Best of the Month: May 2023

It was May. There was an Indianapolis 500, a Monaco Grand Prix, a 600-mile race and plenty of other events. May is kind of the mountaintop of the motorsports calendar. There are plenty of other massive events that happened and a few more to come, but May is the first month you feel tired once it is over. 

Like, Love, Hate

This was a busy month. To cut to the chase I am going to list things that I liked, loved and hated from this month with a short reasoning. 

Like: Three-Stop IndyCar road/street course races

The last two road course races for IndyCar have been won with three-stop strategies, mostly because it is quicker. The time lost saving fuel on a two-stopper is too much to the time gained going faster on three. With a race being three stops, the windows are much larger. Cars can start pitting within the first ten laps and have a strategy work until the end. Simultaneously, cars can go 25 laps and still have a winning strategy. I hope the trend we have seen at Barber and the Grand Prix of Indianapolis continues this season. 

Love: Kevin Lee and James Hinchcliffe in the broadcast booth

Over the practice days leading up to Indianapolis 500 qualification, Lee and Hinchcliffe held down the booth in the opening days and they were great. Informative and engaging. The viewer benefitted from those two and could end a day knowing more than when they started. 

Like: Non-stop Indianapolis 500 practice

It comes with the times and format, but with Indianapolis 500 practice only being a week, cars are on track all the time. There aren't two qualifying weekends with some teams knowing its best chances will be on the second qualifying weekend. It is 34 cars going all out for three or four days leading up to qualifying. There is so much less downtime than 15 or 20 years ago. There is always someone on track worth watching and once that driver is done there is another to focus on. The days fly by and it is consuming, but far from boring.

Hate: Deleting qualifying times once a car is bumped out of the top 30

This irked me in 2021 and the fact IndyCar didn't correct it over the last two years is infuriating. On the first qualifying day, once a team is knocked out of the top 30, that qualifying speed disappears. If a car in the top 30 withdraws a time and is unable to complete a rin due to an accident or mechanical issue or chooses to wave off an attempt, the car in 31st doesn't move into the top 30, a spot just remains open. That 31st time is deleted. 

I hate it. If a time is posted, it should remain on the board until a team withdraws it or the end of the day. In 2021, it allowed Dalton Kellett to be one of the final qualifiers on day one despite being 30th. All Kellett had to do was complete the qualifying run to be in the field. He could have gone as slow as he desired. It was a free attempt, no risk of missing, all he had to do was see the checkered flag. Kellett could have lifted at the end of each straightaway and still made it because there was no time to beat, only a time to set. 

That is ridiculous. IndyCar had a chance to correct it prior to 2022 though there was no bumping last year and the last chance qualifying session didn't take place. Instead, IndyCar kept it inexplicably for another year. Let's fix this. All times stand, 30th doesn't get this safety net and can pull a fast one on the field. This regulation benefits no one. Fix it for 2024.

Love: Scott McLaughlin responding "good morning Marshall Pruett"

For years, Racer Magazine writer Marshall Pruett will arrive at a racetrack and tweet a photo of the facility saying, "Good Morning (insert racetrack here)." Pruett will also do the same when leaving, tweeting a photo saying, "Good night." During May, it is Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pruett does it pretty consistently. What has always annoyed me is none of these racetracks that he is tagging in the post ever respond with a "good morning" in reply. Is it that hard for the social media operator just to say, "Good morning” in reply? My goodness. The answer is no. 

Enter Scott McLaughlin, and this year, nearly without fail, McLaughlin would respond with a "Good Morning" of his own to Pruett. More proof we do not deserve McLaughlin. He is better than all of his. We must appreciate his presence for as long as he is in IndyCar.

Love: MotoGP sprint races

I mentioned this last month and here we are. MotoGP sprint races have proven its worth. It is different and it will likely cause more wear on the riders and eventually will make a championship a blow out, but the competition is fantastic and they do not always go the same way as the grand prix. The riders can win from anywhere in MotoGP. One rider can nail the tire combination for the short race and not necessarily be as rosy in the grand prix. It is worth your time. It isn't a Formula One sprint race where you feel like you are watching a preamble for the grand prix and what you see on Saturday will be the same on Sunday. It is a worthy addition for MotoGP.

Like: Aerial shots at Monaco

This year was the first time Formula One Management was in charge of the production of the Monaco Grand Prix after Télé Monte-Carlo had been responsible despite every other race being under FOM control for quite some time. There were notable differences in this year's broadcast, the greatest of them all was the aerial shots.

It is amazing the the things you do not notice are there until they are missing. The aerial at Monaco is stunning. It doesn't help that the race is underwhelming, but it is at least a nice view.

Hate: NASCAR doing any type of heat races

This was done to set the grid for the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro, but when has any heat race in the Cup Series been interesting? It is nine or ten cars on track, they eventually get spread out, the races aren't long enough for tire wear or a pit stop to come into play. There might be one good pass the entire time. It is understandable for the Bristol dirt race, but those have passing points and winning the heat race doesn't even matter. Even for the Clash the heat races are mostly forgettable. I think we have seen enough. For the All-Star Race, that could have been reduced to a two-show with the pit stop competition setting the entire grid on Saturday and then we could have gone into the Open and All-Star Race on Sunday. 

Hate: How often "consistent" is used during an Indianapolis 500 qualifying day

It is overblown. A car runs a 232.948 mph first lap. The second lap is 232.345 mph. What is the first thing the broadcast says about the qualifying run. "Consistent." Consistent? It has been two laps. We have no clue what the rest of this run will be. If lap three drops to a 231.002 and lap four inexplicably shoots up to 235.223 mph that is as inconsistent as you can imagine! Can we let all four laps run before we label the attempt? 

It is also lazy. About 99% of the completed qualifying runs are deemed as "consistent." Come up with a different word. 

Love: 100 Days to Indy

For all the trepidation of IndyCar's docuseries, it has delivered in terms of showcasing the drivers and telling their stories while also highlighting the events of the season. It is tough to do this show because there are 27 full-time IndyCar drivers and the producers don't know who will be on top at each race and who to follow. It is a roll of the dice. 

To make it tougher, these episodes are being turned around in a tight timeframe. The first three episodes had a little bit of a runway, but the final three episodes were in a crunch. Nobody can with certainty say how the heck they will squeeze Indianapolis 500 qualifying and the race into the final one-hour episode. They both should get their own dedicated episode. 

I think everyone got a great sense of who Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin and Patricio O'Ward are. The producers did a great job following the stories of Romain Grosjean and Kyle Kirkwood early in the season. The show also went deeper than I think any of us would have expected. 

Liz Power's health struggle is one of the main focuses of the Will Power episode. Julia Wilson, Justin Wilson's widow, was interviewed during the Stefan Wilson section of the penultimate episode about Justin and his accident, and it was all done in a respectable and informative manner. 

I was thrilled to see there was an episode dedicated to the Indianapolis 500 one-offs because their stories are as much apart of the "500" as the full-timers. I think that was the best episode even though Stefan Wilson and Katherine Legge were not competing in a race. 

The conclusion aside, this show has been really good. I know the ratings haven't been spectacular, and it likely isn't drawing anyone new to IndyCar, at least not now. It was really season two of Drive to Survive (combined with the global pandemic) that sparked the Formula One boom. I am not saying the second season of 100 Days to Indy or a spin-off that focuses on the second half of the 2023 season or the entire 2024 season will be what starts drawing flies, but the show isn't struggling due its production quality. 

I hope it continues. It sounds promising that something else will come related to the rest of this season. We can only hope.

June Preview

There is obviously the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That will get its own dedicated preview. The rest of the month is rather pedestrian. There are plenty of fine events, but none are Le Mans, and after a month that saw Indianapolis and Monaco (a week really), Detroit and Barcelona don't have the same ring. 

Let's look at June a different way. Who needs to have a positive month heading into summer? We will list one team, driver, etc. from a variety of series. 

IMSA: #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura

MSR won the 24 Hours of Daytona, was found to have manipulated the tire air pressure data, lost 200 points, and has finished sixth in all three races since. IMSA has only one race in June, the 6 Hours of the Glen, but MSR needs something better than sixth. 

IndyCar: Meyer Shank Racing

January is a long time ago in the MSR shop. Its two IndyCar teams are 21st and 25th in the championship. In ten combined starts, the team's best finish is tenth. It has seven combined finishes outside the top twenty. Simon Pagenaud is only ahead of Benjamin Pedersen and Sting Ray Robb in the championship among full-time drivers. Pagenaud didn't forget how to drive a car. Results must be better. 

MotoGP: Marc Márquez

It is too easy, but Márquez looked surprisingly quick in his two appearances, performing better than the Honda's capability. The problem is he has retired from both races. MotoGP races at Mugello, Sachsenring and Assen. Mugello is historically not one of Márquez's better tracks but Sachsenring and Assen are, and this could be a chance for respectable results and salvaging something out of this already disrupted season. 

Formula One: Every team not named Red Bull

There are two races in June, Barcelona and Montreal. Red Bull is 6-0 this season, and basically everyone has been a blow out. These are two tracks where Red Bull has not had much success but the past isn't predicting anything correctly in 2023. However, you never know what will happen. There have been plenty of surprises in Montreal before. 

Supercars: Shane van Gisbergen

Van Gisbergen has not won in his last five starts. That doesn't sound like a long time, but it is his longest winless streak since he went 19 races without a victory from the 2019 season finale through the first 18 races of 2020. It hasn't been bad for the New Zealander, only unusual considering the last few seasons. Supercars has only one weekend, a triple-header at Hidden Valley Raceway. Van Gisbergen is fourth in the championship, 191 points behind Brodie Kostecki. 

