Race recap: Josef Newgarden repeats as Indy 500 champ; here's ...

27 May 2024

The Indianapolis Star

Race recap Josef Newgarden repeats as Indy 500 champ heres

Keep up with us as the 108th Indianapolis 500 starts with an all-Team Penske front row, and Helio Castroneves and Kyle Larson trying to make history.

The 108th Indianapolis 500 is here! Thirty-three drivers will take the green flag at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in search of the checkered flag, getting their likeness etched on the Borg-Warner trophy and a champion's blue jacket.

Scott McLaughlin is the pole-sitter, leading an all-Team Penske front row that includes 2018 race winner Will Power and defending race champion Josef Newgarden. NASCAR Cup points leader Kyle Larson is trying to race here (where he starts fifth) and in NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Helio Castroneves is trying to become the first five-time race champion.

Here is the complete 33-car starting grid and more about the Indy 500 drivers and teams.

Nathan Brown is your best follow for all things Indy 500 and IndyCar. We have highlights and crashes.

LET'S HAVE SOME FUN: Indy 500 coverage from Snake Pit, Coke Lot and more

LIVE LEADERBOARD: Here's the race running order

Josef Newgarden wins his second consecutive Indy 500, outdueling Pato O'Ward over the final laps and earning a $440,000 bonus for repeating as champ of the rain-delayed race.

Just like last year, Newgarden exits his car at the Yard of Bricks and heads into the crowd to celebrate.

"I love this crowd," Newgarden tells NBC moments after the race. "I've always got to go in the crowd."

O'Ward, now twice a runner-up, takes the lead in Turn 1 on the final lap, but Newgarden passes back heading into Turn 3 and holds on by 0.341 seconds. O'Ward makes the most on-track passes (43).

"So (expletive) close," a frustrated O'Ward says. He also finished 2nd in 2021.

For repeating as champ, Newgarden earns the big bonus from Borg Warner. The last repeat winner was Helio Castroneves in 2001-02. Newgarden leads 26 laps.

Team Penske earns its record-extending 20th Indy 500 victory.

Kyle Larson, who had hoped to drive the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, stays in Indianapolis and finishes 18th. He gets a penalty for speeding on pit road, taking him out of contention. However, he leads 4 laps.

Before taking off for Charlotte to join the Cup race, which has already begun, Larson says he wants to return to Indy.

Pole-sitter Scott McLaughlin leads the most laps (66) and finishes 6th. Christian Rasmussen is the highest finishing rookie (12th).

Biggest movers: Conor Daly gains 19 positions from the start (from 29th to 10th), Dixon gains 18 (from 21st to 3rd), as does Graham Rahal (from 33rd to 15th). Will Power loses 22 spots (2nd to 24th).

Seven of the top 10 cars have Chevrolet power.

The race is delayed 4 hours by rain.

Indy 500 finishing order

With finishing position, driver, team; W-former race winner; R-rookie

Josef Newgarden (W), Team Penske
Pato O'Ward, Arrow McLaren
Scott Dixon (W), Chip Ganassi Racing
Alexander Rossi (W), Arrow McLaren
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global
Santino Ferrucci, AJ Foyt Racing
Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
Conor Daly, Dreyer & Reinbold-Cusick
Callum Ilott, Arrow McLaren
Christian Rasmussen (R), Ed Carpenter Racing
Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Takuma Sato (W), Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Sting Ray Robb, AJ Foyt Racing
Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
Kyle Larson (R), Arrow McLaren
Romain Grosjean, Juncos Hollinger
Helio Castroneves (W), Meyer Shank
Kyffin Simpson (R), Chip Ganassi Racing
Agustin Canapino, Juncos Hollinger
Colton Herta, Andretti Global
Will Power (W), Team Penske
Marco Andretti, Andretti Global
Ryan Hunter-Reay (W), Dreyer & Reinbold-Cusick
Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank
Linus Lundqvist (R), Chip Ganassi Racing
Katherine Legge, Dale Coyne Racing
Marcus Armstrong (R), Chip Ganassi Racing
Tom Blomqvist (R), Meyer Shank
Pietro Fittipaldi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
Marcus Ericsson (W), Andretti Global

Lap 195: Josef Newgarden leads, with Pato O'Ward, Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon all within 2 seconds. O'Ward passes Newgarden at the end of the lap.

