Another Red Flag Opinion Piece

Welcome to the main takeaway from the 104th Indianapolis 500... should IndyCar have thrown a red flag while the track was littered with debris and a demolition attenuator sat at the pit lane entrance after Spencer Pigot pinballed off the barriers with five laps to go? 

Some expected a red flag to fly with the end of the 2014 Indianapolis 500 fresh in everyone's mind. Six years ago, Townsend Bell's accident in turn two damaged the SAFER barrier with ten laps to go and a red flag came out. This allowed the proper amount of time for the repair to be made and the race to restart with seven laps to go. Those seven laps ended up being one of the most memorable battles in Indianapolis 500 history, with Ryan Hunter-Reay against Hélio Castroneves. 

While many believe that 2014 race was the first time an IndyCar saw a late red flag to ensure an attempt at a green flag finish, the die was cast in 2012 at the Fontana season finale when Tony Kanaan had an accident with ten laps to go and a championship was on the line between Hunter-Reay and Will Power. That race restarted with seven laps to go and still ended under caution when Takuma Sato, of all drivers, spun in turn two on the final lap. The yellow flag flew, Ed Carpenter had passed Dario Franchitti only moments earlier for the lead and the Carpenter got his team its first victory while Hunter-Reay took the title. 

Both red flag decisions came under different leadership in race control. At that time, Beaux Barfield was the man at the helm. Since, we have seen Derrick Walker and Brian Barnhart in charge and currently Kyle Novak is race director for the NTT IndyCar Series. 

Every official has his or her own perception of the rulebook. There are black-and-white calls that will almost universally be made but there is plenty of grey. Some will have a greater tolerance for what is defensive driving versus blocking. Some will throw a caution when a car brushes the wall while others will let such a less incident go unless there is obvious debris on track from that contact. 

What about red flags? Truth is that there are no rules written about what constitutes when a red flag can be thrown or mandates a red flag be thrown in late race situations. When Barfield did it, it was unprecedented, but in both instances, it prevented a ten-lap caution from ending the race. It allowed each race to have at least six more laps of green flag racing through one of those races still ended under caution. 

Since Barfield's departure, there have been other cases when a red flag did not fly late in races. At Pocono in 2015, when Walker ran race control, Sage Karam's spun in turn one and Justin Wilson's fatal accident after debris hit Wilson's head came with 21 laps to go. Instead of red flagging the race, 13 laps were run under caution. A restart still came with eight laps to go, but considering the number of laps left, a red flag to allow for a few more green flag laps was a possibility. That race still ended under caution after Gabby Chaves lost an engine with four laps to go. 

At Texas in 2017, a four-car accident involving Sato, Scott Dixon, Conor Daly and Max Chilton occurred entering turn one with five laps to go, like this year's Indianapolis 500. This race ended under caution. Perhaps having six cars on the lead lap and having 13 of 23 cars already knocked out of the race due to accidents had something to do with it. 

The following year, Novak's first season as race director, Ed Carpenter brushed the wall with seven laps to go, bringing out the caution. It appeared a restart was going to be possible, but after all the pit stops and the time it took to get the order correct, the race did not have enough laps for the green flag to fly and James Hinchcliffe took the yellow and checkered flag together. Could a red flag have been used? Probably, but Carpenter's accident did not require a tow truck to retrieve the car, nor was there any damage to the barrier that had to be addressed. Throwing a red flag for what appeared to be nothing would have appeared over-cautious.  

Similar to Texas 2017 and Iowa 2018, this year's Indianapolis 500 did not have enough time for a restart to take place, especially when you consider the extensive damage to the attenuator, which estimated repair time was from 60 to 90 minutes. 

Compared to Townsend Bell's accident in 2014, where the red flag took less than ten minutes to make the necessary repairs and allowed the final seven laps to go take place under green flag conditions, this would have been at least an hour of waiting for at most two laps, or possibly just one green flag lap, which likely would have seen an accident anyway. The Indianapolis 500 could have turned into a one-lap dash with the drivers having an hour or more out of the cars. Those ingredients are not going to mix well. 

The decision to ride out the final five laps under yellow and not throw a red flag is similar to the decision over when to red flag a race for rain and when to call it. If it had started pouring rain with five laps to go instead of Spencer Pigot's accident, and it was going to take two hours for the track to dry, the race would have been called and everyone would have accepted it. 

At the same time, if Pigot's accident had occurred with 60 laps to go, just like if it had rained with 60 laps to go, and there would be a two-hour delay and sunset was not an issue, we might have sat through that and it would have been understandable to sit through it. 

The decision to throw a red flag and attempt at least one more restart is a fluid situation and there is a point of no return. Pigot's accident likely occurred just after it. 

Ever since the 2014 Indianapolis 500, I have theorized whether or not IndyCar should put a stipulation in the rulebook to allow race control to allow one flag in the closing laps of the race. Not guarantee a red flag but allow one if necessary. Pigot's accident would have required a red flag in 99.9% of instances. If it happened on lap nine, lap 19, lap 95, lap 125 or lap 160, a red flag would have come out. There would still be a considerable amount of time left in the race in all those instances. 

With five laps to go though, a red flag would not have done much, especially when the cars have already done a lap behind the pace car, knocking it down to four to go and then would have crossed the line entering pit lane with three laps to go if the red flag had been shown immediately after the pace car picked up the field. I can't imagine the race would immediately go green off a red flag, so you lose two to go and then it sets up the green and white flag being shown together, a one-lap dash and likely hundreds of thousands of dollars in crash damage because someone is going to roll the dice for the Indianapolis 500 without a care in the world for himself or the other drivers around him. 

As much as people are saying the Indianapolis 500 should not end under yellow, should it really end with a one-lap dash after a 60-minute or 90-minute red flag, cars on cold tires with cold brakes that will likely see another one or two or three cars damaged in an accident? That is not a fitting ending either. It was a lose-lose scenario. 

This red flag conversation has spun into whether or not Indianapolis 500 should adopt green-white-checkered procedures for another attempt at a green flag finish.

Matt Weaver of Autoweek had a thought-provoking piece on the finish and how we the viewers need to stop obsessing with how a race ends and appreciate everything that happens from the drop of the green flag at lap one to the checkered flag. 

Truth be told, we as motorsports fans need to ask ourselves why we don't love these series enough as they currently exist and why we think change is a necessary to get more people to love them. It is not just an IndyCar thing or NASCAR thing. It applies to both series and other as well, but we will focus on these two.

All these changes and ideas for change, green-white-checkered finishes, stage breaks, double-file restarts, choose rules, Chase/playoff formats, double-point races, etc., are done because the series don't love something about themselves. They try to change to draw the eyes of others, to fit in to other people, and there is nothing wrong with wanting to include more people and open the door to more people, but when these changes are done and people are not entering and more are leaving than are coming in, you have to ask if change was necessary at all. 

In motorsports, we have gotten obsessed with finishes. The finish is the end all be all. The Indianapolis 500 could have had the first 197 laps run under green flag conditions with 100 lead changes and over 1,000 passes but if one car had spun in turn three and forced the final three laps to be run under caution, people would have decried the race for how it ended, not for what happened in the 197 laps prior. 

That's insane! Does NASCAR deserve a little of the blame since it is the only major series with a green-white-checkered rule? Yeah, a bit. It is not all NASCAR's fault. Part of it was NASCAR responding when fans were upset with how some races finish. A certain Talladega race that Jeff Gordon won and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. didn't comes to mind. I remember it raining garbage. Maybe NASCAR succumbed to mob mentality, but this mob was acceptable because it was for NASCAR's Messiah. 

As Weaver writes in his column, NASCAR has been focused so much on "game seven moments" that it fails to realize not every game seven has "game seven moments." Nine years ago, the Boston Bruins went to Vancouver for a game seven in the Stanley Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks. Boston showed up and Vancouver didn't. It was a 4-0 victory for the Bruins in an otherwise forgettable game. 

Last year's Stanley Cup Final went to a seventh game, this time in Boston with the Bruins hosting the St. Louis Blues. St. Louis scored two goals late in the first and played a shutout second period. The result became more and more clear as the third period wore on. St. Louis added a third and then a fourth and with 4:38 left to play it was clear the Stanley Cup was heading to the Gateway City. Boston added a consolation goal with 2:10 to go, but there was no comeback. There was no game seven moment. Game seven was just another game. One that meant the world to St. Louis, stung Beantown and the ultimately did not change the world. 

Not every Super Bowl ends with a Hail Mary or last second field goal. If a team has a fourth-and-goal from the eight-yard-line and fails to score a touchdown but there are still three seconds on the clock, it doesn't get one more chance because it will be excited. Turnover on downs still exists and the other team will take a knee and end the game in the victory formation.  

Not every Final Four game ends with a buzzer beater. Sometime the team with a 12-point lead gets to dribble the clock out. The trailing team doesn't get one final possession with a shot worth 13 points just because it would be exciting to watch. 

Circling back to St. Louis, the St. Louis Cardinals won the 2011 World Series in seven games over the Texas Rangers, but the most memorable game was not game seven, it was game six. 

Down two in the bottom of the ninth, David Freese, on a 1-2 count, hit a two-run triple to tie the game for St. Louis and force extra innings. In the top of the tenth, Texas scored two runs and St. Louis responded in the bottom of that inning, tying the game again despite being down to its final strike. In the bottom of the 11th, Freese led off the inning and with a 3-2 count hit a walk-off home run to win the game and force a game seven. 

Game seven did not hold a candle to game six. Texas scored two in the top of the first and St. Louis scored two in the bottom of the first. The Texas bats went cold while St. Louis ran out to a 6-2 lead, won the game and the World Series. 

Hockey, football, baseball and basketball do not look at how the big games end and then create rules to craft a better finish. Those sports allow the event to take place, and sometimes you get Super Bowl XLIX with Malcolm Butler intercepting Russell Wilson on the goal line with 26 seconds left (and then Tom Brady taking a knee to kill the clock). Sometimes you get the 2010 Winter Olympic men's ice hockey final with Sidney Crosby winning the gold medal for Canada in overtime over the United States by the score of 3-2. Sometimes you get Christian Laettner draining a shot from the foul line. 

Other times you get less memorable results and those are ok. The same applies for motorsports and we should not be furious when a race ends under caution or when the margin of victory is 4.5 seconds. Not every race can be Gordon Johncock vs. Rick Mears, Mears vs. Michael Andretti, Hunter-Reay vs. Castroneves or Simon Pagenaud vs. Alexander Rossi.

Was anyone happy the 104th Indianapolis 500 ended under caution? Well... perhaps Takuma Sato, Bobby Rahal, David Letterman, Mike Lanigan and the rest of the RLLR team, but generally speaking nobody is happy the race ended under caution, the same way nobody is happy the race was held without spectators in attendance. Nobody likes it, but we accept the circumstances. 

We should love motorsports for what it is, and like every other sport, the ending might not be grand but there is more than a finish and we should love a race for what happens in its entirety. 

Musings From the Weekend: An Indianapolis 500 in August

Takuma Sato had another historic day. Spencer Pigot is ok. It was a rough day for rookies. It was a tough day for Chevrolet. Fernando Alonso may be leaving Indianapolis Motor Speedway without making a sound. Andretti Autosport had three cars in the top ten, but barely made a sound. Elsewhere in the world of motorsports, more of the same in NASCAR. MotoGP had the best race of the weekend. A record was broken in IMSA, or it might have been broken all along. Team Penske at least had a great weekend in Australia. An American short track star won an American short track race. The main story is we had the Indianapolis 500 in August and that is where we will begin. Here is a rundown of what got me thinking.