NASCAR: Chase Elliott

I wasn’t sure who it was in NASCAR and then Chase Elliott earned himself a one-race suspension for wrecking Denny Hamlin at Charlotte. Elliott missed six races after breaking his leg in a snowboarding accident ahead of the Las Vegas race. Significantly hurting his playoff hopes, Elliott returned and was on a good pace to possibly even make the playoffs on points. 

Well, now he is missing another race and only he is to blame. There will still be 11 races left in the regular season when he returns, and let’s face it, we know how this script is written. Elliott is suspended from Gateway and he will return and win in the next race at Sonoma showing it didn’t even matter. That’s probably going to happen. It’s NASCAR. That kind of stuff happens all the time. But if Elliott doesn’t win at Sonoma, he will have an off-week and then ten weeks to get a playoff spot. It sounds easy enough but the clock will start ticking faster each week he doesn’t win. 

Other events of note in June:

NASCAR’s only off week during the season is this month. 

IndyCar goes to Road America.

IMSA returns at Watkins Glen. 

MotoGP has three races before a seven-week break. 

Musings From the Weekend: May Feels Different

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

NASCAR had two races rained out, setting up a busy Monday. Monaco had a slightly unexpected shower that didn’t change anything. Ferrari still made questionable decisions. George Russell said he will kick himself. Toprak Razgatlioglu is heading to BMW in 2024. The Motocross season began and there is a new contender filling the absences of a few stars. The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season began, and both races had historic results. Josef Newgarden got the monkey off his back, but this May was on my mind. 

May Feels Different

Not better, not worse, just different. 

February might be 28 days, but May is over the earliest of them all. 

Perhaps that is part of growing older. It goes quicker. 

As a kid, it felt like May lasted a year. May 1 would arrive, race cars would soon be on track at Indianapolis and each day had a life of its own. I couldn't wait to rush home from school to find out what was happening on track during practice. My favorite thing to do was to take the laptop and put on the stream of practice and just have the cars on in the background while doing homework. 

Those days seemed endless. I must have had at least ten or 12 days doing that each year. It never got old. Then qualifying weekend would come around. A rainy day was bound to come up, but for two weeks Indianapolis was present in my home. 

Maybe that extra time, the endless amount of practice, the excessive number of qualifying days, was the difference. There was more of everything. We live in a streamlined world now, which has its perks. With three or four practice days, there is no dull moment. Somebody is always on track. I will admit there was much more dead time back in those early days. There were more single-car runs. Some teams would have qualified already and not need the track. There were only six or seven cars that had to practice because they still had to qualify. There could be 30, 40 or 60 minutes with nothing going on every day and it wasn't for a caution or a rain delay. Nobody needed the track. 

Today, because everything is condensed and there is only one qualifying weekend and everyone think they have the shot to make the Fast 12 or win pole position, there is less open time on track. A six-hour practice  day breezes by. Perhaps that is why it feels like it goes by so fast. It does. You don't have time to ponder. 

May feels different, because it is different. 

There was a race two weeks ago at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and we just had the Indianapolis 500 yesterday. IndyCar has entered the 21st century or it is doing more with what it has at its most famous venue. 

The irony of saying there was once more of everything and now there is more of everything is not lost on me, but the balance has shifted.

Responsibility comes with age. As a child, Indianapolis could be my only focus. I didn't have much more else going up besides school and little league baseball or lacrosse. Time is more precious now, and I have important things to do with it, mainly work to pay to live. I have greater concerns. Younger me didn’t know how good I had it. 

There is more competition in my life that Indianapolis has to make room for. I am not losing out. Sure, I cannot sit and aimlessly watch practice on a Wednesday, but I can keep up. I am comfortable with walking away and catching up later. The good news is qualifying weekend is still an event. The time is still there to take in each qualifying run and watch the drama over pole position and bumping unfold.  

May feels different because it is different. 

I don't feel as nervous on Bump Day anymore. It is still dramatic, but it isn't a six-hour affair. The waiting made it different. It is still enthralling, but when reduced to an hour and there are so many restrictions, it becomes predictable. It is also down to whether or not one man can make the field after the initial runs. It feels inevitable that it will be the driver on the outside waiting until the last second and that one run will decide who is in and who is out. The driver in 31st after the run through the line is safe. There isn't going to be enough of a shakeup that sees three drivers run faster than 31st on their second or third attempt.

The qualifying speeds still dazzle me. Once 230 mph averages were just a dream. They were here, then they were gone and we wondered if they would ever return. There was a time when it seemed like the field would just live at 225 mph forever, maybe break up to 227 mph or 228 mph if the conditions were right. 

The 230s of Arie Luydenyk's time were just myth to me, like many of us. It sounded tremendous. It is. It is overwhelming. A new track record will come someday. We are getting closer, but once we get there, how fast do we really want to go? There is a limit. If we hit 240 mph and never go much beyond that I think we will live. These are incredible speeds. The drivers are already on the razor's edge. This will never get boring, not even in a century's time. 

May feels different because it is different. 

I have seen plenty of these races. The memories don't feel that far removed but time says they are. The active participants are starting to go away, some are already gone. I haven't watched an Indianapolis 500 at home since 2019. It has been over a decade since I watched an Indianapolis 500 with my grandfather. I don't think I watched another one at my grandparents' house after he passed. 

This year I got to be at the Speedway. 

It was a dream my entire life. Living nearly 700 miles away, it wasn't practical. Vacations were rare in my house, and never were taken during the school year. Disposable income was a myth. Even if I saved every cent I got from shoveling driveways over the winter and any other cash I could earn on the side, I couldn't spend it all even if it was for what I wanted the most. There was too much fear returning to zero. Even when I started working in high school, I knew that money had to be saved for something more important. 

May feels different because it is different.

Part of me didn't want to come. I found my own comfort each Memorial Day watching from afar. You get to see more of the race on your sofa. You also don't have to worry about traffic race morning or afterward. You don't have to spend over $1,000 on lodging and there is never a line for the bathroom. 

But, more importantly, I loved what I had. I wasn't there but I wouldn't want to be with anyone else watching the race. I wanted to watch the finish and then step out to backyard for a hamburger and hot dog from the grill. I wanted to listen to the drive home show from the comfort of the patio. I found my own routine, and it was damn good. 

May feels different because it is different. 

I don't know what future Mays will feel like. I guess they will go quicker. That is how life goes. The days don't slow down. Nobody ever complains about how long it took for them to turn 60. They are mostly wondering how the hell they got there. Despite this change, it is still possible to enjoy each day. There will still be moments I will hang onto. Things will change. Drivers will retire, new ones will join. I may never return to the Speedway again, but I had this one. 

There are harsh realities about life that I don't want to think about, but I know they are there. Those will change how May feels as well. At the moment, I will appreciate the May I had, the ones that have come before, and I pray for more to come. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Josef Newgarden, but did you know...

Max Verstappen won the Monaco Grand Prix, his fourth victory of the season.

Ayumu Iwasa and Frederik Vesti split the Formula Two races from Monaco. Pepe Martí and Gabriele Mini split the Formula Three races.

Salvador de Alba won the USF Pro 2000 race from Indianapolis Raceway Park. Mac Clark won the U.S. F2000 race.

Ben Rhodes won the NASCAR Truck race from Charlotte.

Franck Perera and Christian Engelhart split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from Oschersleben. 

Jett Lawrence swept the weekend in his 450 Motocross debut in Pala, California. 

Coming Up This Weekend

IndyCar returns to Detroit, but back to the downtown streets on a new course. 

Formula One makes a later trip to Barcelona than usual. 

NASCAR visits Gateway for a second consecutive year.

The Le Mans Test Day will be on Sunday.

Jakarta hosts a Formula E doubleheader. 

World Superbike heads to Misano.

Super GT visits Suzuka.

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup runs 1000 kilometers around Circuit Paul Ricard.

The World Rally Championship will be on Sardinia.

First Impressions: 107th Indianapolis 500

1. I don't know where to begin. Maybe the right guy won. Maybe the right guy didn't. Perhaps there was never a right winner for the 107th Indianapolis 500, but we got Josef Newgarden on a day that saw blistering pace lead into questionable decisions, from drivers and race control.

In the early stages of this race, none of the Team Penske drivers were a factor, but they were chipping away. In typical Penske fashion, it made up time in the pit lane. Two spots were made up on one stint and then the drivers would settle in. A round of pit stops would begin and when they were over, the Penske drivers were normally up another position or two. They might pick up one or two more on the track, but mainly settled in for the next round of pit stops, and then the process repeated itself.

That is what happened with Josef Newgarden. Slowly he was in the top ten. Then he was in the top five. Then he was battling for the lead.

This Indianapolis 500 had everything, and the string of accidents in the end kept everyone alive.

In this fractured finish, we saw Newgarden take on Marcus Ericsson and Santino Ferrucci for the victory. In the final ten laps, there were three green flag periods that lasted one lap, about 300 yards, and one lap. In that miniscule amount of time over a 500-mile race, the race came down desperation moves.

Newgarden's initial pass for the lead was brilliant on the outside of Ericsson and Patricio O’Ward. Then Ericsson took the lead on a whim, happening to be ahead when Benjamin Pedersen and Ed Carpenter collided thanks to an ambitious but foolish move from Christian Lundgaard. With three laps to go, it looked like Ericsson was going to back into a second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory.

