“Sweden’s finest export since Zlatan Ibrahimovic.”
Welcome back again for Part 2 of Motorsport101’s Day of Classics special, and in this episode, we’re going to review quite possibly the biggest race of them all – The 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500. And with it, we had a battle with the elements, the rulebook, and in the end, we had the closest finish in the history of the race. Let’s gush about it.
Race Against The Clock
The Indy 500 is already an incredible race. The title of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is one that’s well earned. But this was a uniquely challenging race. We just didn’t know if we were going to get the full 500 miles in.
It had been teased for some time by the excellent IndyCar Weatherman and Bob Pockross that there were two bands of rain hovering around Indiana. One right around the projected start time, and another that could have hit anywhere from around Lap 80. In IndyCar, they can call a result after 50% distance, so 100 laps was the magic number to avoid everyone having to come back on Monday – Which let’s be frank, no-one’s really here for. It was reminiscent of 2024’s running, where rain pushed the start back three hours and it ended up being a race against the sun.
This is going to be a niche reference, even by my standards, but the Indy 500 is a lot like a Muay Thai fight. Traditionally, you start slow, and then build up the aggression as the fight goes on, peaking in the later rounds. The same applies here, apart from maybe restarts given how they can often bottleneck. The top contenders established themselves early on and we got the usual fuel saving by passing off each other lap after lap as the race ticks by. Alex Palou continues to be at the centerpiece of the series, leading the most laps of anyone at 59. First with Alex Rossi, who was able to start despite breaking his ankle in a huge practice crash on Monday.
Rossi sadly slipped out of contention after a botched pitstop, but up came David Malukas from the front row, and a little bit later, Scott Dixon’s #9 car, and the hometown hero in Conor Daly, who I maintain probably had the best car he’s ever had, and maintains the Indy 500’s best modern day hype man. As if the Greatest Spectacle in Racing needs any more “Aura”, or an in-house episode of DeepPocketMonster’s “Should I Open it Or Should I Keep it Sealed?”
It was also a remarkably well driven race in terms of driving standards. We only really got two big moments. Ryan Hunter-Reay spinning out and crashing on Lap 18 and taking Katherine Legge with her, ending her chances of completing all 1,100 miles of the Memorial Day double. And on the immediate restart, Takuma Sato turned down and collected Ed Carpenter, a classic case of unc-on-unc crime. For those watching, you didn’t need to be a fluent lipreader to tell what Ed said in the aftermath. I think he was telling Takuma he was going for first in the style of John Clement.
On Lap 92 we got a very aptly timed caution as Will Power’s Andretti was leaking fluids on the main straight leading to the Aussie spinning out on pit exit, while at the same time, Alex Rossi’s engine caught fire for the second time in consecutive years, leading to the awkward scene of him having to be hoisted out of the car. Still not sure he should have raced on that, but are you telling someone to sit out the 500?
It was around this time we paused for a rain-assisted red flag. We got a light drizzle that led to cars being parked on pitroad, and the hilarity of Emma Davies-Dixon swearing she could have seen lightning in the distance. It had nothing to do with her husband leading, I swear. (11/10, get you a partner like EDD).
We eventually got going again with 76 laps to go, and as soon as the green dropped, Josef Newgarden dipped a wheel at Turn 4, likely still wet, and violently smashed into the outside wall. Thankfully he was okay, walking into the ambulance under his own power. That led to a dilemma. 70 laps to go, you could come in and get new fuel and tyres and with a bit of saving, could make the end off just one more stop without caution, but you’re giving up track position, a strategy that assumes you’re seeing all 200 laps. Or, you stay out, know you’re doing two more stops, one of which a splash and dash, racing to an early cut off as the weather radars showed a band less than half an hour away. The leading group that stayed out included David Malukas and Alex Palou, while the stoppers had Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward at the front of their queue.
This is the anticipation building. The gloves started coming off earlier than the usual final 50 laps because half the grid thought this was now a race against the weather. And as a result, we were all watching along on tenterhooks. World building’s over, let’s light the candle.
The Felix Fling
The number of hell if you were staying out was 185. At that point you probably have to come in, barring more caution. The latter never really came, as Malukas, Palou and Scott McLaughlin all abandoned the plan with around 25-30 to go. The alternate strategy runners’ gamble had paid off, they were now on the seeming winning strategy because that band of rain was going to miss the track. Pato was in front of that queue but couldn’t hold off Rosenqvist, who had a two lap advantage in terms of fuel and tyres, but even then couldn’t shake the Mexican off. Amazingly, the two best friends, the best man at Felix’s wedding last year, was now his #1 threat for the 500, until…
Caio Collet, who was running in the Top 10, smashes into the outside wall at Turn 2, and the car catches fire on the way out. There’s eight laps to go, and the red flag comes out. Now, Collet was winded but he did get out of the car under his own power, which led most people to believe it was a competition red. It was – What many people don’t know now is that it’s an IndyCar official rule that if there’s between six and ten laps to go, they’ll automatically throw the red to try and get a finish under green flag conditions, but if there’s less than five laps left, yellows only. More on that later, but it induced a lot of “shootout” fears.
Rosenqvist was leading ahead of O’Ward, Marcus Armstrong and Malukas, back to the front of the field because of the red. But the restart goes back to yellow almost immediately due to Mick Schumacher glancing the outside wall. No chances taken, caution. Of course, it comes down to a one lap shootout. I’ll spare you any more words. Behold, quite possibly the greatest final lap in the history of the Indy 500, with a tremendous call by Will Buxton:
The Aftermath
The closest finish in 110 runnings of the Indy 500 – Felix Rosenqvist won by just 23 thousandths of a second. At that speed, maybe four feet. I mean, I could break it down if you want. Malukas did what Pato did last year, he chose to take the lead to start the final lap. Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong go side-by-side all the way across the lap. Felix admitted after the fact that he had never tried an outside pass ever at Indy and he just spent two miles doing it with his own teammate. Armstrong admitted he backed off right at the end because he’d rather have one member of the team go for the win, than risk them both crashing. And with Malukas having to lift at the final corner, it’s what opened the door for an actual slipstream pass at the death with just yards to go.