An Indianapolis 500 in August

That wasn't so bad, was it? 

The Indianapolis 500 delay was announced back in March, very early in the game when you think about, but even with all that time, it was difficult to wrap your head around this race taking place toward the end of summer, away from Memorial Day weekend. It was stunning, but proactive. In March, we were trying to get a handle of the virus. Early lockdowns were recommended into May. The event was not practical on Memorial Day weekend. The hope was August would allow the race to take place without much change. 

Of course, things are worse now than in March, spectators were not allowed into the facility, but we are living with the virus and doing all we can to continue while restricted. Events can take place behind closed doors and it can keep the lights on for the teams, though many feel the squeeze and are struggling to get through this period. 

This entire period felt strange, and not in a bad way. At the start of the month, the days didn't feel like the days leading up to the Indianapolis 500. When we were a week away from the first practice day, I had to get my head around how close we were to the event. Even a week before practice, the race felt month away. It was approaching, though remained distant. 

Practice week was shorter than usual, but the timeline fell into place. Everything synced up. Qualifying was around the corner; the race was near and it felt like May. I know it wasn't, but temperatures dropped here in the Northeast. It was comfortable, the humidity subsided. There were a few un-intimidating overcast days. A shower would pass through and an hour later you wouldn't have known it rained at all. Air conditioners got a few days off with the breeze through an open window doing the job. 

It felt familiar, though a completely different time. 

Everything feels a little off. It is the end of August, but I feel no melancholy for summer's goodbye. Labor Day doesn't mean anything. It will be another Monday, just like Memorial Day, just like Independence Day felt like a Saturday and nothing more. We haven't had preseason football games to remind you the season is coming. We are approaching the final month of baseball season and we have just reached the halfway point. NASCAR has gotten its schedule back on track and has only 11 races remaining, but even that feels off. 

Carb Day had the anxiousness. One final chance to tune a race car and one final chance to shoot yourself in the foot and scramble to put the pieces back together. The importance of the two-hour session seeped into your heart; each beat a little harder. When it ended and no one was left with long nights ahead, it became Friday and only Friday. There was no Freedom 100 to provide another incredible finish. The pit crews did not get their chance to shine. Music was not coming from the other end of the property. It was Friday, 3:00 p.m. and I wasn't sure what to do with myself. The calm was new. 

But I liked the calm. The calm was felt throughout the paddock. Media tours did not take place. Drivers hung out and got to be drivers. The Indianapolis 500 got to be another race, and that is fine this year. Instead of running all over creation to see sponsors and other important dignitaries, this week was for the drivers and their families. That was a nice change. 

This year shouldn't have felt the same. It was nice to sit back and know the race was coming but not feel the race was coming. There was something natural about this year. We didn't have the amped up buzz. We didn't have distractions. The history was not drummed up in anticipation of the event. When the event is happening 91 days behind schedule and during a pandemic, you take the event as it is. You take it on the most basic level, an automobile race, set for 500 miles. 

It is almost a real litmus test for how strong the Indianapolis 500 is in the 21st century. This is the control. How does the race do when away from Memorial Day weekend, with no spectators on the grounds and at a mid-afternoon start? This is where you get a sense of who cares and who views the event like church where you only go for Christmas and Easter. 

We might not like what we find. We might be disappointed, or we will be happily surprised and draw confidence from this hopefully once-in-a-lifetime situation. 

Despite falling into gear through practice and qualifying, race day morning did not have the anticipation of a typical Indianapolis 500 morning. 

It didn't feel like we were set to go race morning, or at least I didn't want to jinx it. The last thing I wanted to do Sunday morning was declare mission accomplished only for something to bring the entire event crumbling down. All it takes is one test. Up to this weekend, IndyCar has done well avoiding problems, whether it be with competitors or crew members. Cruelty would have it that the first positive encounter with the virus would come on the morning of the Indianapolis 500 and cause the entire event to spiral out of control. 

I wasn't going to feel comfortable until the cars were running on the pace laps, but even then, I knew we weren't in the clear. The Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder were moments away from tipping off on March 11 when team doctors declared the game could not take place due to Rudy Gobert's positive test. If it happened once, it could have happened on the pace laps of the Indianapolis 500. The green flag started the race and ended the fear an Indianapolis 500 would not take place in 2020. A little over three hours later, Sato was sipping the milk and hugging David Letterman. 

Where are we now? Where are we after this race? 

Everything is still different. There is still a season to complete, but uncertainty will linger for the next two and a half months. That uncertainty will carry over into 2021. Is normal possible for next year? We thought normal would have returned this summer and we are further from it than we were in March. 

The pressure will be there for the 105th Indianapolis 500 to be normal on Sunday May 30, 2021. That might be too much of a stretch. We might have to have another behind closed doors race. We might have to have a limited capacity race next year. We might have to run this race in August again. We don't know. We have no clue. We all wish we had an answer. 

At the start of the month, I wrote about being thankful for what we had and maybe that is all I can continue to be, thankful for what has happened and not look too far into the future. We got an Indianapolis 500 in 2020. Was it the way any of us wanted it to be? No. But we still got it. Was it different? Of course, everything has been different this year. The Indianapolis 500 was not going to be immune from different. 

We made the most of it, and it wasn't that bad. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Takuma Sato but did you know...

Miguel Oliveira won MotoGP's Styrian Grand Prix, his first career MotoGP victory. Marco Bezzecchi won the Moto2 race, his first Moto2 victory and his first grand prix victory since the 2018 Moto3 race at Motegi. Celestino Vietti won the Moto3 race, his first career victory. 

Kody Swanson won Indy Pro 2000's Freedom 90 on debut. Christian Rasmussen won U.S. F2000's Freedom 75, his sixth consecutive victory.

Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick split the NASCAR Cup races race Dover. Justin Allgaier and Chase Briscoe split the Grand National Series races. Zane Smith won the Truck race, his second victory of 2020.

The #3 Corvette of Jordan Taylor and Antonio García won the IMSA race at Virginia International Raceway, the #3 Corvette's second consecutive victory and Corvette's fourth consecutive victory. The #96 Turner Motorsport BMW of Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley won in GT Daytona. It was Auberlen's 61st IMSA victory, a series record.

Scott McLaughlin swept the three Supercars races from Hidden Valley Raceway.

René Rast and Lucas Auer split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from Lausitz.

The #23 NISMO Nissan of Tsugio Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli won the Super GT race from Suzuka, its first victory since 2018. The #11 Gainer Nissan of Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Hironobu Yasuda

Coming Up This Weekend

IndyCar has a pair of 250-mile races at Gateway.

Formula One returns to Spa-Francorchamps.

NASCAR ends its regular season with Daytona's 400-mile oval race.

GT World Challenge America will be at Road America. 

Super Formula begins its 2020 season at Motegi.

Supercars will be in Townsville.

World Superbike heads to Aragón.

104th Indianapolis 500: First Impressions

1. Takuma Sato drove the best race of his career and Sato is a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. 

This was better than 2017. Three years ago, Sato deserved that victory, but there was some fortune. While Andretti Autosport teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and Fernando Alonso lost engines, Sato stayed alive and outmaneuvered Hélio Castroneves. He was up front all race in 2017, but not the top driver and benefited from the misfortune of others.

Today, Sato was up front all race, rarely outside the top five. This felt like a race where Sato paced himself all day. Veteran knowhow paid off. He knew to stay at the front and remain in touch. There was no point in being overaggressive on lap 63 or lap 90 or even lap 126. When the time came, after the final round of pit stops, Sato attacked, as he does. 

Scott Dixon had been the class of the field and when Dixon emerged from his final pit stop in the lead, it felt like things had fallen into place. A second Indianapolis 500 victory for Dixon would have been just. This year has been Dixon's and in what will likely be his sixth championship season, a second Indianapolis 500 victory would have been more than deserved for this historic season. 

However, Sato had the run. Sato attacked. Sato saw his opportunity and took it. It was still early. Dixon was going to have plenty of time to counter. Dixon made his looks, but Sato's defense matched his offense. Running the inside line, Sato forced Dixon wide and it was a move Dixon was not able to complete. Dixon settled in and waited for one final shot down the stretch. 

It looked like lapped traffic would be to Dixon's benefit, but Sato negotiated it better, or caught the field better. Sato lapped Tony Kanaan into turn three and Dixon was caught. The gap opened and Dixon was fighting from behind with the laps clicking down. 

Unfortunately, Spencer Pigot's terrible accident hitting the pit lane entrance brought this race to a close with five laps to go. Between the timing of the caution and the extensiveness of the accident, there was no time for a red flag and one final shot to go green. It stinks that the race ended under caution, the first time since 2013, but it happens, and today Takuma Sato was on the right side of the yellow flag. 

Today, Sato's attack paid off and put him in right position at the right time. That attack made him a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, the 20th multiple-time winner of this race. 

It is hard to place Sato. He is a two-time winner and back in May, when coming up with The Greatest 33 drivers after the previous 103 races, I did not have Sato in the field of 33 and said even if he was a two-time winner I am not sure he would be in The Greatest 33. Time will have to pass before we revisit it, but today, Sato gets his moment and another a few Indianapolis 500s are in his future. A third is not out of the question. 

2. This is the most painful defeat for Scott Dixon. Dixon is looking great for the championship, but a second Indianapolis 500 victory would have been monumental for him and it would have been his 50th IndyCar victory nonetheless. He led 111 laps today, it moved him to third all-time in Indianapolis 500 history on 563 laps led. He is ahead of Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Wilbur Shaw, Emerson Fittipaldi, Parnelli Jones and Bill Vukovich and only Al Unser and Ralph DePalma remains ahead of him. This day was set up for Dixon to erase any doubt that is one of the greatest ever.

Look, Mario Andretti only has one Indianapolis 500 victory and we don't hold that against him. Why should we hold it against Dixon? This was Dixon's third runner-up finish in the Indianapolis 500, tied for the most runner-up finishes in the event's history. He has eight top five finishes. He already had three pole positions. All the pieces are there. 

For the first 170 laps, it was Dixon's race. It never felt in doubt. Sato took it and Sato deserved it. Dixon didn't throw this race away. Dixon's didn't lose this race. It will feel like Dixon lost it but it just wasn't his day. There is always next year.

3. Graham Rahal finds himself second fiddle in his father's team again. Rahal found his legs down the stretch and drove into a position to be a contender, but again, Sato won out. I think back to Barber last year. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing cars sweep the front row, but Sato takes pole position. Both cars run strong, but Rahal suffers a mechanical failure early. Sato goes on to win the race. 

Rahal has driven well this year. He entered the Indianapolis 500 proceedings sixth in the championship. He has not had the best of fortune at Indianapolis. Last year, a top five was taken from him after he and Sébastien Bourdais came together. Sato ended up finishing third last year when he really wasn't much a factor and Rahal spent more time at the front. This year, Rahal has maybe his best Indianapolis 500 and Sato has one better. Sato ends up spending the entire day at the front and pulling out the victory and Rahal ends up third. 