Surprisingly, IndyCar threw a third red flag in the final 14 laps, but as the cars stopped with two laps remaining, we would see the unprecedented. The cars would exit the pit lane and immediately circle around to take the green flag and white flag simultaneously.

Ericsson would have to defend for the second consecutive Indianapolis 500, the move being hawked as the "dragon." All he had to do was hold on for 2.5 miles.

Unfortunately, the dragon burned Ericsson. Swerving further to the inside of the track off the exit of turn two, Ericsson left the door open for Newgarden. Instead of chasing the draft, Newgarden took advantage of the open racetrack and took the lead into turn three. Ericsson slid into second and would at least have the draft to the line, but Newgarden unleashed a dragon of his own, cutting to the inside barrier, making a greater commitment to the pit lane than anyone who made an intentional pit stop, before returning to the track and holding off Ericsson at the finish line by 0.0974 seconds.

2. There are too many moving parts to this race and these post-race thoughts will look different from past years.

For Newgarden, this is a long-awaited victory, not that Indianapolis owed him one or there were a few tough defeats, but Newgarden has been one of the best drivers since entering IndyCar. A two-time champion, now a 27-time race winner, at 32 years old, there wasn't much Newgarden hadn't accomplished in IndyCar. The Indianapolis 500 was it.

There have been plenty of great drivers that never won the Indianapolis 500. Newgarden was one of just six drivers with 20 IndyCar victories to never win this race. At 32 years old, Newgarden easily has a decade left, perhaps closer to 15 years left at Indianapolis, but this was already his 12th Indianapolis 500. Only one driver in 107 years of the Indianapolis 500 went longer before a first Indianapolis 500 victory. Sam Hanks' record will one day fall, but nobody wants to roll those dice and go 14 or 15 years before first winning the "500."

Newgarden never really had that "500" that got away from him. He was third once, but he wasn't the best car in 2016. He wasn't really that close. I think we were all waiting for that one to get away from Newgarden and then he could pull out a victory.

Today was unexpected. You can never rule out Team Penske, but after three years of not contending and having none of its cars start better than 12th with Newgarden starting 17th, 2023 was shaping up to be more of the same. And then Newgarden was there at the end.

There is a ruthlessness to Newgarden's driving style. When he makes his move, he has normally calculated it to succeed. The 2017 pass on Simon Pagenaud at Gateway comes to mind. Newgarden's last lap pass at Texas and the battle at Gateway last year with Scott McLaughlin are two other examples.

When the decision to have a one-lap sprint was announced, it felt inevitable it would end in another caution. Someone would not give going into turn one and that sprint would last all of a quarter-mile or so.

Somehow, no one in the back of the field caused another accident, but Newgarden wasn't going to be the cause. He didn't overreact to Ericsson's move off the track exiting turn two on the final lap. Newgarden didn't overthink it. Chasing Ericsson would have cost him. Instead, the smartest move was to run his own line. Newgarden took the lead and down the stretch he could play extreme defense, risking it all to beat Ericsson to the line.

After stopping on the front straightaway to celebrate, Newgarden showed his true joy, diving through the catchfence opening to celebrate in the crowd. Newgarden likes to show his goofy side, remember those incognito videos he did during his rookie season, but he isn't a showboat. He doesn't seek attention. He has even called himself an introvert. He lets us see what he wants, but still keeps most of the cards to his chest.

Newgarden showed his entire hand today, not hiding anything in pure jubilation.

3. Working backward, this finish probably should have never happened, or at least the lead should have never changed on the penultimate restart.

IndyCar is not holier than thou. It wants the attention and love of the people just like everyone else, and it will cater to the masses. It felt like what ended up being the penultimate caution would end the race. There were four laps to go when it happened. Historically, there isn't enough time to have a red flag and a restart in that little of time. IndyCar made the time today.

Was it the right thing to do? It is disappointing to be chasing a finish and letting the first 199 laps of the race be cast aside. IndyCar earned praise at Texas for having a great race and being ok with it ending under caution. There was no time for a restart in that case as the caution came out with a lap and a half to go, but IndyCar did the opposite of that today.

We spent a good portion this May celebrating Tony Kanaan and highlighting his 2013 Indianapolis 500 victory. That race ended under caution after Dario Franchitti had an accident on a lap 197 restart. This caution only came one lap earlier.

4. I don't think Marcus Ericsson was robbed because I don't think he should have been given the lead after the final caution for the front straightaway accident on the restart. It comes down more to the philosophy of when a pass should take place and not the wording in the rulebook.

Ericsson was ahead of Newgarden at the time of caution, but Newgarden had not even reached the start/finish line. The rulebook says passing can take place once the green flag has been shown, but should that be the case. The Indianapolis 500 was nearly won on a pass that didn't even happen on a green flag lap. Check the box score. It was never green.

It was green, but do we want a race decided effectively on who got a better launch within the first 800 feet on a restart?

There was once a time when passes could not take place before the start/finish line on a restart, but in the 21st century there is an aversion to any regulation that seems to hinder racing. The problem is we are now seeing a free-for-all.

That is why the final caution happened. Christian Lundgaard just went and was trying to pass nine cars exiting turn four on the restart. That was once considered a jumpEd restart. Now it is allowed, things like this happen, and it will only get worse.

There is going to be a trade off. If you regulate no overtaking before the start/finish, there will likely be less passes. You won't have drivers going from eighth to fifth before they even reached the end of the pit lane, but you also will not have drivers just gunning it with no regard for others on track. You also would not have a situation where the Indianapolis 500 would be decided because someone had a better 800-feet.

5. The driving standard is there is no standard.

Look at the final lap. Ericsson was aiming to drive in the grass. Newgarden never committed that far to the left exiting turn four for a pit stop all race as he did to defend the lead. It looks ridiculous. The sad thing is I don't think it will change until someone gets hurt.

It is almost the equivalent to the 1.5-mile pack races we saw throughout the 2000s in the Indy Racing League except this isn't because of the package, it is because of driver behavior.

The move exiting turn four that Newgarden did this year and Ericsson did last year must be abolished. It is too fucking dangerous for these drivers to play chicken with the attenuator at the end of the pit lane at 220 mph. It shouldn't take someone hitting it, likely hurting themselves, possibly killing themselves and possibly hurting others for something to be done.

I think common sense can be applied. I don't want drivers to get penalties if their tires are slightly over the line but we can at least keep drivers from swerving from the inside barrier to the outside barrier.

6. How did we get to this finish? It all started with the Felix Rosenqvist accident. Rosenqvist was running in the top ten, lost air on his front wing, and slapped the barrier in turn one. Rosenqvist was attempting to save it but spun back into the track and clipped the rear of Kyle Kirkwood, flipping Kirkwood and shearing off a rear tire from Kirkwood's car, sending it flying over the catchfence

Fortunately, the tire only hit a car in the parking lot between the turn two grandstands and the suites.

For Rosenqvist, it was an unfortunate accident. He did nothing wrong. He lost some air and slid up the track. It happens. I don't know how to stop a driver from trying to save a car. If Rosenqvist just gave up and spun to the inside, this is a nothing accident, but he caught Kirkwood at the worst possible time and we all had our hearts in our throats for about five minutes before it was clear no spectators were hurt.

This has been a fear for a long time. Back in 2015, when a fan was hit by some debris that was launched over the catchfence at St. Petersburg and hit a fan, I wondered how high would the catchfence have to be to also guarantee nothing could enter the crowd. One spectator fatality and it will forever change motorsports in this country, perhaps the world.

When the Le Mans tragedy occurred in 1955 countries banned motorsports. In 2023, something significant would change and I bet you wouldn't like it.

To be proactive, how do you assure it doesn't happen? Does the catchfence need to be ten-feet higher? Twenty-feet higher? It would hopefully almost assure spectators remain safe from debris. It would change the viewing experience. It would change how the race would be broadcast as current camera angles would become obstructed. Things would have to change, but wouldn't that be worth it?

On the flip side, how often have we seen large pieces of debris or complete tire assemblies fly over the catchfence? It isn't frequent. It is rare. We could do nothing and continue to roll those dice knowing history is in our favor or we could just be safe and make some adjustments.

7. Considering how the driving standards are today, we should probably take the necessary steps to protect the spectators.

I don't want to say drivers are borderline careless, but in the closing laps, if there is a late restart in the Indianapolis 500, if nobody gives, someone will get hurt.

Hopefully some combination of banning overtakes prior to the start/finish line and preventing drivers from recklessly using every inch of asphalt we would see fewer big incidents, but if this standard continues, we are only bound to see something worse than today.

8. The Rosenqvist accident brought out a red flag. I think it was the correct choice. One, Kirkwood flipped upside down. Let's check on him properly. Two, a tire went over the catchfence. The track couldn't let the cars continue circulating even under yellow if spectators had been hurt. Even though it didn't end up in the grandstand, I think it was important that IndyCar at least made sure no one was hurt and located that tire before the race resumed.

The second red flag after Patricio O'Ward's spin and then Simon Pagenaud and Agustín Canapino having their own incidents, thanks to some assistance from Scott McLaughlin it is done to at least assure a restart.

The O'Ward accident comes with seven laps remaining. The prior three caution periods took eight laps, six laps and seven laps. There is a chance IndyCar could have hurried clean up, slowed the field under caution and restarted with two to go. That could have happened, but a red flag assured at least one restart.

Then there was the final caution and the third red flag. We have plenty of recent examples of IndyCar using a red flag late to assure at least one restart. We had no examples of IndyCar using multiple red flags late to assure at least one more final restart.