Lap 190: Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, Pato O'Ward, Scott Dixon, Kyle Kirkwood, Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, Rinus VeeKay, Santino Ferrucci, Conor Daly.

Lap 185: Kyle Larson leads laps, as does Kyffin Simpson. Among the contenders, Josef Garden and Alexander Rossi battling at the front. Scott Dixon and Pato O'Ward remain close.

Lap 180: Ed Carpenter, Kyle Larson and Kyffin Simpson are the top 3, but they must pit.

Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden are swapping the top spot among the contenders, with Alexander Rossi, Pato O'Ward, Kyle Kirkwood and Alex Palou lurking.

Lap 170: Final pit stops are on the way. First in among the contenders is Alexander Rossi.

Lap 165: Arrow McLaren teammates Pato O'Ward and Alexander Rossi are swapping the lead most laps, with Scott Dixon less than 1 second behind. Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, Rinus VeeKay, Conor Daly, Santino Ferrucci and Kyle Kirkwood complete the top 10.

Lap 156 restart: A scramble for the lead puts Alexander Rossi in the lead, followed by Pato O'Ward and Scott Dixon. O'Ward takes the lead at the end of the lap.

Coming out of this caution, most cars appear to be in good shape on fuel and don't need to conserve. Scott Dixon's strategist, Mike Hull, says one more stop is coming.

Lap 147: Will Power crashes at the end of Turn 1 with heavy front damage. Caution.

Lap 135: Jostling among the contenders includes Alexander Rossi passing Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden with one move.

Lap 132: Several front-runners pit under green. Kyle Larson is penalized for a speeding on pit road.

Lap 127: Josef Newgarden passes Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin for the lead. NBC notes that Scott Dixon's fuel strategy puts him in position to challenge. He's in 11th place.

Lap 119 restart: Scott McLaughlin, Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden, Santino Ferrucci and Alex Palou are the top 5. Kyle Larson is 6th.

Lap 114 restart: Scott McLaughlin takes the lead over Josef Newgarden as Marco Andretti spins in Turn 1 and hits the wall. Caution. Takuma Sato is sent to the back of the field for being out of position on a previous restart.

Rough day for Andretti Global.

Lap 107: Ryan Hunter-Reay makes tire-to-tire contact with Scott Dixon, and RHR spins with front wing damage. Caution.

Lap 100: Defending champ Newgarden is 2nd. If he wins, he earns a $440,000 bonus. Santino Ferrucci is 2nd, Scott McLaughlin 3rd. Top rookie: NASCAR Cup star Kyle Larson is 9th.

Also, Pato O'Ward saves himself from a crash.

Lap 91 restart: For cars on the alternate pit strategy, Christian Lundgaard passes Rinus VeeKay for the lead, with Sting Ray Robb in 3rd. Among cars on the traditional pit strategy, Josef Newgarden is 4th overall, just ahead of Santino Ferrucci.

Lap 88, pit stops during the caution: Callum Ilott gets pushed from behind by Kyle Kirkwood into Ed Carpenter's pit stall, and Carpenter must stop short. Kirkwood is penalized for avoidable contact.

Among the lead group, Josef Newgarden gets out of the pits first. Those remaining on track and leading the race: Rinus VeeKay, Christian Lundgaard, Sting Ray Robb, Conor Daly.

Lap 86: Colton Herta spins and crashes between Turns 1 and 2. Caution. That's 8 cars out of the race.

Lap 80: Scott McLaughlin leads, with Colton Herta 2nd and Josef Newgarden 3rd. Sting Ray Robb and Conor Daly have pitted. Kyle Larson is 8th.

Lap 75: Sting Ray Robb leads with Scott McLaughlin 2nd. Conor Daly remains 3rd, with Colton Herta and Josef Newgarden rounding out the top 5.

Lap 65 restart: Scott McLaughlin goes inside of Conor Daly and Sting Ray Robb for the lead. Robb is 2nd and Colton Herta 3rd. Robb retakes the lead at the end of the lap.

Lap 58: The leaders head to the pits. Among that group, Alexander Rossi comes out in front, with Scott McLaughlin next. Santino Ferrucci loses 4 places. Rinus VeeKay is penalized for an unsafe pit release and must take the restart from the rear of the field.

Lap 56: Felix Rosenqvist suffers a mechanical issue and is out. Caution.