Rahal is a good sport and he sees the bigger picture. He is a team player... but there has to be part of him that is a little upset he was not the driver to get RLLR its first Indianapolis 500 victory since Buddy Rice in 2004. It has to sting a little more that he was third. It would have been one thing if he was not in contention. It was within his grasp and the sister car gets the glory.

4. Two years, two aggressive Indianapolis 500s for Santino Ferrucci and he was fourth today. This pace was not there in practice. Ferrucci was maybe the third of three Dale Coyne Racing cars entering Carb Day. The team found something, and it was another year where he made aggressive moves and it never bit him. 

5. Josef Newgarden was the best Penske car today, Newgarden finished in the top five and it still feels like a horrible day. It wasn't. Newgarden got as close as he could have. He did not have the pace to compete with the front four and it wasn't just him, it was all the Chevrolets. 

When it came time to turn up the wick after the final pit stops, Newgarden lost a few spots. He was going to finish fifth and have to like it. That was not on him. Unlike last year when Chevrolet had that extra gear and could use it late, Honda had it and Honda's advantage was significantly greater. Newgarden did soften the championship blow finishing fifth with Dixon in second, but he still lost a chunk of ground and he has a lot of work to do.

6. Patricio O'Ward deserves Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors with his sixth-place finish. O'Ward moved to the front and he was the second-best Chevrolet today. He spent a lot of time in the top ten. He didn't have the car to win the race or run with Sato and Dixon but sixth was great for him, considering he missed this race last year. This is a good bit of redemption for the rookie and this serves his championship hopes well. He is was fourth in the championship entering today. O'Ward improved upon that.

7. For all the speed Andretti Autosport showed in qualifying, its best finisher was James Hinchcliffe in seventh. We will get to the rest of the Andretti Autosport finishers in due time, but this is a disappointment for Andretti Autosport. It nearly had a sour moment in the Fast Nine session after the team had the top four cars on Saturday only to have Marco Andretti take the track as the final car of the day and possibly looking at none of its cars starting on the front row. 

This was a good day for Hinchcliffe, because he fell outside the top twenty after one poor pit stop. To rally to seventh as a part-time driver bodes well for him. But this team has some work to do because that qualifying pace was fool's gold come race day.

8. I will say Colton Herta was eighth and that is where he was all race. This was a good day for Herta but only a good day. He couldn't find that little bit more and that is fine. He didn't lose anything, but it has to be frustrating because this is the story of Herta's season. He has been there in almost every race, but he never gets fully there. He was fourth at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and he was the fourth best car. He was fifth in both Road America races and he was a top five car. We have yet to see Herta roll into race day being one of the top two cars and look like a contender for the victory. When you win your second career start and have multiple victories as a rookie, you are not going to settle for being a top ten regular.

9. Jack Harvey was ninth and he deserved ninth. It was a quiet ninth. Harvey did not make waves. He didn't make any daring moves, at least none that drew much attention. He drove smart and got ninth and that is his M.O. Harvey is not foolish and he is the right driver for Meyer Shank Racing. MSR wants to win races, but it also wants a driver who can drive a car up the order and beat some better cars. Harvey has done that multiple times in his brief IndyCar career. 

This is MSR's first full season, same with Harvey. Considering where the team was at Texas, the fact it has finishes of seventh, seventh and ninth in its last three oval starts is tremendous. This team is heading int he right direction.

10. Ryan Hunter-Reay was an odd tenth-place finisher, because he seemed better than this but never showed more than this. Hunter-Reay was one of the top cars all practice and he started fifth. He looked good in the opening stint, but he kept losing spots on pit stops. Twice he lost four spots on pit stops under yellow. That set him back and, when in traffic, he was not working his way forward. If anything, a tenth-place finish might have been a gift today.

11. Hélio Castroneves tried to do something different, but with the Chevrolet pace not being there, 11th was all he could manage. Coincidentally, Castroneves' first Indianapolis 500 start was from 11th on the grid. How fitting would it be for Castroneves' final Indianapolis 500 start with Team Penske be an 11th place finish? I am not sure Castroneves will be back. Penske is ready to move on. Castroneves wants to be back in IndyCar. He is 45 years old. There cannot be much of an appetite for a 45-year-old free agent who will turn 46 in the middle of next year. 

If Castroneves wants an Indianapolis 500 ride, he will get one. It will likely not be with Team Penske. That will be a tough pill to swallow. 

12. Felix Rosenqvist was good and finished 12th. He never really appeared, outside of staying out and taking the lead. It is not great and Rosenqvist will want to be better. Chip Ganassi expects better. This is an odd year for Rosenqvist. He won Road America but threw away second at Texas and has had mechanical issues cost him results. 

13. Marco Andretti didn't have it today. It was not a poor day for Andretti, but the pole speed did not carry over to race day. For a portion of the race, he settled into the back half of the top ten and perhaps could have adjusted the car to get back into the fight, but he continued to slide and ended up 13th. 

This wasn't as bad as last year, but I am pretty sure Andretti did not lead a lap from pole position. It is not a terrible day, but after the week we experienced hyped for the possibility of this being Andretti's year, seeing him not at least be in the fight is a letdown. 

14. Will Power tried and all he could manage was 14th. That was the best he was going to do. Power has not been happy much this year. I don't think he wants out at Team Penske, but last year on Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s podcast Power revealed he nearly walked away from IndyCar a few years ago and I get the sense Power would not think twice when that thought of walking away enters his mind. He has a championship. He has an Indianapolis 500 victory. He has plenty of victories and pole positions. He can leave and not have any regrets. That day could be sooner than most of us think.

15. Zach Veach was 15th and he is a 15th-place race car driver. He is good. That's it. This is year three of a three-year deal with Andretti Autosport. Has he done enough for a fourth year? I say no. There is time left this season for him to turn it around. I am not sure that time is enough.

16. J.R. Hildebrand went from 32nd to 16th with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. In 2020, that was the best you could ask for. Hildebrand got into the top half of the field. The time wasn't there for D&R to work this car into a top ten contender. Good on Hildebrand for bringing it home and completing all 500 miles.

17. Kudos to Max Chilton completing all 500 miles, but it was another 17th place finish, which isn't great. 

18. Charlie Kimball was the final car on the lead lap. A.J. Foyt Racing is still lost.

19. Tony Kanaan was the first car a lap down. Kanaan will be back. Even when he said this was it for him, I kept thinking Kanaan would be back for Indianapolis for at least one or two or three more years. However, I don't think he will be back with Foyt. At least, I don't think he should comeback with this operation. If Kanaan is going to be a one-off, it can't be with a 19th-place car. He has to call Michael Andretti and brush the dust off the #11. He needs to see if Jimmy Vasser can secure that third Coyne car for him and see if they can re-create their 2013 victory. Maybe Ganassi would roll out a fourth car for Kanaan. We confirmed Foyt is not the answer.

20. Rinus VeeKay's day was ruined with one bad pit stop when he slid into his pit stall and hit a crew member. That stop is lost when that happens. You are sacrificing 20 seconds on those stops and then you have to serve a penalty. I did not feel confident VeeKay would match the pace he showed it qualifying. He is young and for some reason ECR does not regularly carry over qualifying pace to the race. Add to it, VeeKay has not looked great this year and he has been rough on ovals. 

21. If you forgot Fernando Alonso was in the race, you are not alone, and Alonso's sophomore start ends with a 21st-place finish, one lap down. I am not sure how Alonso lost his lap. He stayed ahead of Dixon at one point when a caution came out. He was up to 17th or 16th and then he was a lap down. I am not sure what happened. It was never stated or covered. Alonso blended into the field. He got the coverage a 21st-place finisher gets. 

This could be it for Alonso. His next two years are tied to Renault's Formula One program. It could possibly be three. Will the desire for the Triple Crown still be there in 2023 or 2024? How different does this feel compared to three years ago? Three years ago, it felt like Alonso was gunning for the Triple Crown, for historic achievements and he would carve out part of a decade for himself and leave a mark on Indianapolis 500 history. Now, he will just be a blip, like many other international stars to come before him.

22. Car #22 was 22nd and Simon Pagenaud's Indianapolis 500 defense was rather weak. Outside of Newgarden, Team Penske did not have the speed. Pagenaud never looked like a threat. Unlike Texas, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and both Iowa races, the team could not use pit strategy to flip to the front. Pagenaud added insult to injury running into the back of Hunter-Reay on a restart. It forced an extra pit stop and Pagenaud was only hanging on from that point.

23. Ben Hanley was slow and he was 23rd. The slowness is not entirely his fault. DragonSpeed was fighting from behind all week. The team deserves praise for completing 198 laps in its second Indianapolis 500. Hanley is a good sports car driver. I am not sure he is DragonSpeed's answer if it wants to be regularly in IndyCar. I understand the team has a good relationship with him and Hanley is a good guy. The best this team will accomplish with Hanley is last car on the lead lap in the Indianapolis 500. DragonSpeed needs to branch out if it hopes to be a competitive IndyCar program.

24. Car #24 was 24th and Sage Karam was two laps down. What is the point? Karam is five years removed from his only significant sample of IndyCar. He is six years removed from an impressive drive to ninth as an Indianapolis 500 rookie. The most notable thing he has done in his career is brake check Katherine Legge in a sports car race at Virginia International Raceway. 

Karam has not been full-time in any motorsports series since 2017. He is only 25 years old, but is Karam a race car driver? He should have done more by now. He cannot continue to live on that ninth-place finish. Karam needs to drive something regularly because being a Indianapolis one-off is not enough. I think he should return to Indy Lights next year. Indy Lights will need drivers and Karam needs to drive something. Maybe he would get more opportunities and better opportunities if he spent more time on the racetrack.

25. Let's tackle Spencer Pigot's accident and the decision not to throw the red flag here, because we have reached Pigot's finishing position. 

That was a brutal accident and it nearly wasn't. If Pigot stays against the outside wall, we never think twice about a red flag. Throw it, bring the cars on pit lane and set up a green-white-checkered finish. 

Pigot hit the tires at the end of the pit wall at pit entrance. I heard on the radio it would have taken 90 minutes to repair that barrier. Ninety-minute repair for at best two laps of racing, is it worth? No. One, we would definitely have an accident and a few race teams would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs. Two, there is no red flag protocol, and I have suggested there be a protocol established, but even if there was one, five laps to go feels like the point of no return. 

Pigot's accident is five to go, the pace car picks up the field with four to go and even if it immediately goes red flag there, the cars need to return to pit lane because there are no on-board starters so that means we are down to three laps to go.

Is it possible to restart the cars and then immediately go green? I guess it is possible but that is risky. You have to get the field in the correct order, and do you remember when IndyCar did not remove lapped cars at the end of Texas how upset people got? No matter what, it would have felt rushed and unprofessional. It stinks the race ended under caution, but it was the right choice and it emphasizes the importance of leading. This is why you want to be the leader and the leader deserves that incentive.

26. Ed Carpenter had contact with Zach Veach on the opening lap, brushed the wall and had to stop for repairs. Carpenter does not do well when he is starting in the middle of the field.

27. On to Alexander Rossi and we will get to the unsafe release penalty. Without the cautions, this race is Dixon versus Rossi for the victory. I think we were set up for a battle for the ages. But that wasn't the case and Rossi nudged Sato exiting his pit stall. Rossi earned a penalty, dropped to the rear and was fighting from outside the top twenty.