We are nine years removed from the red flag that set up the Ryan Hunter-Reay/Hélio Castroneves finish. That set up a seven-lap sprint. Last year, IndyCar red-flagged the race after Jimmie Johnson's accident and we had a three-lap sprint.

In 2014, I said I was fine with the red flag, but some kind of regulation should exist to state when a red flag would occur. There should be a cut off. At that time, I was thinking in the final 10 or 15 laps it should say IndyCar is allowed one red flag but set a cut-off at four or five laps to go. I think that is fair. NASCAR once had a cut-off for the final red flag. It makes sense.

Today, IndyCar pushed it, and I don't think this should become common practice. IndyCar has not cornered itself. In future races, if it doesn't do the out-lap to the green-and-white flag combination, IndyCar will be chastised.

NBC Sports' Nate Ryan had an intelligent point earlier this year in NASCAR when talking about the waivers given to drivers for injuries. NASCAR isn't a legal system. Its past decisions don't have to lead future decisions. Precedent doesn't matter.

IndyCar is the same. IndyCar's decision today doesn't set its decisions for the future. It is nice if it is consistent for the sake of sanity and fairness. It is easier to follow if you know how things will be decided, but IndyCar is not bound to end all races like this moving forward.

But it is a lose-lose, because any future race in similar circumstances will be viewed under the strongest of microscopes.

9. I have covered eight points and really only talked about three drivers.

10. I said Marcus Ericsson wasn't robbed. He wasn't, but he looked damn good today. He was the best Honda today, at least after his teammate Álex Palou was taken out. Ericsson was one of the top two Hondas. I didn't think that would be the case today.

Ericsson is looking for more in IndyCar. He wants a big contract after this season. Considering the last two Indianapolis 500s, last season and how this season is shaping up, Ericsson deserves it.

11. This was the best drive of Santino Ferrucci's career. For a driver who has been on edge from day one at Indianapolis, we have been expecting him to go over the limit. He hasn't, and Ferrucci is now one of three drivers to have five top ten finishes in the first five starts of an Indianapolis 500 career, joining Harry Hartz and Helio Castroneves.

Foyt found something this year. The inclusion of Michael Cannon, who spent the previous three seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing, has been noted for the turnaround. This team wasn't close last year. It went from nowhere to 0.5273 seconds of victory.

It isn't all Cannon, and it isn't all Ferrucci. These two worked together in Ferrucci's rookie season in 2019 at Dale Coyne Racing. Ferrucci took a surprise top ten finish that season at Indianapolis. We have seen enough results on the road/street courses to know Foyt still has a long way to go, but going all-in on Indianapolis isn't a bad strategy... as long as you are competitive.

12. Álex Palou had the drive of the day. Palou was going to be in the mix. He was the best Honda for the first half of the race, and then he was an innocent bystander when Rinus VeeKay lost his car on cold tires exiting pit lane. Palou was pinched in the wall and knocked out of the lead.

However, the damage was mostly to the front wing. One change and Palou continued in the race and he drove like a mad-man in the middle third of the race. Palou drove from about 30th to 15th in no time and he continued clawing spots back. He was up to sixth at the penultimate restart. He wound up fourth.

This is two consecutive years Palou overcame a mid-race issue to finish in the top ten. If VeeKay doesn't lose the rear end, Palou likely is in Ericsson's shoes, or at least in the top three in the closing laps, but considering how he went from the back to the front, it is hard not to think Palou was going to win this race.

13. Alexander Rossi ended up as the top McLaren finishers in fifth on a day when he was the third best McLaren car for about 90% of this race. Third best McLaren was running seventh most of the race.

This has kind of been the theme of Rossi's season. He is good but not quite there. He did not have the same pace as Rosenqvist and O'Ward in this race, but he still had great pace. The optimist will look at this and say if Rossi is at this point now, six races into his time at McLaren, victories will come. Patience is key.

14. This race did not wait long to become the Indianapolis 500 from hell for Scott Dixon. Dixon had a massive vibration early in the race and forced an early pit stop, but in true Ganassi fashion, the team crafted a respectable result out of nothing.

They worked around the early pit stop to at least be close to the front. The string of cautions late helped Dixon, but he did what he does best. Sixth isn't going to be a moral victory for him or this team, but considering the previous two years, this is at least better in the box score.

15. Takuma Sato was seventh and did nothing. How many times have I written that? It was surprising he wasn't more of a factor. Considering Sato's practice pace, from eighth on the grid, I thought we would see Sato push to finish in the top five. He never really got there. It is a good day, but probably a disappointing day for Sato because he didn't really get more out of this.

Think about it this way. Palou and Dixon both had issues and they both still finished ahead of Sato. That says enough about Sato's day.

16. Conor Daly was eighth, his first top ten finish since last year's Indianapolis 500. There really isn't much to say about Daly's day. That isn't a slight on him, but he made up some spots, made up a few more as others were incidents. Daly did well, but, eh.

17. Andretti Autosport keeps re-defining stupid. Colton Herta looked sensational in the first half of the race. Herta made up notable ground and put himself into a top five position when for a moment it looked like Andretti wasn't going to be close to the front.

Then Andretti botched its team's strategy and Colton Herta was released into the path of Romain Grosjean during a pit cycle. It was absolutely a penalty for Herta, but Herta should never have been put in that situation.

Grosjean wasn't even in the top half of the field at that point. Andretti Autosport couldn't have Grosjean come in a lap earlier or a lap later? The team could have avoided putting Herta in that position. That took Herta out of the mix for victory. Herta ended up ninth, but he was better than that today.

18. We see plenty of qualifying pace out of Rinus VeeKay at Indianapolis. In four Indianapolis starts though, we have seen VeeKay make errors. Today it was on cold tires exiting the pit lane. It is important to keep track position, but a driver has to understand how to live to fight for another day.

There were still over 100 laps left at that point. VeeKay was still going to be in the top ten. There was plenty of time to get back to the front. Others have made this same mistake, but VeeKay must do better.

19. Ryan Hunter-Reay ended up 11th in his Indianapolis 500 return. This is what a one-off team should want. Hunter-Reay was a capable set of hands. He wasn't going to make any bonehead moves. He will drive smart and the result will likely be better than most. It was just shy of the top ten today.

20. Callum Ilott completed all 200 laps today. Considering he broke his wrist in this race last year, Ilott will take this. The Juncos Hollinger Racing drivers did well today, nothing stunning, but they were both on their way to completing 500 miles. Ilott made it. Ilott caught two breaks with cautions.

One came just after a pit stop, which put Ilott in the lead. The other was before his final stop and instead of stopping under green, he got to stop under caution. He lost spots, but not as many if it was green, where he could have lost the lead lap.

21. Devlin DeFrancesco avoided making any mistakes and finished 13th. That's it.

22. This was not Scott McLaughlin's finest day. I am not sure he blocked Tony Kanaan, but he wasn't doing Kanaan any favors. Then McLaughlin plowed into Simon Pagenaud when the caution was already out. Not good. McLaughlin knows it. He will improve.

23. Hélio Castroneves was 15th. That is the best Meyer Shank Racing can do at the moment.

24. Tony Kanaan's farewell was not the fairy tale we were hoping for. Kanaan didn't quite have it. He was 16th, never really in the top ten, never really in the picture. Kanaan even said in his post-race interview this is probably the best way for it to end. Instead of coming close for another time, he goes out being just ok.

In Kanaan's final "500," I think of Rodger Ward. Ward, a past champion, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, one of the best IndyCar saw through the 1950s and 1960s, was 15th in his final Indianapolis 500. Ward knew that day was it for him. The same is true for Kanaan.

After 389 IndyCar races, the tank is empty. Kanaan gave it his all and accomplished a tremendous amount.

25. I have 17 drivers left and eight spots remaining. It is 11:38 p.m. Eastern. Everyone else is getting one sentence.

It was sad watching Marco Andretti run at the back in the first half of the race and be a non-factor. Andretti was 17th but that is flattering.

26. Jack Harvey salvaged something from this Indianapolis 500. Ok, Harvey was 18th, one-lap down. That is probably the best Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing could do today.

Christian Lundgaard had a handful of incidents. Drove into Harvey's pit box, contact on one restart, more contact on another that caused a caution and really was a jumped restart. Not Lundgaard's finest day after a strong outing two weeks prior on the IMS road course.

27. Ed Carpenter was taken out in that Lundgaard incident. Carpenter wasn't really a factor in this one. Not his year.

28. I am going to cover all the rookies here. Benjamin Pedersen was taken out with Ed Carpenter. Pedersen went backward this entire race. That wasn't surprising. I thought this would be difficult for him.

Agustín Canapino spun in evasive action after Simon Pagenaud was hit. Canapino had a good day and was making moves before that. 

Sting Ray Robb looked like a fool today. He blamed Graham Rahal when Robb got caught on the outside in turn one and hit the barrier. Robb probably is in over his head in IndyCar.

RC Enerson's race ended due to a mechanical problem, but it is a small victory Enerson qualified for this race. Not the way he likely wanted it to end, but he will always get to say he started an Indianapolis 500.

Who should be Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year?

Pedersen was the top rookie finisher, but he didn't finish. He was 21st. He was also the fastest rookie qualifier and made the Fast 12. Three of four rookies had accidents. I think Canapino had a better race, but Pedersen has more to show for it.

29. Graham Rahal wasn't in this race a week ago. Rahal stepped in for Stefan Wilson. Rahal's battery was dead when it was time to start the car on the grid. Rahal missed the start and was a lap down immediately. This wasn't his year.

Will Power brushed the barrier exiting turn two and that took him out of contention. It was a minor glance, but enough to ruin his race.