Lap 50: Scott McLaughlin leads, followed by Santino Ferrucci, Alexander Rossi, Colton Herta, Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O'Ward, Kyle Larson and Christian Rasmussen in 10th. McLaughlin has led 35 laps. Herta, who started 13th, has made the most on-track passes (16). Six cars are out.

Lap 37: Conor Daly gets by Scott McLaughlin for the lead. Daly had pitted on Lap 4 and will need to return soon.

Lap 33 restart: Scott McLaughlin surges to the lead with Santino Ferrucci 2nd.

Lap 28: Linus Lundqvist slides and crashes in Turn 1. NBC's James Hinchcliffe: "This looks like Talladega," a famously crash-prone NASCAR track.

Lap 27 restart: Cars who did not pit during the caution. take the front. Conor Daly passes Sting Ray Robb for the race lead.

Lap 25: Leaders pit during the caution. The top 8 maintain their positions, with Scott McLaughlin staying at the lead of that group.

Lap 23: Katherine Legge suffers a mechanical issue and is out.

Lap 20: Scott McLaughlin leads, with teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden maintaining their starting positions of 2nd and 3rd. Santino Ferrucci is 4th and Alexander Rossi 5th. These are McLaughlin's first laps led in Indy 500 competition.

Lap 10 restart: Kyle Larson loses 10 positions after mis-shifting. He's 14th after starting the race 5th. The restart is under review.

Lap 8: Marcus Armstrong's car suffers a mechanical issue during the caution and is out.

Lap 1: Tom Blomqvist goes too low in Turn 1 and spins, loses control and collects Marcus Ericsson and Pietro Fittipaldi. Commentary from NBC's James Hinchcliffe: "Rookie error. Just no other way to put it."

Ahead of them, Scott Dixon gains 6 positions on the opening lap. He started 21st.

Callum Ilott has a mechanical issue and needs to pit during the parade laps. He joins the field from the rear.

The IndyCar Series announces that the race will end at 8:15 p.m., even if 200 laps haven't been completed, "in agreement with local law enforcement, to ensure race fans are able to leave and return home safely."

IMS officials are aiming for 4:44 p.m. ET.

IMS President Doug Boles says air dryers are heading onto the track with the goal of starting the race by 5 p.m. In the wake of the rain delay, he says local NBC affiliates will show the race.

Rare treat for local fans: IMS lifts local live Indy 500 blackout after delays

The weather advisory for the Speedway area as cleared, and fans are encouraged to return to their seats. Track officials have not begun drying the track.

If the Indy 500 gets rolling today, it will remain on NBC. The Senior PGA Championship is scheduled to begin on NBC at 4 p.m., but the race would take precedence.

Officials ask fans to leave the grandstands and seek shelter.

IndyStar's Nathan Brown has more details on race status.

With lightning expected in the Speedway area, track officials ask fans to seek shelter.

Doug Boles anticipates rain arriving at IMS between noon-12:30 p.m.

He says the biggest concern is lightning, and would ask fans to leave grandstands by 11:15 a.m. if lightning is approaching the Speedway, and all on-track festivities would stop. The same would apply to the Snake Pit concert.

"It's really a challenging day for us," he said. "No matter what the decision is, it will be a difficult one."

He adds that fans would be allowed to leave the Speedway and re-enter, which is different from usual protocol.

If the storm tracks the way he anticipates, Boles said track drying could begin between 2:30-3 p.m., with plans to get the race in.

IndyStar's Nathan Brown says on the "Pit Pass Live" preview show that Rick Hendrick, Kyle Larson's NASCAR Cup team owner, has given the OK for Larson to stay in Indianapolis in case rain delays or interrupts for Indy 500. A relief driver would take over Larson's car in the Coca-Cola 600, which scheduled for a 6 p.m. ET start in Charlotte, N.C.

More: Larson will drive Indy 500 over NASCAR Cup race if weather dictates

Gavin Ward, team principal for Arrow McLaren, which is fielding Larson's car, said on the prerace show that Hendrick is "committed" to Larson's Indy 500 participation if at all possible.

IMS President Doug Boles says on the "Pit Pass Live" preview show that biggest challenge facing race fans will be lightning.

"It's a challenge and there's no good answer," he said.

Boles said that in a break from a usual race day, IMS officials will allow fans to leave the track and re-enter should weather delay or interrupt the race.

Rain could affect Kyle Larson's effort to race the Indy 500 and NASCAR's Coca-Cola today. Boles loves the possibility, but "I haven't thought about Kyle Larson at all."