You can only make so many drives from the back and with how this package races with the universal aero kit you are not going to be able to do it every year. Rossi was going to try and a wiggle in turn two put him in the wall. Rossi's tremendous start to his Indianapolis 500 career is over. 

A lot of people are upset with the penalty call, but I think it was the correct call. IndyCar has been pretty consistent where if you make contact with another car while exiting your pit box it is a penalty for unsafe release. You don't even need to make contact. Last year, Marcus Ericsson got a penalty at Austin for simply cutting off Spencer Pigot. In terms of consistency, IndyCar was right on. 

The one argument for Rossi, and I think there is a point to be made, is he and Sato leave simultaneously. Sato's exit is with O'Ward to his outside. It is equal to Rossi's exit with Sato. The difference is Sato did not make contact with O'Ward and Rossi got into Sato. 

Sato was not even completely out of the inside lane. If Rossi was exiting and got into Sato when Sato was completely in the outside lane, the fast lane, then no one would have a gripe with the penalty, but Sato was still transitioning and that is what makes it harsh. 

These penalties need teeth. The pit lane is tight, too tight, and Roger Penske should look at widening it. I have been saying that for years. There has to be a significant punishment to make sure these drivers are polite and do not put pit crew members in danger. I get the penalty to send him to the rear. I am sure some will say the penalty should be for Rossi to just give the position to Sato and that would be fairer but there needs to be a deterrent and that would be it. 

It is a shame for Rossi, but this was another year with minor errors. The team messed up calling him for a pit stop. On the stop that led to Rossi making contact with Sato, the right rear tire changer had the wheel nut fall off the pit gun. The tire changer corrected it very quickly. I am not going to say it is all on the tire changer, but if that bobble doesn't happen, Rossi is out well clear of Sato and O'Ward. 

A lot of people will point to this as souring the result and possibly souring Sato's second victory, but 98% of people will forget about this in three months.

28. Álex Palou had a great month going, but lost the car exiting turn one. It is a same Palou's only mistake came in the race when it appeared he was set for a top ten finish.

29. Conor Daly's accident brings us to restart protocol, because once again an aggressive move on a restart led to an accident before even going green. Daly laid back in the North chute and makes a run up inside of Palou and nearly made a move on another car on the inside of turn four and spun when he got too low. 

One, what is a jumped restart? We see this every year at Indianapolis and at other IndyCar oval races. We saw it last year at Iowa where Ferrucci passed like five cars on the outside before even getting to the start/finish line. 

You cannot have cars passing one another in the final turn coming to the green flag. It doesn't make any sense and at times IndyCar lets it be too much of a free-for-all. 

I know with the universal aero kit it is tougher to pass and restarts are key, but you cannot have the field organized at the front and then cars passing one another in the rear a quarter mile from the line. 

IndyCar has to do something. I don't know if it has to reinstitute no passing before the start/finish line or no cars side-by-side before the start/finish line. That will take some of the excitement out of the air, but it would be fair and clean cut. 

The current protocol is not good enough and IndyCar needs to clean up restarts.

And the start! Scott Dixon slid in behind Marco Andretti coming to the green and then slipstreamed ahead of Andretti into turn one. The pole-sitter should not be vulnerable to the car starting second slipstreaming him into turn one at the start. That is something very simple IndyCar should police and not allow. 

30. Oliver Askew spun in evasive action to Daly's spin. Askew was doing well up to that point. 

31. I am wrapping up the final three here. Dalton Kellett got into the wall in turn three. Marcus Ericsson got loose in turn two. James Davison's brakes exploded after four laps. There is not much to say about those three, other than bummer.

32. One final thing on aero kits, I wish IndyCar can find something to help passing a little bit. I am not asking for 2013 and 68 lead changes, just something that makes the cars a little more stable and allows cars to make runs and complete passes. The final half of the race was good, but we cannot have processional racing for 100 laps. 

To be fair, there was some passing in the opening half of the race, but it quickly fizzled out. I think a balance can be found. You don't want passes every lap and make it seem like none of it matters but you don't want cars settling in line and a single-file train of 33 cars for 35 laps, a round of pit stops and then return to a single-file train of 33 cars until the next pit stop. There needs to be some jockeying for position, otherwise people will lose interest. There needs to be a little more. 

There is a happy medium and IndyCar is still searching for it. It can find it. IndyCar has done well developing the DW12 chassis. The universal aero kit is just a trickier animal.

33. A little shorter wait until the 105th Indianapolis 500, 280 days. 

Morning Warm-Up: 104th Indianapolis 500

Finally!

Race day is upon us. The 104th Indianapolis 500 has arrived, and 25 drivers hope to join an exclusive club while seven drivers look to increase their standing and one could make a beloved trinity a glorious quartet with a chance to ascend to a higher level in 2021. This year has been different and today will be unprecedented. Engines will ring off aluminum grandstands, absent of long-time regulars and new blood soaking in UV rays during a summer afternoon. Breaded tenderloins will not be consumed in mass. This race is not occurring on a holiday weekend with backyards full of children cannonballing into swimming pools and fathers rotating hot dogs and flipping hamburgers. All the celebration, the pomp and circumstance, has been stripped away and we are left with a race, 500 miles and a bottle of milk in victory lane for the winner.

Starting Grid

Row 1:
Marco Andretti
This will be Andretti’s 15th Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 2nd (2006).
Car #98 has won the Indianapolis 500 four times, most recently Alexander Rossi 2016.
Twenty-one times has the pole-sitter won the race with Simon Pagenaud’s victory last year being the first time the pole-sitter had won the race in a decade.
The last time the pole-sitter won consecutive Indianapolis 500s was 2008 and 2009.
This is Andretti’s first pole position since Belle Isle I in 2018. This is his first oval pole position since Pocono 2013.
In Andretti’s first five starts from pole position, he has finished 21st, eighth, 20th, tenth and fourth.
This is the first time an Andretti family member has started on pole position for the Indianapolis 500 since his grandfather Mario did in 1987.
Andretti 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.
Andretti needs to lead 59 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone in the Indianapolis 500.
Andretti has the sixth most laps led among drivers not to win the Indianapolis 500 behind his father Michael, Rex Mays, Jimmy Snyder, Tomas Scheckter and Ed Carpenter.
He has not finished in the top five of his last five Indianapolis 500 starts after having five top five finishes in his first ten Indianapolis 500 starts. He has also not led a lap in any of the last five races after leading a lap in seven of his first ten Indianapolis 500s.
Andretti could become the sixth Pennsylvania-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and the first since Bill Holland in 1949.

Scott Dixon
This will be Dixon’s 18th 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.
Eleven times has the winner started second, most recently Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000.
Dixon has 49 career victories. He could join A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti as the only drivers to reach the 50-victory milestone.
Dixon leads all active drivers with 452 laps led in the Indianapolis 500, tenth al-time. He is one lap behind Bobby Unser for ninth, 33 laps behind Bill Vukovich for eighth and 40 laps behind Parnelli Jones for seventh. If Dixon leads 48 laps, he will become the seventh driver to lead 500 laps in the Indianapolis 500 joining Al Unser, Ralph DePalma, Mario Andretti, Wilbur Shaw and Emerson Fittipaldi.
Dixon needs to lead one lap to surpass Al Unser for fifth all-time in laps led in IndyCar history.
This is the 12th Indianapolis 500 since Dixon’s lone victory in 2008. The only driver with more races between Indianapolis 500 victories is Juan Pablo Montoya, though Montoya did not start every race between 2000 and 2015.
Dixon could become the third consecutive driver to win the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis 500 in the same year.
If Dixon completes 131 laps, he could become the fourth driver to complete 8,000 miles in an Indianapolis 500 career.

Dixon could become the first driver to win the 24 Hours of Daytona and Indianapolis 500 in the same year.

Takuma Sato
This will be Sato’s 11th Indianapolis 500 start.
2018 Indianapolis 500 winner.
Car #30 has won the Indianapolis 500 once, Arie Luyendyk 1990.
Twelve times has the Indianapolis 500 winner started third, most recently Will Power in 2018.
This is Sato’s best Indianapolis 500 starting position.
Four of Sato’s five career victories have come from a top five starting position, but the best he has won from on the grid is fourth.
Sato could become the sixth oldest Indianapolis 500 winner at 43 years, six months and 27 days old. He would fall 40 days shy of tying Arie Luyendyk for being the fifth oldest winner.
Sato’s best finish through six races is eighth. This is the first time since 2015 that Sato did not have a top five finish in one of the first six races of a season.
He has led a lap in three of his Indianapolis 500 starts, 2012, 2017 and 2019. He has 51 laps led in his Indianapolis 500 career, ranked 97th all-time.

Row 2:
Rinus VeeKay
This will be VeeKay’s first Indianapolis 500 start.
Car #21 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
Seven times has the winner started fourth, most recently Takuma Sato in 2017.
This is the third time in the last four years a rookie has qualified in the top five for the Indianapolis 500. Those other two rookies were Fernando Alonso and Colton Herta, both retired from the race.
VeeKay could become the first driver born in the 21st century to start the Indianapolis 500. He would be the youngest winner at 19 years, 11 months and 13 days old.
VeeKay could become the fourth Dutchman to start the Indianapolis 500.
Arie Luyendyk won the 1985 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year after finishing seventh from 20th on the grid.
He has not finished on the lead lap in any of his first three oval starts and his best oval finish was 17th in the second Iowa race.

Ryan Hunter-Reay
This will be Hunter-Reay’s 13th Indianapolis 500 start.
2014 Indianapolis 500 winner.
His 2014 victory is the only Indianapolis 500 victory for car #28.
Seven times has the winner started fifth, most recently Buddy Lazier in 1996.
Hunter-Reay needs to lead 37 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone in the Indianapolis 500.
Hunter-Reay has three consecutive finishes outside the top fifteen, his worst rut since 2014 when he had finishes of 16th, 19th and 19th between the Belle Isle doubleheader and Texas.
The only time he has had four consecutive finishes outside the top fifteen was in 2011 when he had finishes of 23rd, 18th, 23rd and 19th at Long Beach, São Paulo, Indianapolis and Texas respectively.

The only time Hunter-Reay has won from fifth on the grid in his IndyCar career was at Loudon in 2011. On three occasions he has finished second from fifth starting position.

James Hinchcliffe
This will be Hinchcliffe’s eighth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 6th (2012).
Car #29 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
Five times has the winner started sixth, most recently Dan Wheldon in 2011.
Hinchcliffe’s average finish in the Indianapolis 500 is 17.714. He has finished outside the top twenty in four of seven Indianapolis 500 starts.
Only once has Hinchcliffe finished better than his starting position in the Indianapolis 500. That was last year when he started 32nd and finished 11th.
Hinchcliffe has one top five finish in his last 24 starts. That was third at Iowa last year.

Row 3:
Álex Palou
This will be Palou’s first Indianapolis 500 start
Car #55 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
This is the first time car #55 has been used in the Indianapolis 500 since Tristan Vautier used it in 2013.
Five times has the winner started seventh, most recently A.J. Foyt in 1961.
Palou could become the fourth youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 23 years, four months and 23 days old.
Palou could become the fifth Spaniard to start the Indianapolis 500. The best finish for a Spanish rookie was Oriol Servià in 11th in 2008. The first Spaniard to start the Indianapolis 500, Pierre de Viscaya, was 12th in his only “500” start in 1923. Fermín Velez was 21st as a rookie in 1996 and Fernando Alonso was 24th as a rookie in 2017.