30. Patricio O'Ward wasn't going to give in this year. Maybe he should have given in with eight laps to go. O'Ward had fallen to third after Newgarden passed O'Ward and Ericsson on that restart and O'Ward was looking to get second from Ericsson into turn three. 

O'Ward attempted an aggressive, low-percentage pass. It didn't stick. O'Ward should have known there was more time. I know he wants to make up for last year, but there were eight laps remaining. There was plenty of time. I don't think Ericsson did anything wrong. I don't think O'Ward was hard done.

31. I am not sure Simon Pagenaud was ever going to consider this a good day. McLaughlin just helped confirm it was a bad day.

I should really give Felix Rosenqvist his own spot, but this was one of his best races in IndyCar. One moment took air off his front wing and he was done. He really had one of the best cars today. It is a shame the record book will not tell that story.

After Colton Herta's incident in pit lane, Kyle Kirkwood flew forward in an attempt to save the day for Andretti Autosport. It was looking good until Kirkwood was in the wrong place with Rosenqvist sliding up the track. There was nothing Kirkwood could do. It was harsh for both drivers.

32. Was David Malukas in this race? Malukas had one minor moment, slight contact on track and that basically took him out of the race without anyone noticing.

Romain Grosjean was having a tough day. The contact with Herta in pit lane was cruel. Two years in a row Grosjean lost it in turn two. Maybe third time will be the charm for him.

Katherine Legge waited ten years and two days to return to the Indianapolis 500. It lasted 41 laps. Legge had her own little moment on pit lane on cold tires and hit the inside pit wall enough to damage the suspension. It was a merciful end for a disheartening month for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team.

33. 364 days until the 108th Indianapolis 500.

Morning Warm-Up: 107th Indianapolis 500

Thirty-three drivers are set to compete in the 107th Indianapolis 500. For 29 drivers, they have been here before. For four drivers, they will experience the largest crowd of their careers in what is possibly the longest race of their careers. For nine of these drivers, they have been greeted at the end of 500 miles with a cold bottle of milk, a wreath to hang over their shoulder and a spot in the history books. They hope to add another chapter this year. For 24 drivers, they all look to fill the open pages with their story. Three of these drivers could become the youngest winner in the event's history. Two of these drivers could become the old. For one of those two, it could be ending a career on a high. For the other, it could be achieving what no other driver has done before. 

Starting Grid

Row 1:

Álex Palou
This will be Palou’s fourth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 2nd (2021)
Car #10 has won the Indianapolis 500 once, Dario Franchitti 2010.
Twenty-one times has the pole-sitter won the race, most recently Simon Pagenaud 2019.

Palou could become the first championship leader to win the Indianapolis 500 since Juan Pablo Montoya in 2015. Montoya's victory is the only time the championship leader won the Indianapolis 500 in the DW12-era. The last time the championship leader won the Indianapolis 500 and then went on to win the championship was Dan Wheldon in 2005. 

This is Palou's second career pole position. His other was at Portland in 2021. Palou won that race. 

Palou has finished in the top five in four consecutive races, tied for the longest top five finish streak in his career.

Palou could become the third driver to win the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Indianapolis 500 in the same year. He would become the first Honda driver to accomplish it. 

In 38 starts with Chip Ganassi Racing, Palou has five victories, 16 podium finishes, 20 top five finishes and 30 top ten finishes. 

Palou has led 82 laps in his Indianapolis 500 career, 75th all-time. If he leads 18 laps, he will become the 65th driver with 100 laps led in an Indianapolis 500 career.

Palou could become the first Spaniard to win the Indianapolis 500. Spain would become the 13th different nation to produce an Indianapolis 500 winner.

Rinus VeeKay
This will be VeeKay’s fourth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 8th (2021)
Car #21 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
Eleven times has the winner started second, most recently Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000.

This is VeeKay's best career starting position in the Indianapolis 500 and the third consecutive year VeeKay has started on the front row. 

VeeKay was 33rd in last year’s Indianapolis 500. The only occurrence of a driver finishing last in the Indianapolis 500 and returning to win the following year is Mario Andretti in 1969 after finishing 33rd in 1968. Andretti started second in the 1969 race. 

VeeKay has finished outside the top ten in nine consecutive starts, the longest top ten finish drought of his career. He has not finished in the top five in 11 consecutive starts, currently tied for the longest top five finish drought of his career. 

VeeKay could become the second Dutchman to win the Indianapolis 500 after Arie Luyendyk.

VeeKay could become the second youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 22 years, eight months and 17 days old. He would also become the first driver born in the 21st century to win the Indianapolis 500.

Felix Rosenqvist
This will be Rosenqvist’s fifth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 4th (2022)
Car #6 has won the Indianapolis 500 five times, most recently with Sam Hornish, Jr. in 2006.
Thirteen times has the Indianapolis 500 winner started third, most recently Takuma Sato in 2020.

This is the best Indianapolis 500 starting position in Rosenqvist's career. He has never had a decline in starting position over his five Indianapolis 500 appearances. 

Rosenqvist was fifth in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis two weeks ago. It was the 12th top five finish of his career. He had six top ten finishes in his rookie season in 2019. 

Rosenqvist's only career victory was on July 12, 2020 at Road America. It has been two years, ten months and 16 days since that victory. 

Rosenqvist could become the third Swedish driver to win the Indianapolis 500. Sweden could become the fifth country to have two different drivers win the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years.

Rosenqvist could become the second driver with victories in the Macau Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 joining Takuma Sato.

Row 2:

Santino Ferrucci
This will be Ferrucci’s fifth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 4th (2020)
Car #14 has won the Indianapolis 500 six times, most recently with Kenny Bräck in 1999.
Seven times has the winner started fourth, most recently Takuma Sato in 2017.

This is Ferrucci's best starting position in the Indianapolis 500. His previous best was 15th last year. 

A.J. Foyt Racing is the fourth different team Ferrucci has driven for in his five Indianapolis 500 appearances. 

A.J. Foyt Racing has not had a top five finish in the Indianapolis 500 since 2000 when Eliseo Salazar was third and Jeff Ward was fourth.

Ferrucci has finished in the top ten in each of his first four Indianapolis 500 starts. The only drivers to have finished in the top ten of their first five Indianapolis 500 starts are Harry Hartz and Hélio Castroneves. 

If Ferrucci wins the Indianapolis 500, his average finish would be 5.6, putting him fourth all-time among drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts. If Ferrucci finishes 33rd, his average finish would be 12.0, putting him in a tie for 46th all-time with Jim Clark, Billy DeVore, Bobby Rahal and Floyd Roberts.

Ferrucci could become the first Connecticut-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and he would be just the second Nutmugger to win an IndyCar race, joining Scott Sharp.

Ferrucci could become the ninth youngest winner of the Indianapolis 500 at 24 years, 11 months and 28 days old.

Patricio O’Ward
This will be O’Ward fourth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 2nd (2022)
Car #5 has won the Indianapolis 500 six times but not since Arie Luyendyk in 1997.
Last year, Marcus Ericsson won from fifth position, the eighth time the Indianapolis 500 winner has started fifth.

This is O'Ward best starting position in the Indianapolis 500. He has improved on his starting position in every subsequent Indianapolis 500 appearance. 

The last time a starting position other than pole position has won consecutive Indianapolis 500s was fifth in 1995 and 1996. 

O'Ward could become the 15th driver to win the Indianapolis 500 the year after finishing second in the race the year before. The most recent driver to do it was Dan Wheldon in 2011.

O’Ward has led 43 laps in his Indianapolis 500 career. He needs to lead seven laps to become the 100th driver with 50 laps led in an Indianapolis 500 career.

O’Ward could become the third Indy Lights championship to win the Indianapolis 500 joining Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan.

O’Ward could become the first Mexican driver to win the Indianapolis 500. Mexico would become the 13th different nation to produce an Indianapolis 500 winner.

O’Ward could become the fifth youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 24 years and 22 days old. He would become the youngest non-American winner.

Scott Dixon
This will be Dixon’s 21st Indianapolis 500 start.
2008 Indianapolis 500 winner.
Car #9 has won the Indianapolis 500 four times with Dixon’s 2008 victory being the most recent.
Five times has the winner started sixth, most recently Dan Wheldon in 2011.

Dixon is the all-time leader in Indianapolis 500 laps led with 665.
Dixon is 21 laps ahead of Al Unser in second.
Dixon is 313 laps ahead of the next closest active driver (Tony Kanaan, 352 laps led)
Dixon has led in 15 Indianapolis 500s, tied for the most all-time with Tony Kanaan.
Dixon has led the most laps in the Indianapolis 500 a record six times.

Dixon is currently in an eight-way tied for most runner-up finishes in Indianapolis 500 history. Harry Hartz, Wilbur Shaw, Bill Holland, Jim Rathmann, Tom Sneva, Al Unser, Hélio Castroneves and Dixon have all finished runner-up three times in this race.

Dixon has the 32nd best average finish among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 11.15. A victory would lower his average finish to 10.667 and put him 28th all-time. The worst his average finish can be after this race is 12.19, which would drop him to 50th all-time.

Dixon could become the ninth oldest Indianapolis 500 winner at 42 years, ten months and six days old.

Row 3:

Alexander Rossi
This will be Rossi’s eighth Indianapolis 500 start.
2016 Indianapolis 500 winner.
Car #7 has won the Indianapolis 500 twice but not since Bill Holland in 1949.
Five times has the winner started seventh, most recently A.J. Foyt in 1961.

This is Rossi's best start at Indianapolis since he qualified third in his second start in 2017. This is the fifth time he has qualified in the top ten for the Indianapolis 500. 

