 

Hey, eight top ten finishes in eight Indianapolis 500 starts extends a record. It is quite an achievement. 

9. Romain Grosjean was ninth! And he overcame a penalty for passing under caution when entering the pit lane. Grosjean was on the Rosenqvist strategy. Grosjean restarted fifth after the Collet accident. It didn't feel like Grosjean was going to steal a victory, but stealing a top ten is a great day considering where he was with about 70 laps to go. 

10. Takuma Sato worked strategy to finish tenth. Sato probably is 15th or 16th if it wasn't for this strategy. His most notable moment of this race was the contract with Ed Carpenter in turn one that ended Ed Carpenter's race after 26 laps. This was a flattering tenth for Sato. 

11. Nolan Siegel was not mentioned once all race and he was 11th. He was on the Rosenqvist strategy. Siegel probably finished ten spots better than if he had not taken this strategy. I don't know what he did all race. He gets 11th. That isn't bad, and his last three results have been pleasantly good.

12. We are entering a portion of the finishing order where these drivers did not stop on lap 130 and was not on the Rosenqvist strategy, and that is really the only thing that cost them a better finish. 

Conor Daly had a top five car. I don't think Daly could have beat Palou and Maluakas and McLaughlin in a dogfight to the finish. Daly probably should have been fourth or fifth. His car looked good. He was shuffled outside the top ten and could not get back up there after his final pit stop. 

13. Marcus Ericsson got himself into the mix and it looked like he was going to be at least in the picture until the pit strategy shook out the way it did. Ericsson kept moving forward. The pit crews were not letting Andretti Global down today. He was better than 13th today.

14. Did you know Kyffin Simpson was 14th? He was. 

15. Scott Dixon was definitely better than 15th. When Dixon took the lead for the first time on lap 62 and he and Palou kept trading the lead, those two were in unison and if there was ever time for Dixon to get his second Indianapolis 500 victory, it was a race where he and Palou were equals working together for victory. 

Dixon stalled out on the restart on lap 109 and he never really factored again. Throw in the pit strategy and he was shuffled down to 15th. He was better than that.

16. Kyle Kirkwood made the same climb forward as Ericsson. I don't think Kirkwood was a contender for victory, but he was going to be in a top ten position. Unfortunately, this was another race with points dropped. It felt like Kirkwood was always going to drop points after Palou qualified on pole position and he was struggling on speed. It could have been worse, but it is still not a great result. He will have a lot of work to do in the remaining races.

17. Christian Lundgaard was non-existent today. Lundgaard's most notable moment was Romain Grosjean passing him as Grosjean entered pit lane and then Lundgaard decided to stop as well. I get why it was a penalty for Grosjean. I do think Lundgaard was a little lazy at that moment. Either way, Lundgaard was never close in this one. 

18. Let's cover the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year because the top finishing rookie was Mick Schumacher in 18th. Schumacher nursed the car home after that brief brush with the wall with four laps remaining. Dennis Hauger was the next best rookie in 19th after he sped on pit lane for his final stop. Before that, Hauger was in the same pack with Rosenqvist, O'Ward and Armstrong on the alternate strategy. 

I don't think any rookie was great this month. Hauger was going to do well if he did not speed. It would have been a strategy finish. Nothing wrong with that but I am not going to act like he did enough prior to the speeding penalty to take it from Schumacher. Schumacher ran all 200 laps. He did nothing special. None of the rookies did anything special except Caio Collet, who tried to knock down the turn two wall and set up the finish we saw. 

I would vote for Schumacher. 

19. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing had another woeful May. Graham Rahal and Louis Foster were 20th and 21st. Neither were a factor. Neither were really mentioned. They were just taking up space on track. RLLR needs a big shakeup at Indianapolis. We have been saying this for years. Sato is the only one who can get anything out of those cars. You can say it is the drivers but Christian Lundgaard also struggled while at that team. It is a systematic problem in that group.