Graham Rahal
This will be Rahal’s 13th Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 3rd (2011).
Car #15 has won the Indianapolis 500 three times, most recently with Buddy Rice in 2004.
Twice has the winner started eighth, most recently Kenny Bräck in 1999.
Rahal could match Sam Hanks’ record for most starts before first Indianapolis 500 victory.
Rahal enters Indianapolis fifth in the championship. It is only the third time Rahal has gone into the Indianapolis 500 in the top five of the championship. He was fourth heading into the 2015 race and fifth going in 2016.
Rahal has led 20 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 Indianapolis 500 at three times.
Rahal could become the sixth Ohioan to win the Indianapolis 500 and the first since Sam Hornish, Jr. in 2006.

Alexander Rossi
This will be Rossi’s fifth Indianapolis 500 start.
2016 Indianapolis 500 Winner.
Car #27 has won the Indianapolis 500 three times, most recently with Dario Franchitti in 2007.
Only once has the winner started ninth and that was Emerson Fittipaldi in 1993.
This is the second consecutive year Rossi has started ninth in this race.
Rossi has finished in the top ten in all four of his Indianapolis 500 starts and has an average finish of 3.5.
Rossi could become the 15th driver to win the Indianapolis 500 the year after finishing second in the race. The last driver to do it was Dan Wheldon in 2011.
Rossi has not led a lap since Road America last year, 13 races ago. He had led his first lap of a season by the sixth race in his first four IndyCar seasons.
In four Indianapolis 500 starts, Rossi has led 60 laps, good for 87th all-time in Indianapolis 500 history. He has led in all four of his starts, but the most laps he has led in a single race was 23 in 2017.
He enters Indianapolis tenth in the championship, his worst championship position entering the Indianapolis 500 since he was 17th entering the 2016 race. He has jumped from 21st to tenth in the championship over the last three races. Despite that jump, he has gone from 124 points behind Dixon after the first Road America race to 126 points back after Iowa and after Dixon scored eight points for qualifying second, the gap is now 133 points.

Row 4:
Colton Herta
This will be Herta’s second Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 33rd (2019)
Car #88 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
Twice has the winner started tenth, most recently Gil de Ferran in 2003.
Herta could become the first driver born in the 21st century to start the Indianapolis 500. He would be the youngest winner at 20 years, four months and 25 days old.
Herta could be the first driver to win the Freedom 100 and Indianapolis 500.
Last year, Herta completed only three laps before a gearbox ended his debut Indianapolis 500 and he finished 33rd.
On two occasions has a driver finished 33rd in the Indianapolis 500 and won the race the following year. First was Louis Meyer, who was 33rd in 1932, but Meyer was not last because 40 cars started that race. Meyer then won the race in 1933. Mario Andretti was last, 33rd, in 1968 and then won in 1969. Andretti is the only driver to go from last to first is successive Indianapolis 500s.
The only drivers to finish 33rd in consecutive Indianapolis 500s were Andy Linden in 1952 and 1953 and Salt Walther in 1972 and 1973.
A top ten finish for Herta would make him and his father Bryan the 13th father/son combination to each have top ten finishes in the Indianapolis 500. A top five finish for Colton would make him and Bryan the tenth father/son duo to each have a top five finishers.
Herta could become the eighth Californian to win the Indianapolis 500. California is currently tied with Indiana for start with the most Indianapolis 500 winners born there on seven drivers.

Marcus Ericsson
This will be Ericsson’s second Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 23rd (2019)
Car #8 has won the Indianapolis 500 three times but not since Bob Sweikert in 1956.
Three times has the winner started 11th, most recently Alexander Rossi in 2016.
Ericsson has five consecutive top five finishes and it is the 41st time in Chip Ganassi Racing history one of its drivers is on such a streak.
He is the tenth different driver to have at least five consecutive top ten finishes joining Eddie Cheever, Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Bruno Junqueira, Scott Dixon, Tomas Scheckter, Dan Wheldon, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan.
Dixon is responsible for 19 of those 41 streaks.
The team record for longest top ten streak is 13 races, which Wheldon did in 2006-07 and Franchitti did in 2010-11.
Sweden could become the sixth nation with multiple drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 joining the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, France and Italy.

Spencer Pigot
This will be Pigot’s fifth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 14th (2019).
Car #45 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
Twice has the winner started 12th, most recently Tony Kanaan in 2013.
This is the first time car #45 has been used in the Indianapolis 500 since Lyn St. James used it in 1996.
Pigot has taken the checkered flag in all four Indianapolis 500 starts but last year was the first time he completed all 500 miles.
He has led laps in the last two Indianapolis 500s, three laps and four laps respectively.
Pigot could become the eighth Californian to win the Indianapolis 500. California is currently tied with Indiana for start with the most Indianapolis 500 winners born there on seven drivers.

Pigot picked up his first career IMSA victory last month, winning in the LMP2 class at Sebring with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports and co-driver Patrick Kelly.

Row 5:
Josef Newgarden
This will be Newgarden’s ninth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 3rd (2016).
Car #1 has won the Indianapolis 500 seven times but not since Al Unser in 1971.
Four times has the winner started 13th, most recently Hélio Castroneves in 2002.
Newgarden could be the first driver to win the Freedom 100 and Indianapolis 500.
Newgarden could become the first defending IndyCar champion to win the Indianapolis 500 since Dario Franchitti in 2012.
The last American defending champion to win the Indianapolis 500 the following year was Bobby Unser, who won the title in 1974 and the “500” in 1975.
The only other defending champions to win the Indianapolis 500 the following year since Unser are 1998 IRL champion Kenny Bräck winning the “500” in 1999 and Franchitti taking the title in 2009 and his second “500” victory in 2010.
Newgarden is the most recent winner in the NTT IndyCar Series. The only time he has won consecutive races in his career was in 2017 when he won at Toronto and Mid-Ohio.
The last two years has seen the winner of the race before the “500” gone on to win the “500.” The last time that occurred in three consecutive years was from 1968 through 1971 when Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti and Al Unser, in consecutive seasons, each won the race before the “500” and then won the “500.” It was the first victory for all three drivers. The last two Indianapolis 500 winners were also first-time winners.
Newgarden could become the first Tennessean to win the Indianapolis 500. Tennessee would be the 22nd state to produce an Indianapolis 500 winner.

Felix Rosenqvist
This will be Rosenqvist’s second Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 28th (2019)
Car #10 has won the Indianapolis 500 once, Dario Franchitti 2010.
Only once has the winner started 14th and that was Bob Sweikert in 1955.
It has been a year of firsts for Rosenqvist. He picked up his first career victory at Road America, but he also had his first streak of three consecutive finishes outside the top ten and he finished outside of the top ten at both Iowa races.
The last Indianapolis 500 winner to have won a race prior that season but have no other top ten finishes entering the Indianapolis 500 was Johnny Rutherford in 1976.
Sweden could become the sixth nation with multiple drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 joining the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, France and Italy.

Patricio O’Ward
This will be O’Ward first Indianapolis 500 start.
Car #5 has won the Indianapolis 500 six times but not since Arie Luyendyk in 1997.
Four times has the winner started 15th, most recently Juan Pablo Montoya in 2015.
O’Ward could become the seventh Mexican driver to start the Indianapolis 500 and first since Michel Jourdain, Jr. in 2012.
O’Ward could become the third Mexican driver to win Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year joining 1981 Rookie of the Year Josele Garza and 1989 co-Rookie of the Year Bernard Jourdain, who shared the honor with Scott Pruett.
O’Ward could become the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 21 years, three months and 18 days old.
O’ward has led a lap in three consecutive races. Only two of six Mexican drivers have led an Indianapolis 500 and they combined for 16 laps led. Josele Garza led 13 laps as a rookie in 1981. Adrian Fernández led three laps in 2004.
O’Ward could be the first Mexican driver to win the Indianapolis 500. Mexico would be the 13th country to produce an Indianapolis 500 winner.

Row 6:
Ed Carpenter
This will be Carpenter’s 17th Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 2nd (2018).
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.
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 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 could become the third Illinois-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and first since Floyd Davis in 1941.

Zach Veach
This will be Veach’s fourth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 23rd (2018).
Car #26 has won the Indianapolis 500 twice including last year with Takuma Sato.
Twice has the winner started 17th, most recently Eddie Cheever in 1998.
Veach has averaged a 17.8 finish over his last five starts. Texas was the third time Veach had a top five finish in his career. After his first two top five finishes, Veach followed it with eight consecutive finishes outside the top ten.
The last driver to score an Indianapolis 500 victory in his fourth start in the race was Gil de Ferran in 2003.
Veach could become the sixth Ohioan to win the Indianapolis 500 and the first since Sam Hornish, Jr. in 2006.

Conor Daly
This will be Daly’s seventh Indianapolis 500 and hopefully sixth start.
Best Finish: 10th (2019)
Car #47 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
The best finish for the 18th-starter is second, which occurred in 1920 by René Thomas and in 2009 and 2010 by Dan Wheldon.
This is the first time car #47 has been used in the Indianapolis 500 since Jimmy Vasser used it in 1992, Vasser’s rookie year.
Daly has never used the same number twice in the Indianapolis 500.
Last year was the first time Daly completed all 500 miles.
Daly could become the eighth Hoosier to win the Indianapolis 500 and first since Wilbur Shaw in 1940.

Row 7:
Santino Ferrucci
This will be Ferrucci’s second Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 7th (2019)
Car #18 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
Twice has the winner started 19th, most recently Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014.
Ferrucci was Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year last year.
Ferrucci could become the second youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 22 years and 85 days old, five days older than Troy Ruttman’s record for youngest winner.
The last reigning Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year to win the following Indianapolis 500 was Hélio Castroneves in 2002, who won the race in 2001. The previous time it happened was in 1995, when Jacques Villeneuve won the race after finishing runner-up as a rookie in 1994. The only other reigning Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year to win the race the following year was Rick Mears, who shared the 1978 rookie of the year honor with Larry Rice, and won the 1979.
Ferrucci could become the first Connecticut-born winner. Connecticut would be the 22nd state to produce an Indianapolis 500 winner.

Jack Harvey
This will be Harvey’s fourth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 16th (2018).
Car #60 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
Three times has the winner started 20th, most recently Al Unser in 1987.
The best finish for car #60 in the Indianapolis 500 is fifth at the hands of Johnny Parsons in 1977.
Harvey could be the first driver to win the Freedom 100 and Indianapolis 500.
Harvey scored a pair of seventh-place finishes at Iowa last month. It is the second time Harvey has had consecutive top ten finishes in his IndyCar career. He was tenth at both St. Petersburg and Austin last year. He has never had three consecutive top ten finishes.

Oliver Askew
This will be Askew’s first Indianapolis 500 start.
Car #7 has won the Indianapolis 500 twice but not since Bill Holland in 1949.
Only once has the winner started 21st and that was L.L. Corum and Joe Boyer in 1924.
Askew could become the fourth youngest Indianapolis 500 winner at 23 years, eight months and 12 days old.
Askew could become the first driver to win the Freedom 100 and Indianapolis 500 and if he does he would win the races in successive years. 
Askew could not only become the first Florida-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500, he could also become the first Florida-born driver to ever win an IndyCar race! Florida would become the 22nd state to produce an Indianapolis 500 winner.