Felix has quite the relationship with Indianapolis. It probably saved his career when he finished fourth there in 2022, on the brink of being replaced due to middling results. He still has the fifth fastest qualifying run ever here, 234.114 back in 2023. It was a race he was just starting to really feel like a top contender in, until he crashed, causing the famous clip of Kyle Kirkwood upside down and Snowball in the parking lot getting hit by a flying tyre. He was fourth last year too. Felix had very quietly become a consistent, elite runner of this race and no-one ever felt like he was the guy (Apart from our guest podcast Christopher DeHarde, the swine). This felt like the year, and while he had to do it the hard way, he did with for me, the most incredible final lap in 500 history. Welcome to immortality.
It’s hard not to feel a little heartbroken for David Malukas, who now matches Pato for having back-to-back runner-up finishes to his name. He was inconsolable after the race and had to be comforted by Marco Andretti, one of the very few men on the planet who knows EXACTLY how that feels. He gave a teary-eyed, heartfelt interview after the race that captured just what it means to come so close. I’ll openly admit, I wasn’t sure Lil’ Dave was ready for the big time. I was wrong. This is exactly why Roger Penske saved his career 18 months ago after McLaren and the broken wrist – Penske has another third bullet in the 500’s chamber.
I’ve been very vocal about my displeasure with IndyCar in the last year or so. It’s been rough in some very important areas, and a lot of those thoughts and feelings still remain. But I can’t deny, when you get a great 500, there is nothing and I mean nothing in Motorsport that compares. A special end, to a special race, and a popular winner that everyone loves. You’ll never hear a bad word said about Felix from peers to the people behind the cameras. And he just became a dad too. Good lord, we gave him new dad strength. To borrow the words from Will, what a month of May.
The Lightning Round
70 lead changes across the race, a new Indy 500 record, beating the 63 from 2012.
The terrifying thing about that ending? Malukas vs Rosenqvist wasn’t even the craziest photo. Look at THIS for third:
Scott McLaughlin’s best finish at the 500 in third ahead of Pato O’Ward and Marcus Armstrong. The margin between all three of them? 0.016 seconds. Call it two feet. Unbelievable. Also, is Pato EVER going to win this thing? I’m not sure if he’s gunning for victory or trying to play bingo with his finishing positions. This was his seventh Indy 500 attempt, he’s finished sixth or better in SIX of them.
If that was the last one, what a way for Takuma Sato to bow out in 10th. Remember, he turns 50 in January.
Lando Norris’ Canadian GP ended so quickly, he ended up in a bar with Daniel Ricciardo (His first race since retiring from F1), and Conor Daly after the race.
Alex Palou drove a near flawless race besides two things – One) An almighty save that nearly had him in the wall when the split strategy was peaking, and it turns out a part of his front wing failed that brought him out of compliance. A 5-point penalty feels very generous, but remember, scrutineering is done in the interests of good faith. If it wasn’t, we’d be checking these cars until Friday. And don’t forget, this is an independent commission now, so you can’t even blame IndyCar anymore. I’m sure IndyCar’s totally not American audience who hate dominant champions will accept that in good gra- HAHAHAHA
I’m still not sure where I stand on one/two lap restarts given IndyCar’s not in the best period when it comes to rule transparency, but you also have to remember, we are in the entertainment business. Something I fear many sports fans forget about the viewing experience.
Caio Collet gets my vote for Rookie of the Year. Yes, the crash was unfortunate but he had Top 10-level pace the whole fortnight. Superb first effort.
Was that crash the beginning of the end for Josef Newgarden at Team Penske?
Trust FOX to finally get the production bang on for their big race of the year. Of course. It’ll be back to being shite at Detroit again next week I’d wager.
Dre’s Race Rating: 10/10 (Masterpiece) – I was hovering over what to score this one. 500’s are tricky because by design, it’s meant to be slow and a little hard to digest at first. It can be irritating with the cautions and the delays sometimes too. But this race told a perfect story. A hurt Rossi and a determined Palou trying to double down on their wins. Malukas driving his ass off trying to finally get his first win, let alone a 500 win, Pato O’Ward seeing yet another chance slip away, and it taking two miles of unfathomable bravery from Felix Rosenqvist to win a race he looked dead and buried in with a mile to go. It’s one of the greatest 500’s I’ve ever seen, it’s a masterpiece of a race, and for that reason, it gets the rare honor of the DRR 10/10. Arise, King Felix.
And of course, I couldn’t leave this piece without saying goodbye and a salute to NASCAR’s winningest driver, the great Kyle Busch. I’m not going to pretend I’m a veteran fan of the series, but I always knew what an incredible driver he was. But also, as a writer, I came to appreciate how great he was at not only the pursuit of winning, but telling a story, something we take so much for granted in Motorsport. He had no problem embracing the villian, because he knew his role in being an entertainer. From having a brawl with Joey Logano in the pitlane, to being the foil to the great Dale Jr. And of course, 234 wins across the series major divisions helps too. I’d have loved to have seen him take this great race on one more time. Rest in peace Rowdy, and my loves out to Sam, Braxton and Lennix, and the entire NASCAR community. It’ll be a bit less fun without him around. Take it easy.