This is only the fifth time Rossi has started seventh in his career. He has finished outside the top ten in three of those four previous occasions. 

Rossi needs to lead 23 laps to reach the 100 laps led milestone in the Indianapolis 500. Sixty-four drivers have led 100 laps in the Indianapolis 500.

Rossi has the 28th best average finish among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 10.7142. A victory would lower his average finish to 9.5 and put him in a tie for 14th all-time with Wilbur Shaw. The worst Rossi’s average finish can be after this race is 13.5, which would drop him into a tie for 68th all-time with Norway’s Gil Andersen.

Takuma Sato
This will be Sato’s 14th Indianapolis 500 start.
Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner (2017, 2020).
Car #11 has won the Indianapolis 500 once, Tony Kanaan 2013.
Three times has the Indianapolis 500 winner started eighth, most recently Hélio Castroneves 2021.

Sato could become the 11th three-time Indianapolis 500 winner.

Sato needs to lead 15 laps to reach the 100 laps led milestone in the Indianapolis 500. Sato is the only multi-time Indianapolis 500 winner to have led fewer than 100 laps. Sixty-four drivers have led at least 100 laps in the Indianapolis 500.

Sato has the 128th best average finish among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 16.6923. A victory would lower his average finish to 15.5714, putting him tied with Sammy Sessions for 104th all-time. The worst Sato’s averae finish can be after this race is 17.857, dropping him to 167th all-time.

Sato could become the fourth oldest Indianapolis 500 winner at 46 years and four months old. Sato would become the first driver to win three Indianapolis 500s after turning 40 years old.

Tony Kanaan
This will be Kanaan’s 22nd Indianapolis 500 start.
2013 Indianapolis 500 winner.
Car #66 has won the Indianapolis 500 once, Mark Donohue 1972. 

Only once has the winner started ninth and that was Emerson Fittipaldi in 1993.

This is the 14th time Kanaan has started on one of the first three races in the Indianapolis 500. This is the third time he has started on row three. He started eighth in 2012 and finished third, and he started seventh in 2017 and finished fifth. 

Kanaan has led in 15 Indianapolis 500s, tied for the most all-time with Scott Dixon.

Kanaan has led 352 laps, the second most amongst active drivers. If Kanaan leads 48 laps, he will become the 14th driver to lead 400 laps in the Indianapolis 500.

Kanaan could join Mario Andretti as the only drivers to win an IndyCar race in four different decades.

Kanaan has the 52th best average finish among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 12.3809, directly behind Bobby Unser and directly ahead of Pat Flaherty. A victory would lower Kanaan’s average finish to 11.863, moving him up to 45th all-time, directly behind Michael Andretti and directly ahead of Arie Luyendyk, Jim Clark, Billy DeVore, Bobby Rahal and Floyd Roberts. The worst Kanaan’s average finish can be after this race is 13.318, dropping him to 64th all-time.

Kanaan could become the oldest Indianapolis 500 winner at 48 years, four months and 28 days old. He would break Al Unser’s record by 153 days.

Row 4:

Marcus Ericsson
This will be Ericsson’s fifth Indianapolis 500 start.
2022 Indianapolis 500 winner
Ericsson’s victory last year was the fourth time car #8 has won the Indianapolis 500.
Twice has the winner started tenth, most recently Gil de Ferran in 2003.

Ericsson is attempting to become the sixth driver to win consecutive Indianapolis 500s, and the first since Hélio Castroneves in 2001-02.

Ericsson has led 13 laps in the Indianapolis 500, the fifth fewest in a career for an Indianapolis 500 winner. Only Graham Hill (ten), Joe Dawson (two), L.L. Corum (zero) and Floyd Davis (zero) led fewer.

This is the fourth consecutive Indianapolis 500 Ericsson has started in the first four rows. This is the first time Ericsson has not improved his qualifying position at Indianapolis in five appearances. He had gone from 13th to 11th to ninth to fifth on the grid in his first four years at the Speedway.

Benjamin Pedersen
This will be Pedersen’s first Indianapolis 500 start.
Car #55 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
Three times has the winner started 11th, most recently Alexander Rossi in 2016.

This is the best starting position of Pedersen's IndyCar career. His previous best start was 13th at Texas in April. He has started inside the top fifteen in both his oval starts but started 23rd or worse in all four road/street course races this season.

Pedersen was the top rookie qualifier. Pedersen is the third A.J. Foyt Racing driver to be the fastest rookie qualifier, joining Davy Jones in 1987 and Matheus Leist in 2018. 

Pedersen could become the second A.J. Foyt Racing driver to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, joining Donnie Allison, who won it in 1970. Pedersen would be the first European to win the award since Fernando Alonso in 2017. Pedersen is the second Danish driver to start the Indianapolis 500 joining Christian Lundgaard. 

Denmark could become the 13th different country to produce an Indianapolis 500 winner. 

Pedersen could become the fifth youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 24 years and 17 days old. He would become the youngest non-American Indianapolis 500 winner. 

Will Power 

This will be Power’s 16th Indianapolis 500 start.
2018 Indianapolis 500 winner.
Car #12 has won the Indianapolis 500 twice, most recently with Power in 2019. The other was Peter DePaolo in 1925 driving the #12 Miller.
Twice has the winner started 12th, most recently Tony Kanaan in 2013.

This is the second consecutive race Power has started 12th. 

Power could become the first defending IndyCar champion to win the Indianapolis 500 since Dario Franchitti in 2012.

Power is currently tied with Johnny Rutherford for the fifth most 500-mile race victories in IndyCar history with five.

Power needs to lead 56 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone in the Indianapolis 500.

Power is tied for the 58th best average finish with Marco Andretti, Cliff Bergere and Fred Frame among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 13.0. A victory would lower Power’s average finish to 12.25, moving him into a tie with Mel Kenyon for 50th all-time. The worst his average finish can be after this race is 14.25, dropping him to 78th all-time. 

Row 5:

Ed Carpenter 

This will be Carpenter’s 20th Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 2nd (2018)
Car #33 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
Four times has the winner started 13th, most recently Hélio Castroneves in 2002.

This is only the second time in the last seven Indianapolis 500 Carpenter has started outside the top four positions. 

Carpenter has finished outside the top ten in seven consecutive starts. His most recent top ten result was fifth in the 2021 Indianapolis 500. He has finished in the top ten in three of the last five Indianapolis 500s. 

Carpenter could break Sam Hanks’ record for most starts before first Indianapolis 500 victory. Hanks won the 1957 Indianapolis 500, his 13th start in the race.
Carpenter could become the first Illinois-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500 since Floyd Davis was a co-winner with Mauri Rose in 1941.

Carpenter needs to lead 54 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone in the Indianapolis 500.
Carpenter could be the first driver to win the Freedom 100 and Indianapolis 500.

Carpenter has the 106th best average finish among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 15.684. A victory would lower his average finish to 14.95, moving him up to 92nd all-time. The worst Carpenter’s average finish can be after this race is 16.55, dropping him to 127th all-time.

Scott McLaughlin
This will be McLaughlin’s third Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 20th (2021)
Car #3 has won the Indianapolis 500 eleven times, the most victories for a car number. The last victory was in 2009 with Hélio Castroneves.
Only once has the winner started 14th and that was Bob Sweikert in 1955.

This is McLaughlin's best start in the Indianapolis 500. His previous best was 17th as a rookie in 2021. 

In ten oval starts, McLaughlin has four podium finishes, five top five finishes and seven top ten finishes. His average finish on ovals is 9.9. McLaughlin has a podium finish on three of the four oval tracks he has competed on. The only one where he hasn't even finished in the top ten is Indianapolis. His average finish at Indianapolis is 24.5. 

McLaughlin could become the first driver to win the Bathurst 1000 and the Indianapolis 500.

McLaughlin could become the second New Zealander to win the Indianapolis 500, but the first New Zealand-born driver to win the race. New Zealand could become the sixth nation to produce multiple Indianapolis 500 winners.

Kyle Kirkwood
This will be Kirkwood’s second Indianapolis 500 start. 

Best Finish: 17th (2022)
Car #27 has won the Indianapolis 500 three times, most recently with Dario Franchitti in 2007.
Four times has the winner started 15th, most recently Juan Pablo Montoya in 2015.

Last year, Kirkwood started 28th and finished 17th, his only lead lap finish on an oval in 2022. He has three consecutive lead lap finishes entering this race. Entering this season, he never had consecutive lead lap finishes and he had five lead lap finishes in the entire 2022 season. 

Kirkwood could become the third Indy Lights championship to win the Indianapolis 500 joining Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan.

Kirkwood could become the first Florida-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500. He became the first Florida-born driver to win any IndyCar race earlier this year with his victory at Long Beach. He could become only the third driver to win the Grand Prix of Long Beach and the Indianapolis 500 in the same season (Al Unser, Jr. 1994, Hélio Castroneves 2001).

Kirkwood could become the seventh youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 24 years, seven months and nine days old.

Row 6:

Conor Daly
This will be Daly’s tenth Indianapolis 500 and hopefully his ninth start.
Best Finish: 6th (2022)
Car #20 has won the Indianapolis 500 three times but not since Emerson Fittipaldi in 1989.
Twice has the winner started 16th, most recently Dario Franchitti in 2012.

This is the third time in the last four Indianapolis 500s Daly has started on row six. He has finished better than his starting position in four of his last five Indianapolis 500 starts.

Daly became the 62nd driver to start in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500 earlier this year. He becomes the 40th driver to compete in both races in the same calendar year.