20. Jack Harvey was 22nd. I hate to say we know Harvey's level in IndyCar, but Dreyer & Reinbold Racing had one car that was capable of winning and another that filled the field. Harvey is a good guy, but when it comes to Indianapolis 500 one-offs, how much longer are you going to run a guy who is going to be fighting just to crack the top twenty?

21. Sting Ray Robb ended up 23rd. I don't think Robb did a thing all race. He didn't get into trouble. That is a good thing. We know his level. He has finished outside the top twenty in six of seven races this season. What else do we need to see?

22. Jacob Abel was two laps down in 24th. The important thing is Abel saw the checkered flag. He didn't cause any problems. He didn't make a mistake. I think this is a fine Indianapolis 500 debut after failing to qualify last year. 

23. It was not cover why Hélio Castroneves fell out of the race after 194 laps, but that means Castroneves fell out under the red flag. It is listed as a mechanical reason. I don't know if this was a cause of a car that did not restart when the red flag was lifted. It doesn't seem like Castroneves cared as he won as a minority owner in Meyer Shank Racing. As a driver, Castroneves was on the Palou strategy, and he was going to be shuffled to a finish somewhere outside the top fifteen. For a moment, he looked like a threat for another top ten finish. I think he is always going to be a top ten contender at this place, even if he continues into his 60s. 

Castroneves did make history. He surpassed A.J. Foyt's record for most laps completed in an Indianapolis 500 career. I don't think many ever expected that record to be broken.

24. Caio Collet almost knocked down the wall. He led a few laps after going off strategy at the start of the race and not stopping under either of the first two cautions in this race. I didn't see anything special today. Outside of a qualifying run that was disallowed, I don't think it was that great of a month for Collet. 

25. This was the Indianapolis 500 from hell for Ed Carpenter Racing. It was not covered, but Christian Rasmussen retired after 144 laps due to a mechanical issue and was classified in 27th. Alexander Rossi had another fire, and this came after a botched pit stop on the right rear tire cost him dearly on the first stop. Rossi will be record in 30th. Then Ed Carpenter had the contact with Sato and didn't make it more than 26 laps, placing him 31st. All three ECR cars lost at least ten positions on their first pit stops. If that wasn't a sign of things to come I don't know what would have been.

This will feel like a missed opportunity because Rossi started second and Rasmussen has shown great oval speed over the last two seasons. 

26. Josef Newgarden clipped the rumble strip in turn four on the lap 125 restart while running in the top five. This really set up Rosenqvist to win the race. Without this caution, it does not open the door for drivers to stretch it from there on two stops. 

This was a brief error on Newgarden's part. It was unforced. After the opening 100 miles, it felt like Newgarden was Palou's biggest threat. These lapses have been too common for Newgarden over the last three seasons now. He does not appear to be much of a threat anywhere but ovals. He cannot afford to let these chances go.

I will call out Josef Newgarden on one thing. He had his accident, goes to the medical center, and then Kevin Lee informs us he had a contusion, but was fine and staying in the medical center to watch the end of the race. Newgarden ducked another television interview. He did it a lot last year when things weren't going his way. The driver's bus lot is a two-minute golf cart ride from the medical center. He could have gone out, done his media hits in five minutes and been back in his bus in a blink. 

This has happened too often to be ignored. This is the pattern, and it is disappointing. Newgarden has been a gracious interview and he is personable. I do not understand the avoidance anytime anything goes wrong.

27. Will Power's race ended after a gearbox failure and he was placed 29th. This year has been hell for Power. I don't know if it will get better. It isn't going to be a bunch of gearbox issues, but he has been struggling to be competitive everywhere. Maybe it will improve as the season goes along, but this season with Andretti Global has gone far worse than we were expecting. 

28. Lastly, we cover the Ryan Hunter-Reay accident that collected Katherine Legge. Hunter-Reay lost the car in turn two. Legge spun in avoidance. She had nowhere to go. 