Row 8:
Will Power
This will be Power’s 13th 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 22nd but not since Kelly Petillo in 1935.
This is Power’s worst starting position in the Indianapolis 500 since he started 23rd in his rookie year in 2008. He had started in the top nine in 11 consecutive Indianapolis 500s.
Power has led a lap in seven consecutive Indianapolis 500s. He is tied with Tony Kanaan’s record for most consecutive Indianapolis 500s led. Kanaan did it from 2002 to 2008 and from 2012 to 2018.
Power needs to lead 58 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone in the Indianapolis 500.
Power has led only 44 laps this season. His fewest through the first six races since he led only eight laps in the first six races of the 2016 season. The only season where he led fewer was his rookie year in 2006, where he did not lead until the 13th race.

Tony Kanaan
This will be Kanaan’s 19th Indianapolis 500 start.
2013 Indianapolis 500 winner.
Car #14 has won the Indianapolis 500 six times, most recently with Kenny Bräck in 1999.
The best finish for the 23rd-starter is second by Wilbur Shaw in 1933.
Kanaan has led 346 laps, the second most amongst active drivers. If Kanaan leads 54 laps, he will become the 14th driver to lead 400 laps in the Indianapolis 500.
Kanaan has led a lap in 14 Indianapolis 500s, more than any other driver.
Kanaan could become the fifth oldest Indianapolis 500 winner at 45 years, seven months and 24 days.
If Kanaan completes seven laps, he will surpass Gordon Johncock for fifth most miles completed in an Indianapolis 500 career. If Kanaan completes 22 laps, he will surpass Al Unser, Jr. for fourth most miles completed in an Indianapolis 500 career.
If Kanaan completes 48 laps, he will be the fourth driver to reach 8,000 miles completed in an Indianapolis 500 career.

Dalton Kellett
This will be Kellett’s first Indianapolis 500 start
Car #41 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
The best finish for the 24th-starter is fourth on five occasions (Denny Hulme in 1967, Mel Kenyon i 1969, Sammy Sessions in 1972, Eliseo Salazar in 1995 and Townsend Bell in 2009).
This is the second consecutive year a Foyt car has started 24th.
Kellett made four starts in the Freedom 100 and he finished in the top five all four times. He was third in each of his first three starts and fifth last year. He started on pole position for the 2018 Freedom 100.

Row 9:
Simon Pagenaud
This will be Pagenaud’s seventh Indianapolis 500 start.
2019 Indianapolis 500 winner
Pagenaud’s victory last year was car #22’s first Indianapolis 500 victory.
Only once has the winner started 25th and that was Johnny Rutherford in 1974.
This is the third consecutive race Pagenaud has started outside the top twenty and sixth consecutive race he has started outside the top fifteen. Despite his qualifying record, Pagenaud has four top five finishes from six races.
Pagenaud could become the sixth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years joining Wilbur Shaw (1939-40), Mauri Rose (1947-48), Bill Vukovich (1953-54), Al Unser (1970-71) and Hélio Castroneves (2001-02).
Pagenaud needs to lead 48 laps to reach the 200 laps led milestone in the Indianapolis 500.
Pagenaud has finished 37 consecutive races and he has finished on the lead lap in 15 consecutive races.
No European driver has ever won consecutive Indianapolis 500s. The only international driver to win consecutive Indianapolis 500s was Hélio Castroneves.
Of the five drivers to win consecutive Indianapolis 500s, only one did with the same number in each race. That was Bill Vukovich with car #14 in 1953 and 1954.

Fernando Alonso
This will be Alonso’s second Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 24st (2017).
Car #66 has won the Indianapolis 500 once, Mark Donohue 1972.
The best finish for the 26th-starter is third by Don Freeland in 1956 and by Paul Goldsmith in 1960.
Alonso was the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year in 2017. Alonso could become the 13th Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year to win the Indianapolis 500.
Alonso could join Graham Hill as the only driver to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsports with victories in the Indianapolis 500, the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Alonso could become the sixth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and the World Drivers’ Championship joining Jim Clark, Hill, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Jacques Villeneuve.
Alonso could become the second driver to be the incumbent Indianapolis 500 winner and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner joining A.J. Foyt, who won both races in 1967.
This could be Alonso’s final Indianapolis 500 start for an indefinite period of time, as he has signed to race for Renault in Formula One in 2021 and 2022.

James Davison
This will be Davison sixth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 12th (2019).
Car #51 has won the 1998 Indianapolis 500 with Eddie Cheever. It is the only victory for car #51.
Only once has the winner started 27th and that was by Fred Frame in 1932.
Cheever was the last driver to use car #51 in the Indianapolis 500 in 2006.
Davison will be the first foreign driver to use car #51 in Indianapolis 500 history.
Since last year’s Indianapolis 500, Davison made two USAC Silver Crown starts with finishes of ninth at Salem and fifth at Indianapolis Raceway Park. In January, he made his Chili Bowl debut, but only ran an M-main feature. He has made five NASCAR Cup Series starts this year.

Row 10:
Hélio Castroneves
This will be Castroneves’ 20th Indianapolis 500 start.
Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner (2001, 2002, 2009).
Car #3 has won the Indianapolis 500 eleven times, the most victories for a car number. Castroneves’ 2009 victory is the most recent victory for car #3.
Twice has the winner started 28th, inaugural winner Ray Harroun in 1911 and Louis Meyer in 1936.
Besides those two Indianapolis 500s, the only other IndyCar race won from 28th position was Castroneves at Chicagoland in 2008.
This is the worst starting position in Castroneves’ Indianapolis 500 career.
Castroneves could also set the record for most Indianapolis 500s between first and last victories as it has been 19 years since he won in 2001. Al Unser currently holds the record at 17 races between his first victory in 1970 and his fourth victory in 1987.
The only drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 in a 20th Indianapolis 500 start or later are A.J. Foyt, whose fourth victory was in his 20th start, and Al Unser, whose fourth victory was in his 22nd start.
Castroneves could become the fifth oldest Indianapolis 500 winner at 45 years, three months and 14 days old.
Castroneves could tie A.J. Foyt and Al Unser for most Indianapolis 500s finished at 18 if Castroneves takes the checkered flag.
Castroneves has said this will be his final Indianapolis 500 with Team Penske. No driver has made more Indianapolis 500 starts with Team Penske than Castroneves.

Charlie Kimball
This will be Kimball’s tenth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 3rd (2015)
Car #4 has won the Indianapolis 500 five times but not since Emerson Fittipaldi in 1993.
The best finish for the 29th-starter is second in 1911 by Ralph Mulford and in 2002 by Paul Tracy.
This is the worst starting position in Kimball’s IndyCar career. His previous worst was 28th in the 2011 Indianapolis 500.
Kimball has never started better than 14th in this race.
Kimball has finished outside the top fifteen in the last three Indianapolis 500s after having four top ten finishes in the previous five Indianapolis 500s, including a pair of top five finishes.

Max Chilton
This will be Chilton’s fourth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 4th (2017)
Car #59 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
The best finish for the 30th-starter was fourth in 1936 by Mauri Rose.
This is the worst finish of Chilton’s IndyCar career.
Chilton’s top ten drought is up to 33 races. This will be Chilton’s 66th start. The only driver to score a first career victory in the 66th start of a career was Don Branson on August 26, 1962 at Langhorne.

Row 11:
Sage Karam
This will be Karam’s seventh Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 9th (2014).
Car #24 has won the Indianapolis 500 once, Graham Hill 1966.
The best finish for the 31st-starter is fourth in 1951 by Andy Linden.
Since Karam finished ninth on his Indianapolis 500 debut in 2014, his average finish in the race is 27.4 and he has averaged 114.2 laps completed.
Karam ran the Grand Prix of Indianapolis last month and finished 23rd, one lap down. It is the first time he has run a race before the Indianapolis 500 since 2015. He has finished a lap down in nine consecutive starts. His most recent lead lap finish was Iowa 2015, where he finished third.
Karam could become the sixth Pennsylvania-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and the first since Bill Holland in 1949.

J.R. Hildebrand
This will be Hildebrand’s tenth Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 2nd (2011).
Car #67 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
The best finish for the 32nd-starter is second in 1957 by Jim Rathmann and 1981 by Mario Andretti.
This is the first time car #67 has been used in the Indianapolis 500 since Josef Newgarden used it in 2014.
This is the fifth different number Hildebrand has used in the last five Indianapolis 500s.
The last driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in his tenth Indianapolis 500 start was Emerson Fittipaldi in 1993.
Hildebrand could become the eighth Californian to win the Indianapolis 500. California is currently tied with Indiana for start with the most Indianapolis 500 winners born there on seven drivers.

Ben Hanley
This will be Hanley’s second Indianapolis 500 start.
Best Finish: 32nd (2019)
Car #81 has never won the Indianapolis 500.
The best finish for the 33rd-starter is second in 1980 by Tom Sneva and 1992 by Scott Goodyear.
Last year, Hanley retired after 54 laps in this race due to a driveshaft failure.
Hanley has won in both of his IMSA starts this year with DragonSpeed. He was a part of the 24 Hours of Daytona LMP2 class winners with Colin Braun, Henrik Hedman and Harrison Newey. Hanley and Hedman won at Road America in the LMP2 class earlier this month.

NBC's coverage of the 104th Indianapolis 500 begins at 1:00 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 200 laps.

Track Walk: 104th Indianapolis 500

One practice remains before the Indianapolis 500

We are three days away from the 104th Indianapolis 500 after a 91-day delay. The seventh round of the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series season will see 33 drivers compete in the lone double points race on this year's calendar. The drivers have had four practice sessions ahead of the final session to tweaks the cars on Carb Day. Chevrolet leads the way with 17 entries to Honda's 16. There will be eight past Indianapolis 500 winners on the grid, the most since ten in the record-setting year of 1992. Five drivers will make their Indianapolis 500 debut. A dozen nationalities are represented on this year's grid. Marco Andretti enters off an emotional pole position last week while Honda showed its might, taking eight of the top nine spots and 11 of the top 12. 

Carb Day Preview

The 33 teams will receive one more opportunity to tune their race cars ahead of the Indianapolis 500 on Carb Day. The two-hour practice begins at 11:00 a.m. ET and will run to 1:00 p.m. ET. However, the race will not start until 2:30 p.m. on the August 23, meaning none of Carb Day practice will overlap with scheduled race time. 

We did have four days of practice last weekend between the three days ahead of qualifying and the post-Fast Nine practice session on Sunday, which ran from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Marco Andretti topped Sunday's practice session after winning pole position. Andretti has been in the top three of every practice leading up to this year's race. Another driver who has been in the top three of every practice session is Scott Dixon, with Dixon ending up third in the Sunday afternoon session despite having an accident on his second lap on track. 

Ryan Hunter-Reay has been fourth in three of the four practice sessions, including the one on Sunday. Conor Daly and Álex Palou are the only other two drivers besides Andretti and Dixon to be in the top ten of every practice session. Daly was sixth on Sunday and Palou was tenth. 