Daly has led 47 laps in his Indianapolis 500 career. He needs to lead three laps to become the 100th driver with 50 laps led in an Indianapolis 500 career. 

This is the 103rd start of Daly's career. Only three drivers have taken more than 100 starts to get their first career victory (Ed Carpenter - 113, George Snider - 126, Michel Jourdain, Jr. - 129).

Daly could become the first Hoosier-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500 since Wilbur Shaw in 1940.

Daly has the 224th best average finish among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 21.444. A victory would lower his average finish to 19.4, moving him up to 193rd all-time, directly ahead of his father Derek Daly, whose average finish in six Indianapolis 500 starts is 19.5. The worst Conor Daly’s average finish can be after this race is 22.6, dropping him to 241st all-time.

Josef Newgarden
This will be Newgarden’s 12th Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 3rd (2016).
Car #2 has won the Indianapolis 500 nine times, most recently Juan Pablo Montoya in 2015.
Twice has the winner started 17th, most recently Eddie Cheever in 1998.

Newgarden is one of six drivers with at least 20 career victories but no Indianapolis 500 victories. The other drivers are Michael Andretti, Sébastien Bourdais, Paul Tracy, Ted Horn and Tony Bettenhausen. 

Newgarden has won an oval race in seven consecutive seasons, including winning at Texas in April. He has won multiple oval races in three of the previous six seasons, including winning three oval races last season. 

Newgarden could be the first driver to win the Freedom 100 and Indianapolis 500.

Newgarden could become the third Indy Lights championship to win the Indianapolis 500 joining Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan.

Newgarden could become the first Tennessee-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500.

Newgarden has the 76th best average finish among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 14.1818, sandwiched between Dan Gurney and Eddie Cheever. A victory would lower Newgarden’s average finish to 13.0833, moving him to 64th all-time. The worst his average finish can be after this race is 15.75, which would drop him to 107th all-time.

Ryan Hunter-Reay
This will be Hunter-Reay's 15th Indianapolis 500 start.
2014 Indianapolis 500 winner.
Car #23 has won the Indianapolis 500 twice, 1931 with Louis Schneider and 1938 with Floyd Roberts. Those are the only race victories for car #23 in IndyCar history.
The best finish for the 18th-starter is second, which occurred in 1920 by René Thomas and in 2009 and 2010 by Dan Wheldon.

Hunter-Reay could become the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 for Chevrolet and Honda in the DW12-era. He would become the 12th driver to win the Indianapolis 500 with multiple engine manufacturers. 

Hunter-Reay's most recent victory was on September 16, 2018 at Sonoma. That was four years, eight months and 12 days ago. 

Hunter-Reay has the 107th best average finish among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 15.7857. A victory would lower his average finish to 14.8, moving him up to 88th all-time. The worst Hunter-Reay's average finish can be after this race is 16.9333, which would drop him to 142nd all-time.

Hunter-Reay could become the tenth oldest Indianapolis 500 winner at 42 years, five months and 11 days old. He would be only six days younger than Emerson Fittipaldi in ninth all-time for his 1989 Indianapolis 500 victory.

Row 7:
Romain Grosjean
This will be Grosjean’s second Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 31st (2022)
Car #28 has won the Indianapolis 500 once, Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014. 

Twice has the winner started 19th, most recently Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014.

Last year, Grosjean's Indianapolis 500 debut lasted 105 laps before he had an accident in turn two. 

In seven oval starts, Grosjean has two top ten finishes and has an average finish of 16.285.

Grosjean could become the fifth different Frenchman to win the Indianapolis 500. Only the United States and the United Kingdom have had at least five different drivers win the Indianapolis 500.

This will be Grosjean's 36th career start. Only once has a driver had a first career victory come in a 36th career start. That was Michael Andretti in the 1986 Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Two of the previous three first-time winners had finished 11th in the race preceding a victory. Grosjean was 11th in the most recent race, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

Hélio Castroneves
This will be Castroneves’ 23rd Indianapolis 500 start.
Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021).
Castroneves’ victory in 2022 was the first Indianapolis 500 victory for car #06.
Three times has the winner started 20th, most recently Al Unser in 1987.

Castroneves could become the first five-time Indianapolis 500 winner.

Castroneves has led 325 laps in the Indianapolis 500, which has him ranked 18th all-time. If he leads 75 laps, he will become the 14th driver to lead 400 laps in the Indianapolis 500.

Castroneves has led in 13 Indianapolis 500s, tied with A.J. Foyt for the third most all-time.

A top five finish would be Castroneves’ tenth in the Indianapolis 500 and he would join Al Unser and A.J. Foyt as the only drivers to reach that milestone.

A top ten finish would be Castroneves’ 17th in the Indianapolis 500 and he would tie A.J. Foyt for the most top ten finishes in the Indianapolis 500.

Castroneves has the seventh best average finish among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 8.31818. He cannot move up the order as a victory would lower his average finish to 8.0, but Carlos Muñoz is seventh all-time at 7.5. The worst Castroneves’ average finish can be is 9.391, dropping him to 13th all-time.

Castroneves could become the oldest Indianapolis 500 winner at 48 years and 18 days old. He would break Al Unser’s record by 23 days. Castroneves would join Emerson Fittipaldi and Takuma Sato as the only drivers to win multiple Indianapolis 500s after turning 40 years old.

Colton Herta
This will be Herta’s fifth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 8th (2020)
Car #26 has won the Indianapolis 500 twice, Dan Wheldon in 2005 and Takuma Sato 2017.
Only once has the winner started 21st and that was L.L. Corum and Joe Boyer in 1924.

This is only the third time Herta has started outside the top twenty in his IndyCar career. The first was last year's Indianapolis 500 when he started 25th. The other race was Nashville last year when he started 23rd. 

Herta could be the first driver to win the Freedom 100 and Indianapolis 500.

A top five finish for Colton would make him and Bryan Herta the tenth father/son duo to each have a top five finish in the Indianapolis 500. Colton Herta has two top five finishes in 21 career oval starts. He was fourth in the first Gateway race in 2020 and he was fifth in the second Texas race in 2021. 

Herta has three top ten finishes in five races this season. His seventh-place finish at Texas in April was his first top ten finish in seven oval starts. 

Herta could become the fourth youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 23 years, one month and 28 days old. He would be only five days older than the third youngest winner Frank Lockhart. Herta would become the first driver born in the 21st century to win the Indianapolis 500.

Row 8:

Simon Pagenaud
This will be Pagenaud’s 12th Indianapolis 500 start.
2019 Indianapolis 500 winner
Car #60 has never won the Indianapolis 500. 

Twice has the winner started 22nd but not since Kelly Petillo in 1935.

Pagenaud could become the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 for Chevrolet and Honda in the DW12-era. He would become the 12th driver to win the Indianapolis 500 with multiple engine manufacturers.

Pagenaud will surpass Oriol Servià for second most Indianapolis 500 starts for a European driver behind only Arie Luyendyk, who made 17 Indianapolis 500 starts.

Pagenaud needs to lead 31 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone in the Indianapolis 500. 

Pagenaud has four top ten finishes in his last five Indianapolis 500 starts. He has not had a top ten finish on an oval since he was eighth in last year's Indianapolis 500, and his most recent top five result on an oval was third in the 2021 Indianapolis 500.

Pagenaud has the 30th best average finish among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 10.818. A victory would lower his average finish to 10.0, putting him in a tie for 19th all-time with Mark Donohue and Alex Barron. The worst Pagenaud’s average finish can be after this race is 12.667, dropping him to 54th all-time.

David Malukas
This will be Malukas’ second Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 16th (2022)
Car #18 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
The best finish for the 23rd-starter is second by Wilbur Shaw in 1933.

This is only the fourth time Malukas has started outside the top twenty in his IndyCar career, but it is his worst start on an oval. Last year, his worst oval start was 19th at Texas. 

In six oval starts, Malukas has two top five finishes and three top ten finishes. He has completed 1,457 of a possible 1,458 laps in those six oval starts. The one race he finished a lap down was the first race of the 2022 Iowa doubleheader. 

Malukas has finished outside the top fifteen in his last three starts, the first time he has gone three consecutive races without a top fifteen finish.

Malukas could become the first Illinois-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500 since Floyd Davis was a co-winner with Mauri Rose in 1941.

Malukas could become the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 21 years, nine months and one day old. This is his final opportunity to become the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner. He would become the first driver born in the 21st century to win the Indianapolis 500.

Marco Andretti
This will be Andretti’s 18th Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 2nd (2006).
Car #98 has won the Indianapolis 500 four times, most recently Alexander Rossi in 2016. 

The best finish for the 24th-starter is fourth on five occasions (Denny Hulme in 1967, Mel Kenyon in 1969, Sammy Sessions in 1972, Eliseo Salazar in 1995 and Townsend Bell in 2009).

Andretti has not won since June 25, 2011 at Iowa. That is 11 years, 11 months and 17 days ago. Andretti has made 159 starts since his most recent victory. The record for most starts between victory is 97 by Graham Rahal.

Andretti could break Sam Hanks’ record for most starts before a first Indianapolis 500 victory. Hanks won the 1957 Indianapolis 500, his 13th start in the race.
Andretti needs to lead 56 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone in the Indianapolis 500.

Andretti could become the first Pennsylvania-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500 since Bill Holland in 1949.
A victory for Andretti would make him and his grandfather Mario the first grandfather-grandson duo to win the Indianapolis 500

Andretti is tied for the 58th best average finish with Will Power, Cliff Bergere and Fred Frame among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 13.0. A victory would lower Andretti’s average finish to 12.333, which would move him into 51st all-time. The worst his average finish can be after this race is 14.111, dropping him to 76th all-time.

