Some would save the best month is behind us. May is celebrated for a number of reasons. The chill is gone, but it isn't a scorcher yet. Every day is more likely to be nice than not. We are still gaining daylight with each day. It is kind of a distraction from all the days we are losing. This year is approaching halfway whether we notice it or not. But let's not allow that to bring us down.
The Bow on Indianapolis
IndyCar has already moved onto Detroit, but before practice begins from the streets of the Motor City, let's put a bow on the 109th Indianapolis 500.
It will be an event remember for the baggage that came with it. The Team Penske penalties and subsequent dismissals of three key crew members. Turmoil over Roger Penske's ownership in the series whilst running a team. Officiating oversights. The rain delay that was unexpected and put Kyle Larson in a perilous position in his attempt for The Double. The sloppy start that saw a car out of the race before we even got to the green flag. Three cars being disqualified once the race was over.
There is a lot of difficult things we must take away from this year's Indianapolis 500 and some of which we will continue to manage throughout the near-future.
However, there are good things that happened this month, and before we move into June and leave May 2025 behind, we should properly acknowledge the positive things from this month.
The Sellout
For the second time in reported history of the Indianapolis 500, the race sold all its grandstand seating and, in turn, the local television blackout was lifted due to the sell out. The first time it occurred was for the 100th running in 2016.
I don't think that is getting enough attention. For the 100th running, everyone was hyped for the historic nature of that race. It was a must-attend event. For the 109th running to sellout with nothing all that special going on, the folks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway under the leadership of Doug Boles deserves some high praise.
In the interim, it wasn’t like the Indianapolis 500 was struggling to sell tickets. For the last few years it has been teased how close the track was to selling all the grandstand tickets. This year, it achieved that mark.
I don't know what it takes to sell those final thousand seats or so. What made 2025 different than 2024 or 2023? There isn't a clear answer. We had a Double attempt last year. We have had a chance at a five-time winner for the previous three years. Was it the chance of a three-consecutive winner? Is it Josef Newgarden's fault? Maybe that's it! It is all Josef Newgarden's fault!
It will remain a mystery, but regardless of the reason, IMS sold out its facility with a little under a week to spare to race day. That is phenomenal. Doug Boles has done tremendous work leading the Speedway. He deserves all the plaudits for this one.
The Hybrid was Good
Take your medicine. The hybrid added something to qualifying.
It was thrilling to see how hybrid usage would change the outcome of a run.
Would a driver use a burst on the final lap? Was it programmed to slowly deploy from the exit of turn two through the line? It kept you on the edge of your seat, and it is fun to see the third lap or the fourth lap be faster and a driver claw back some time.
For the better part of the last 25, 30, 35, 40 years or so, a qualifying run is just about how much a driver is going to lose from the start of the run to the finish. We know the first lap will be the biggest and then the final three laps are about controlling the bleeding. If there are big drop offs from each lap, the qualifying run will tumble down the order. If it is modest, it will be a good run. The hybrid added the element of a driver getting a little back.
Drivers have complained about the weight at the back of the car and the greater instability they face on each run, but that meant we had to see the drivers drive the car this year. It wasn't holding the foot down for four laps. A lot of this year's qualifying came down to who could feather the throttle the least. A great number of drivers did it, but the most successful only had to do it for a moment.
That isn't a bad thing, and this was still the third-fastest field on average speed behind only 2023 and 2024. For all the concerns about the hybrid and its weight slowing the cars down, it didn't take them that far from where the cars have been the previous two years.
We Didn't Have to Explain Qualifying
Do you recall any long disclaimer about how qualifying works being said this year? I didn't hear any.
At no point did we have go over the qualifying lines and how Saturday worked with the top 30 and what happens to those outside the top 30. We just qualified.
For the last 25 years, it felt like every year we had to go over qualifying. Is it the top 11 are locked in over the first three days and then bump day? Is it two days with the top 24 locked in on day one and the rest set on day two? Is there a Fast Nine session? Is Saturday to set the Fast Nine with everyone re-qualify to set their grid positions on Sunday? What is the express lane? Do times have to be withdrawn? Are drivers getting points for this?
We didn't get bogged down with any of that. The qualifying format has been practically unchanged since 2018. We get it. To be fair, I cannot remember the last time Indianapolis 500 qualifying wasn't tweaked once in an eight-year period. If you stop screwing with something, it is almost like people get a chance to get used to it.
With that said, I think we could still limited the number of runs on Saturday and maybe each team only gets one run where it can go without withdrawing a qualifying time. And there is an issue with the last chance qualifying session when there are only four cars, and one of those cars isn't close to the competition.
A few things could be adjusted without people losing an understanding of how things worked.
June Preview
The event I am most excited for in June is NASCAR's trip to Mexico City. I was young when the NASCAR Busch Series went to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in 2005. The anticipation for that race was incredible. That felt like the biggest race in the world. NASCAR was at its height and it was expanding beyond the United States.
That inaugural race was an incredible gathering of NASCAR talent as well as international talent, predominantly from the host country. Adrián Fernández was driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Rusty Wallace entered. Ron Fellows was there because of course he was. The stunner was Jorge Goeters winning pole position. A past Mexican Formula Three champion who was running stock cars in Mexico City, Goeters started the fairy tale weekend and sparked great exuberance.
There was hype for a potential Cup race in 2006 after how 2005 played out. That didn't happen. It should have. The Mexico City races only got stronger over the following years. More Cup drivers showed up for 2006. Boris Said, Marc Goossens and Paul Tracy entered as well. By 2007, Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose were series regulars, and Scott Pruett was a one-off.
It felt like the Busch Series biggest race of the year because it was on a Cup Series off-weekend and it was run on Sunday afternoon. Fox even showed it.
The Cup Series should have gone in 2006. It was at its height, and it would have been a stark change for a series that had been domestic-based for the entirety of the modern era, but everyone was ready for it even if the Cup folks felt otherwise. This race would have been a much bigger deal if it had been done in 2006. NASCAR was at its highest and it would have been a clear indication that the Cup Series had an international reach.
It is still a big deal in 2025, but so much has changed from then to now. It will be a wonderful weekend, and I cannot wait to see what variety we will get. The Cup Series will look like the Cup Series. We aren't going to see a swarm of road course ringers, nor are we likely going to see 40-plus entries. For the second division, we could see some sports car guys compete. It will not be easy as it is Le Mans weekend and some drivers will be busy.
I acknowledge that this will feel different than 2005. I get goosebumps thinking about 2005. This will not match that level, but it will still be chilling to watch.
Other Events of Note in June:
There is the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
IndyCar doesn't have an international race but it will have a night race at Gateway.
Formula One goes from Spain to Canada to Austria.
MotoGP goes from Aragón to Mugello to Assen.
IMSA returns from Le Mans with an endurance race of its own from Watkins Glen.