Many drivers had their best practice session on Sunday and a lot of those were Chevrolet drivers. Hélio Castroneves was second to Andretti. Castroneves had been tenth in opening practice but in the subsequent session dropped to 16th and 29th. Santino Ferrucci rounded out the top five on Sunday after his best practice session during the week was 19th on the opening day. Patricio O'Ward was eighth and Ed Carpenter was ninth and neither of two drivers had even cracked the top fifteen in the sessions preceding qualifying. 

The other Fast Nine participants were spread out during the post-qualifying practice session on Sunday. Alexander Rossi was 12th and he only been in the top ten for one practice session so far. Rinus VeeKay was 19th, but VeeKay was only in the top fifteen on one practice day, 12th on Wednesday. 

Takuma Sato was 26th. Sato had been second on Thursday and eighth on Friday. James Hinchcliffe dropped to 28th, his worst practice session of the week. Hinchcliffe topped the Wednesday session and was seventh on Friday. Graham Rahal was 30th on Sunday and Rahal had the worst practice results of the Fast Nine competitors leading up to qualifying. Rahal's best day was 14th on Friday.

In the last two years, Tony Kanaan has topped the Carb Day practice session. Kanaan was 11th, 14th, 24th and 22nd across the four session last week. In last year's Carb Day practice, Simon Pagenaud was 22nd, but Pagenaud had topped the Monday practice post-qualifying. Rossi was seventh on Carb Day last year and eventual third-place finisher Sato was third. 

In 2018, the only top ten finishers that were in the top ten of Carb Day practice was race winner Will Power in seventh and Scott Dixon, who finished third in the race after being second on Carb Day.

In 2017, Castroneves and Sato were the top two on Carb Day and Sato ended up winning the race ahead of Castroneves. Kanaan was third in the practice session and finished fifth in the race.

The Championship Picture

Indianapolis is the only double points race on the 2020 calendar after it was decided the season finale would not be double points due to the fluid circumstances over the number of races and end date of this season. 

As of now, either five races or seven races will remain after the 104th Indianapolis 500. This race will significantly alter the championship picture, who will be a contender down the stretch and who will affectively be eliminated. 

Though he did not win pole position, Scott Dixon was the biggest winner from qualifying weekend. By qualifying second, Dixon picked up eight points. The only person he gave ground to in the championship fight, Marco Andretti, is 21st in the championship and all Dixon gave Andretti was one point. Andretti goes from 173 points behind Dixon to 172 points. Everyone else has lost ground. 

None of the other four drivers in the top five of the championship made the Fast Nine, meaning none of them could at least soften the blow of Dixon qualifying second. Graham Rahal did it best, sixth in the championship and qualifying seventh, giving him three points and only losing five points to Dixon. 

After qualifying, Dixon's championship lead over Simon Pagenaud is 57 points with Josef Newgarden 61 points back and Patricio O'Ward is 90 points back. Rahal's three points from qualifying lifts him ahead of Will Power, but Rahal is 107 points behind Dixon and Power is 110 points off the top. 

Colton Herta failed to pick up any qualifying points and he is 112 points back. Marcus Ericsson is another driver with no points to show from qualifying weekend and Ericsson deficit to his Ganassi teammate is now 115 points. Felix Rosenqvist, another Ganassi driver, another driver not to make the Fast Nine, trails Dixon by 132 points. Alexander Rossi is the only other driver in the top ten of the championship to make the Fast Nine and he only picked up one points, meaning Rossi is now 133 points behind Dixon. 

If there are only six races left in the championship, 373 points are left on the table, meaning no one is mathematically eliminated from the championship. If Mid-Ohio is rescheduled to September or October or those two races are made up at another track, 481 points remain available and door opens a little more for a challenger to slip in. 

Regardless of however many races remain, everybody has to beat Dixon from here through the finale. No driver can afford an off day and they must start hoping Dixon falls off his game in one or two rounds. The only problem is Dixon does not appear to be on the verge of a collapse. Dixon is stronger than ever. He had one of his best Indianapolis 500 practice weeks ever and this car is one of the strongest he has ever had. The field is in trouble and it will require brute strength to wrestle this title out of Dixon's hands.

Oval Points

Overall championship aside for a second, Indianapolis marks the fourth of six scheduled oval races on the 2020 calendar. 

Simon Pagenaud has scored the most points on an oval, 125 points, after finishes of second, first and fourth in the first three races. Pagenaud's Penske teammate Josef Newgarden is a point behind him with Newgarden having finishes of third, fifth and first and Newgarden has won two pole positions on ovals. Dixon is third in oval points, three behind Pagenaud with finishes of first, second and fifth. 

Oliver Askew, Conor Daly and Patricio O'Ward are the next three drivers in oval points. Askew has 86 points after finishes of ninth, third and sixth in the three oval races. Along with the top three drivers, Askew is the only one with top ten finishes in every oval race this season. Conor Daly sits on 72 points with finishes of sixth and eighth in the first two races before dropping to 13th in the second Iowa event. Daly also took pole position for the first Iowa race. O'Ward is two points behind Daly. O'Ward was fourth at the first Iowa race and has finished second in his other two oval starts. 

Will Power, Graham Rahal and Alexander Rossi are all tied on 67 points. Power was second in the second Iowa race but his other oval finishes were 13th and 21st. Rahal was third in that second Iowa race with his prior two oval finishes being 17th and 12th. Rossi has not scored a top five finish on an oval this season. He was sixth and eighth at Iowa, countering the 15th-place result at Texas.

Jack Harvey is a point behind Power, Rahal and Rossi. Harvey was seventh in both Iowa races after finishing 16th at Texas. 

Marcus Ericsson had a pair of ninths at Iowa and a re-fueling issue at Texas cost him a top ten finish. Ericsson sits on 55 points, three ahead of Ed Carpenter, who was fifth at Texas but 15th and 23rd at the two Iowa races. Tony Kanaan has 51 points with a tenth at Texas being his best result. Zach Veach has 50 points, mostly from a fourth at Texas. He was 23rd and 20th at Iowa. 

Colton Herta had a pair of 19ths at Iowa and his seventh-place finish at Texas gives him 48 points, one ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay. Charlie Kimball has yet to score a top ten finish on an oval and has 46 points, two ahead of Indianapolis 500 pole-sitter Marco Andretti. Andretti was tenth at the second Iowa race. 

Felix Rosenqvist and Álex Palou are tied on 42 points. Santino Ferrucci was fourth in oval points last year, but he is currently on 38 points with his best oval results being 13th in the first Iowa race. Takuma Sato missed Texas after a qualifying accident, and he has 33 points. Rinus VeeKay's best oval result is 17th and he has 31 points. James Hinchcliffe only contested Texas and has 12 points because of his 18th-place finish.

Five different drivers have been the top oval points earner in the last five season and all five drivers drove for Team Penske. In fact, Team Penske has had the top oval driver in every season since 2013. Hélio Castroneves began this streak before Juan Pablo Montoya was the top oval driver in 2014 and 2015. Since 2016, Newgarden, Castroneves, Power and Pagenaud have taken the honor in those respective seasons. 

Scott Dixon was the top oval driver in 2011. Ryan Hunter-Reay took the honor along with the IndyCar championship in 2012. Hunter-Reay is the last champion to earn the most points on ovals that season. 

Who Can Extend the Streak?

We have had nine different Indianapolis 500 winners in the last nine years. The longest stretch of different Indianapolis 500 winners is 12 from Jimmy Murphy in 1922 to Fred Frame in 1932 with a pair of co-winners in-between to provide the extra 12th winner in 11 years. There were also ten different winners in the first ten Indianapolis 500s. Those are the only two times we have had at least a decade of different winners. 

The pole-sitter could extend that streak. Marco Andretti will be making his 15th Indianapolis 500 start and he has five top five finishes and eighth top ten finishes in the event. Andretti has not had a top five finish since he was third in 2014. That was also the last year he has led the race. Andretti's average finish in this race is 11.9285, slightly off his father Michael's 11.75 average finish in 16 starts.

Either Rinus VeeKay and Álex Palou could become the 11th rookie winner and fourth since the turn of the millennium. Both drivers are starting inside the top nine. 

James Hinchcliffe and Graham Rahal are both veterans of this event and both are starting in the top nine. Rahal does have a 500-mile race victory coming at Fontana in 2015. Hinchcliffe has not had a top five finish in a 500-mile race since he was fifth at Fontana in 2014. In 15 starts in 500-mile races, the only other top five finish Hinchcliffe has was fourth at Fontana in 2013. 

Colton Herta is one of three drivers who could become the youngest Indianapolis 500 winner this year along with VeeKay. Herta will start tenth and the entire fourth row could become a first-time Indianapolis 500 winner. Herta is the only one on row four with an IndyCar victory. Marcus Ericsson and Spencer Pigot each have a runner-up finish to their names but in both cases that is the only time either has stood on the podium. 

Josef Newgarden is the lone Penske driver without an Indianapolis 500 victory. Felix Rosenqvist won his first career IndyCar race earlier this year at Road America. Patricio O'Ward is the third possible youngest winner in this field. 

Ed Carpenter has finished in the top six the last two years at Indianapolis, but his average is 15.5625 in this race and he has never finished in the top ten of the Indianapolis 500 when starting outside the top ten. Zach Veach has yet to finish in the top twenty and he has yet to finish on the lead lap for the Indianapolis 500. Conor Daly was tenth last year in this race. Daly's only top five finish on an oval was fifth at Gateway in 2017.

Santino Ferrucci had four top ten finishes in five oval starts last year but Ferrucci has yet to get a top ten on an oval in 2020. Jack Harvey has yet to crack a top fifteen finish at Indianapolis. Oliver Askew has been one of the top oval drivers in 2020 and Askew won the Freedom 100 last year at Indianapolis. 

Dalton Kellett is the lone non-winner on row eight. Kellett was the third-place finisher in the Freedom 100 for three consecutive years and he started on pole position for the race once. He has finished 21st, 20th and 20th in his first three IndyCar starts. James Davison has finished better than his starting position in four of his five Indianapolis 500 starts and last year Davison was 12th. 

Charlie Kimball, Max Chilton, Sage Karam, J.R. Hildebrand and Ben Hanley are all non-Indianapolis 500 winners starting on the final two rows. All five are starting from positions that have never produced an Indianapolis 500 winner before.

Penske Fighting for 19

Ever since Roger Penske purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway over nine months ago, we have been waiting for the first Indianapolis 500 under Penske's control. The man already holds the record for most victories and Penske's team has won the race the last two years. 

The fight for Team Penske's 19th Indianapolis 500 victory appears much harder this year. 

None of the teams fourth drivers qualified in the top ten, a first for the team since 2002. Hélio Castroneves qualified 28th, the worst qualifying position for a Team Penske entrant with the only time a Penske car starting worse than this being 1978 when Mario Andretti started 33rd after Mike Hiss qualified the car while Andretti ran the Belgian Grand Prix and won the race.

As stated above, Josef Newgarden is the lone Penske driver without an Indianapolis 500 victory and the two-time champion is the best starting Penske driver in this year's race, rolling off from 13th. Newgarden has two top five finishes and four top ten finishes in his last five Indianapolis 500 starts. He won the most recent IndyCar race at Iowa. He is currently third in the championship and he has been in the top five of the championship for 31 consecutive races. 