Row 9:

Devlin DeFrancesco
This will be DeFrancesco’s second Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 20th (2022)
Car #29 has never won the Indianapolis 500. 

Only once has the winner started 25th and that was Johnny Rutherford in 1974.

Due to Stefan Wilson being replaced after suffering a fractured vertebra in the Monday practice, starting with DeFrancesco, every driver 25th to 32nd slid up a position on the grid from where they qualified.

This matches the worst starting position of DeFrancesco's career. He started 25th for the second Iowa race last season. It is the first time he has started outside the top twenty this season. 

Last year, DeFrancesco completed all 200 laps in the Indianapolis 500. It is his only lead lap finish on an oval in six oval starts. He has finished outside the top twenty in three of five races this season. His best result was 16th at Long Beach.

DeFrancesco could become the second Canadian Indianapolis 500 winner. Canada could become the sixth nation to produce multiple Indianapolis 500 winners.

DeFrancesco could become the fourth youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 23 years, four months and 11 days old. He would become the first driver born in the 21st century to win the Indianapolis 500.

Agustín Canapino
This will be Canapino’s first Indianapolis 500 start.
Car #78 has never won the Indianapolis 500. 

The best finish for the 26th-starter is third by Don Freeland in 1956, Paul Goldsmith in 1960 and Simon Pagenaud in 2021.

Canapino will become the fourth Argentine driver to start the Indianapolis 500, and the first since Raúl Riganti in 1940. Canapino would be the first Argentine to win Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. He would be the first Juncos Hollinger Racing driver to win the award.

Canapino was 12th in his only other oval start, which occurred earlier this season at Texas. It matched his career best finish, which first happened in the St. Petersburg season opener.

The best finish for car #78 in the Indianapolis 500 is 14th (Jimmy Caruthers 1975 and Simona de Silvestro 2010).

Argentina could become the 13th different country to produce an Indianapolis 500 winner. 

Callum Ilott 
This will be Ilott’s second Indianapolis 500 start. 
Best Finish: 32nd (2022) 
Car #77 has never won the Indianapolis 500. 

Only once has the winner started 27th and that was by Fred Frame in 1932.

This is the worst starting position of Ilott's career. This is the ninth time he has started outside the top twenty in his career, and the fourth time he has started outside the top twenty this season. The most positions Ilott has made up in a race happened in the season opener at St. Petersburg when he gained 17 positions, moving from 22nd to fifth.

Ilott has four top ten finishes in 24 career starts, including ninth in the Texas race held last month, his first top ten finish on an oval.

Last year, Ilott's Indianapolis 500 lasted 68 laps before an accident in turn two, which left him with a broken wrist and took him out of the car for the following race at Belle Isle seven days later.

Ilott could become the seventh youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 24 years, six months and 17 days old.

Row 10:

R.C. Enerson
This will be Enerson’s first Indianapolis 500 start.
Car #50 won the 2012 Indianapolis 500 with Dario Franchitti. 

Twice has the winner started 28th, inaugural winner Ray Harroun in 1911 and Louis Meyer in 1936.

Enerson has made five IndyCar starts dating back to his debut at Mid-Ohio in 2016. His most recent start was August 14, 2021 on the IMS road course where he completed 12 laps before retiring due to a throttle sensor issue. Enerson was classified in 28th, last place.

All five of Enerson’s starts have come on road courses. The only track he has raced on multiple times is Mid-Ohio. His best career finish was ninth at Watkins Glen on September 4, 2016.

Enerson made two starts in the Freedom 100. He was fourth in the 2015 race and 11th in the 2016 race. He made one NASCAR Cup Series start at Watkins Glen in 2021. He was 34th completing 88 of 90 laps driving for Rick Ware Racing.

Enerson could become the second consecutive American to win Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. It would be the first time American drivers have won Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year in consecutive seasons since 2005 to 2008 when Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Phil Giebler and Ryan Hunter-Reay were the winners.

Katherine Legge
This will be Legge's third Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 22nd (2012)
Car #44 has never won the Indianapolis 500. 

The best finish for the 29th-starter is second in 1911 by Ralph Mulford and in 2002 by Paul Tracy.

Legge will become the 12th IndyCar driver to go at least ten years between starts. Her most recent IndyCar start was May 26, 2013, ten years and two days prior to this year’s Indianapolis 500. 

This will be Legge's 40th career start. Her best career finish was sixth at Milwaukee on June 6, 2006, her fourth career start and she matched that in the 2007 Champ Car season opener on the streets of Las Vegas. She has seven top ten finishes, the most recent being ninth in the 2012 IndyCar season finale at Fontana. 

Legge has not had a lead lap finish in her last 13 starts. Her most recent lead lap result was 12th at Assen on September 2, 2007, the most recent IndyCar race to take place in Europe. Her most recent lead lap finish in the United States was the 2007 Grand Prix of Long Beach when she finished tenth. 

Legge could become the ninth oldest Indianapolis 500 winner at 42 years, ten months and 16 days old. She would only be one day younger than Sam Hanks when he won the 1957 Indianapolis 500.

Christian Lundgaard 
This will be Lundgaard’s second Indianapolis 500 start.  
Best Finish: 18th (2022)  
Car #45 has never won the Indianapolis 500. 

The best finish for the 30th-starter was fourth in 1936 by Mauri Rose.

Lundgaard will start one position better than he did last year for his Indianapolis 500 debut. He started 31st last year, and Lundgaard improved 13 positions to finish 18th, completing all 200 laps. 

Lundgaard was fourth in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis two weeks ago. It was his second consecutive top ten finish. He has never had three consecutive top ten finishes in his IndyCar career. 

Denmark could become the 13th different country to produce an Indianapolis 500 winner.   

Lundgaard could become the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 21 years, ten months and five days old. This is his final opportunity to become the youngest winner. Lundgaard would become the first driver born in the 21st century to win the Indianapolis 500. 

Row 11:

Sting Ray Robb
This will be Robb’s first Indianapolis 500 start.
Car #51 won the 1998 Indianapolis 500 with Eddie Cheever. 

The best finish for the 31st-starter is fourth in 1951 by Andy Linden.

This is the worst starting position in Robb's IndyCar career. This will be Robb's sixth career start and he has never started in the top 20 for a race.

Robb could become the second Dale Coyne Racing driver to win Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year joining Santino Ferrucci. Dale Coyne Racing has had the top finishing rookie in three of the last six Indianapolis 500s.

Robb could become the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 21 years, eight months and 25 days old. This is Robb’s only opportunity to become the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner. He would become the first driver born in the 21st century to win the Indianapolis 500.

Jack Harvey
This will be Harvey’s seventh Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 9th (2020)
Car #30 has won the Indianapolis 500 twice, Arie Luyendyk 1990 and Takuma Sato 2020. 

The best finish for the 32nd-starter is second in 1957 by Jim Rathmann and 1981 by Mario Andretti.

This is the third time Harvey has started on the last row in the Indianapolis 500 and the second consecutive year he has started on the last row.

Harvey has finished better than his starting position in five of his first six Indianapolis 500 starts. He has never finished exactly where he started in the Indianapolis 500. Only twice in Harvey's first 70 career starts has he finished where he started. He started and finished third in the 2019 Grand Prix of Indianapolis and he started and finished 11th at Barber Motorsports Park in 2021.

Harvey could become the first driver to win the Freedom 100 and Indianapolis 500.

Harvey is tied for the 200th best average finish with Mel Hansen among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 19.8333. A victory would lower Harvey’s average finish to 17.142, moving him up to 149th all-time. The worst his average finish can be after this race is 21.7142, dropping him to 232nd all-time. 

Graham Rahal
This will be Rahal’s 16th Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 3rd (2011, 2020).
Car #24 has won the Indianapolis 500 once, Graham Hill 1966. 
The best finish for the 33rd-starter is second in 1980 by Tom Sneva and 1992 by Scott Goodyear.

Rahal steps into the #24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet after Stefan Wilson suffered a fractured vertebra in an accident during the Monday practice.

This is the worst starting position of Rahal's career. It is the first time he has started on the final row in the Indianapolis 500.

This will be Rahal's first start in a Chevrolet-powered car. This will be Rahal's second race with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. He drove for the team at Iowa in 2010 when Mike Conway was recovering from injuries suffered in the Indianapolis 500. Rahal ended up finishing ninth in that Iowa race.

Rahal enters Indianapolis having started 210 consecutive races. The last race he missed was Edmonton on July 25, 2010. 

Rahal could break Sam Hanks’ record for most starts before a first Indianapolis 500 victory. Hanks won the 1957 Indianapolis 500, his 13th start in the race.

Rahal has led 28 laps in his Indianapolis 500 career. His father Bobby led 126 laps in his 13 Indianapolis 500 starts. 

Rahal could tie Salt Walther and George Snider for most 33rd-place finishes in the Indianapolis 500 at three.

Rahal is tied for the 162nd best average finish with Dennis Firestone among the 258 drivers with at least five Indianapolis 500 starts at 17.8. A victory would lower Rahal’s average finish to 16.75, moving him into a tie for 130th all-time with Robbie Buhl. The worst Rahal’s average finish can be after this race is 18.75, dropping him into a tie for 179th all-time with Teo Fabi.

Peacock's pre-race coverage of the 107th Indianapolis 500 will begin at 9:00 a.m. ET on Sunday May 28. NBC's coverage will start at 11:00 a.m. ET. The green flag will wave at 12:45 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 200 laps.