Hunter-Reay said he struggled with balance of the car and was loose constantly. This was essentially the same car Kyle Larson ran last year. Larson, and pretty much every driver who wants to do "The Double," says they will only do it with a competitive car. Even the best teams struggle to provide competitive cars. I don't think Hunter-Reay couldn't handle it. It is tough to get a car in the right zone. If Hunter-Reay returns next year with McLaren, I would expect them to be in a better spot, but it requires work to get there. 

As for Legge, her Double run ended after 17 laps. This is a deeper conversation, and it does not fit here, but it was disappointing that she was disparaged as not being good enough to attempt The Double and her effort somehow lessen the potential accomplishment. 

That is crap. For years we wondered when a driver would attempt The Double again, and we were dying for someone to make the attempt. Legge decided to do it on a whim, and that has always been the dream. We want versatile drivers who will jump in any car at any time. Legge was doing that. I applaud the effort and I applaud that she didn't back out of it because it wasn't a six-month process of planning. 

29. For all those concerns about weather, we got all 500 miles in without much delay. The race started on time. We had one caution out of precaution, but it seems like it was never but a few light spritzes of rain. I don't know if we needed a red flag. We had a 17-lap caution period as there were drops falling as Will Power's car was being attended too. Some of those laps were due to the mess on the access road leaving pit lane being cleaned up. 

We got the race in and weather did not cause too much of a hassle.

30. This is an odd place where Meyer Shank Racing has won two races and both are Indianapolis 500s. Think about everything Ed Carpenter Racing has done and it has not one this race once. Arrow McLaren has not won in its seven years since it returned to IndyCar. A.J. Foyt Racing has only won three Indianapolis 500s. MSR is one away from that group! 

A victory elsewhere must be around the corner for MSR. Rosenqvist has been close on a few road and street courses, as has been Armstrong. It could come this year. It is hard to imagine five years from now we will be returning to the Indianapolis 500 and MSR will have only ever won this race.

31. Returning to Rosenqvist, I have always been high on him, and there was a point I did not understand how he was not being considered as a Formula One prospect. I thought he was a steal for IndyCar, and I thought he had the ability to win these races. His career hasn't quite gone as I thought it would even though he is now an Indianapolis 500 winner.

The sliding door moment of his career and IndyCar history is leaving Chip Ganassi Racing after 2020 and Álex Palou taking that seat. Rosenqvist left for McLaren. Ganassi was happy with Rosenqvist and wanted him to stay. If Rosenqvist stays, what do the last six years look like? I don't know if he matches what Palou has accomplished, but I don't know if Palou would be who he is if that seat did not open. Would Palou have gotten a chance elsewhere or would he have been stuck at Dale Coyne Racing for another year? 

We will never know what IndyCar would look like if Rosenqvist had remained for Ganassi for another year. Yet, we are here in 2026 and both Palou and Rosenqvist are Indianapolis 500 winners. It may have worked out for both of them. It is a good day if you held onto that Felix Rosenqvist stock.

32. This was a fun race. It saw a record 70 lead changes. It is ok to admit it wasn't a perfect race. The closest finish combined with the most lead changes would lead you to think it was the greatest ever. I hate being reactionary. Can't we wait a few months? Can't we wait a few years? The mixed up strategy opened up this race. It did take out some fast cars. It happens. We still saw plenty of passing and action, and drivers were on edge. Drivers had to push at the end to try and force the likes of Rosenqvist and O'Ward into another stop. There was also a chance Malukas, Palou and company could have run them down.

It was a good race. There is no reason to feel bitter about what we saw today.

I really hope we do not have any post-race infractions like last year. I have already written enough and I am content with the results we have. 

33. 371 days until the 111th Indianapolis 500. We go from the earliest the Indianapolis 500 can be to the latest the Indianapolis 500 will be. It might be an extra six days, but oh how I will enjoy the extra time.