Will Power rolls off from 22nd position. Power has finished third this season, but he has finished outside the top ten in the other four races this season. Prior to this, Power had started every race in the top eight. This is Power's worst starting position since the first Toronto race in 2014 where he started 23rd. This is only the fifth time Power has started outside the top twenty in his IndyCar career. Power has won a 500-mile race in four consecutive seasons. The longest streak of seasons with at least one 500-mile race victory. If he wins the Indianapolis 500 this year Power would be the fifth driver in IndyCar history with at least six 500-mile race victories joining A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.

Simon Pagenaud's woeful qualifying continued at Indianapolis with the Frenchman ending up 25th. This will be the fourth consecutive race Pagenaud has started outside the top twenty. His average starting position is 19th with his previous worst full season being 11.6 in 2013. However, his average finish through six races is 5.8, on track for his second-best season behind only 2017 when his average finish was 5.3.

Hélio Castroneves has stated this will likely be his final Indianapolis 500 start with Team Penske and it is the worst starting position of his Indianapolis 500 career and it matches the worst starting position of his IndyCar career. However, Castroneves did win from 28th at Chicagoland in 2008. In 2011, he started 28th at Baltimore and finished 17th. In Castroneves' two years as a part-time driver, he has finished 27th and 18th in the Indianapolis 500. 

Team Penske is looking to achieve three consecutive Indianapolis 500 victories for a team for only the third time in the event's history. Lou Moore won three consecutive races from 1947 to 1949 with Mauri Rose winning the first two and Bill Holland winning the third. Team Penske won from 2001 to 2003 with Hélio Castroneves taking the first two and Gil de Ferran taking the third.

Alonso's Triple Crown Attempt

After spending 2018 focusing on Formula One and the FIA World Endurance Championship and missing the race in 2019, Fernando Alonso's sophomore attempt at the Indianapolis 500 and completing the Motorsports Triple Crown comes in 2020, but under much different circumstances than his rookie year in 2017.

Alonso will start 21 positions worse than his rookie year with the Spaniard in 26th, between Pagenaud and 

James Davison. This is done with Chevrolet power for the Arrow McLaren SP organization in a blue and white Ruoff Home Mortage sponsored universal aero kit shod Dallara instead of a rather brand-less papaya orange Honda aero kit. 

Since Alonso last competed in the Indianapolis 500, he completed his time with McLaren in Formula One. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice and the World Endurance Drivers' Championship with Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima driving for Toyota. He won the 24 Hours of Daytona with Wayne Taylor Racing. Earlier this year, he competed in the Dakar Rally with Toyota, finishing 13th. 

One other thing Alonso has done since his last Indianapolis 500 start, and more specifically in the last six weeks, is announce he will be returning to Renault for the 2021 Formula One season. It is a two-year contract with an option for the 2023 season. 

The Renault deal means any future attempt at the Triple Crown, should he fail to achieve it this year, will have to wait until 2023 at the earliest but possibly even not occur until 2024. Alonso turned 39 years at the end of July. A return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would come in 2023 would come when Alonso he is 41 years old. Only 14 times has a driver 41 years or older won the Indianapolis 500. The last driver aged 41 or older to win the race was Arie Luyendyk in 1997. 

Alonso has stated his desired to achieve the Triple Crown, joining Graham Hill as the only two men to win Indianapolis, Monaco and Le Mans, however, this could be his final attempt at the accomplishment. Alonso will lose two prime years at the Triple Crown and no one can predict where Alonso, IndyCar or the Indianapolis 500 will be at in 2023 and 2024. Alonso could win a few more grand prix and another world championship and decide that is enough for him. IndyCar could become tough to get into and Alonso could lose interest. 

All we have is 2020. It could be now or never for Alonso. Any future plans remain unpredictable.

Road to Indy

Both Road to Indy series are back on track after nearly a month since each series contested a mid-week round at Mid-Ohio, over a week prior to the postponed IndyCar round. The two series will be at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Carb Night.

In Indy Pro 2000, there have been four different winners through the first five races and seven points cover the top four in the championship and the championship leader hasn't won race yet. 

Andretti Autosport driver Devlin DeFrancesco has 107 points from the first five race and leads the championship with three podium finishes and four top five finishes. Juncos Racing's Sting Ray Robb picked up his first Indy Pro 2000 victory in the last race at Mid-Ohio and Robb sits one point back with three podium finishes and four top five finishes like DeFrancesco.

Danial Frost nipped DeFrancesco at the line at the Road America season opener by 0.0556 seconds. Frost had podium finishes in the first three races but he was eighth and 11th in the final two Mid-Ohio races and has dropped to third in the championship, six points back. Artem Petrov is the only repeat winner so far in 2020. Petrov won the second races at Road America and Mid-Ohio, but the Juncos Racing driver was 13th in race one from Road America and eighth in the final Mid-Ohio race. Petrov trails DeFrancesco by seven points. 

Braden Eves won the first Mid-Ohio races, but wrapped up that weekend with a pair of ninth-place finishes. Eves is 13 points off the top spot. The 2020 season has not started the way Parker Thompson would have hoped. After finishes of 13th and 14th at Road America, Thompson rallied with finishes of third, fourth and fourth at Mid-Ohio, but Thompson is 35 points off his fellow Canadian DeFrancesco.

Manuel Sulaimán sits seventh in the championship on 68 points, two ahead of Hunter McElrea, who was runner-up in the final Mid-Ohio race. Colin Kaminsky is on 63 points with his best finish being third at Road America. Antoine Comeau rounds out the top ten on 57 points, two ahead of Moisés de la Vara and five ahead of Nate Aranda.

Five-time USAC Silver Crown champion Kody Swanson will make his Indy Pro 2000 debut. Swanson will drive for Legacy Autosport.

Kory Enders, Jacob Abel and Charles Finelli round out the Freedom 90 entry list. 

The Freedom 90 will take place at 7:50 p.m. ET on Friday August 21.

Christian Rasmussen is taking no mercy in U.S. F2000. 

The sophomore Dane has won all five races this season and he has scored 164 out of a possible 165 points. Michael d'Orlando is 67 points back in the championship and d'Orlando has two runner-up finishes. Eduardo Barrichello is the reason Rasmussen does not have a full 165 points with Barrichello taking a pole position at Mid-Ohio. The second-generation driver was second in that race he won pole position for and he sits on 90 points.

Reece Gold and Josh Green round out the top five with 85 points and 78 points respectively. Gold has finished on the podium in the last three races, while Green was on the podium in the first two races. Matt Round-Garrido is two points outside the top five. Round-Garrido had finished in the top five of the first four races with a 19th in the final Mid-Ohio race snapping that streak. 

Christian Brooks is 99 points off his Jay Howard Driver Development teammate Rasmussen, seventh in the championship. Kyle Dupell is on 59 points, five ahead of Cameron Shields, who won the Freedom 75 last year. Yuven Sundaramoorthy rounds out the top ten on 53 points. 

Nineteen cars are entered for the IRP round. The Freedom 75 will be at 6:45 p.m. ET on Friday August 21.

Fast Facts

This will be the 11th IndyCar race to take place on August 23 and first since Ryan Hunter-Reay won at Pocono in 2015. 

This is the second Indianapolis 500 not to take place on Memorial Day weekend. The 1986 race was pushed to Saturday May 31 due to rain over three days.

This will be the 175th 500-mile race in IndyCar history.

A total of 98 drivers have won a 500-mile IndyCar race. Thirty-two drivers have won multiple 500-mile races.

Thirteen different nationalities have won a 500-mile race. 

The United States has produced the most 500-mile race winners with 66. Brazil and the United Kingdom has each produced seven 500-mile race winners. Canada has had four, Italy and France have each had three winners. The Netherlands, Sweden, Mexico, Colombia, New Zealand, Australia and Japan have each produced one winner. 

Chevrolet has won 12 of 18 500-mile races since 2012. 

This is the first season with only one 500-mile race since 2011.

Six of the last nine Indianapolis 500s have been completed in under three hours. Only five of the first 87 Indianapolis 500s that went the distance were completed in under three hours.

This years grid features...

15 Americans.

Three Britons. 

Two Swedes.

Two Canadians. 

Two Spaniards. 

Two Australian.

Two Brazilians.

One New Zealander. 

One Japanese.

One Dutch. 

One Mexican and...

One Frenchman.

Ed Carpenter, Josef Newgarden, Jack Harvey, Colton Herta or Oliver Askew could become the first driver to win the Freedom 100 and the Indianapolis 500.

Simon Pagenaud, Marco Andretti, Rinus VeeKay or Patricio O'Ward could join Alex Lloyd, Jack Harvey, Dean Stoneman, Will Power, Colton Herta and Scott Dixon as the only drivers to win both on the oval and road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Last year, Simon Pagenaud became the second driver to lead the most laps and win the Indianapolis 500 in the DW12-era. Ryan Hunter-Reay was the first to do it in 2014. Pagenaud also became the first driver to lead over 100 laps in the Indianapolis 500 in the DW12-era.

The average starting position for an Indianapolis 500 winner is 7.475 with a median of four.

On three occasions has the pole-sitter won the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years. It first occurred in 1922 and 1923, then in 1979 through 1981 and 2008 and 2009.

The average number of lead changes in the Indianapolis 500 is 13.5436 with a median of ten. 

The last eight Indianapolis 500s rank in the top eight most lead changes in Indianapolis 500 history. 

Last year's race is tied for eighth with the 1960 race on 29 lead changes. The 1960 race held the record for most lead changes.

The average number of cautions in the Indianapolis 500 is 7.6688 with a median of eight. The average number of caution laps is 44.3111 laps with a median of 43 laps.

Last year's race had four cautions, the first race to have fewer than five cautions since 1990.

This will be the 71st Indianapolis 500 victory for Firestone. 

This will be the 20th Indianapolis 500 victory for Dallara, extending Dallara's record for most Indianapolis 500 victories for a chassis manufacture.

If Honda wins the race, it will be the manufacture's 13th Indianapolis 500 victory, breaking a tie with Miller for second all-time.

If Chevrolet wins the race, it will make a three-way tie between Miller and Honda for second all-time on 12 Indianapolis 500 victories. 

Chevrolet has won the last two years, and, in the DW12-era, no engine manufacture has won the Indianapolis 500 three consecutive years.

Possible Milestones:

Scott Dixon is one victory away from becoming the third driver in IndyCar history to reach 50 victories.

Scott Dixon needs to lead one lap to surpass Al Unser (5,802) for fifth all-time in laps led.

Ryan Hunter-Reay needs to lead 55 laps to reach the 1,600 laps led milestone.

Conor Daly needs to lead 28 laps to reach the 100 laps led milestone.

Felix Rosenqvist needs to lead 21 laps to reach the 100 laps led milestone.

Predictions

My heart says Marco Andretti, but my head says Scott Dixon. At least two Team Penske drivers will finish in the top ten. Rinus VeeKay and Álex Palou both slide out of the top ten. Fernando Alonso will pull out a top ten finish and be the top finishing Arrow McLaren SP driver. The first retirement will not be any of the drivers starting on the final two rows. The last-place finisher will not be an American and there will not be more than four American drivers in the bottom eight spots. At least four Andretti drivers will lead a lap. The number of lead changes will be somewhere between 24 and 30. Jack Harvey and James Davison will each finish at least eight spots better than their starting position. Sleeper: Patricio O'Ward.