Last week’s Indy 500 was predictably fantastic. 200 laps of the greatest racing you’ll ever see, I can’t do the whole race justice. If you didn’t watch it, you were incredibly unlucky. Nothing beats the 2.5-mile oval in the heart of Indianapolis, it is exhilarating from start to finish.
A week before the race, came the two days of qualifying. Like the race itself, this is an amazing watch. Seeing laps around this speedway, it’s like watching someone drive a rollercoaster. And the narrative qualifying set in place for the race was fascinating. Team Penske delivered an amazing qualifying car, locking out all three spots on the front row, an achievement mirroring 1988. Quite fittingly, the pole sitter, Scott McLaughlin, was driving a tribute livery to the car that had won that year, the Yellow Submarine. He also set a new world record, a four-lap average of 234.22mph. The question on everyone’s mind for the next week was, would Team Penske translate their success into a race win, or would any of the challengers come good on race day?
So, race day came and……… there was a delay. A long delay. This was due to a lightning storm, definitely not the best conditions to race 200mph around an oval. So, I waited, for hours, though thankfully doing things more exciting than rewatching the Monaco Grand Prix.[1] But the race finally came, though the delay appeared to affect the drivers more than me. Because everyone was absolutely sending it, the midfield was chaos and there were more cautions than I could count. The first of these came when the rookie Tom Blomqvist put his wheels into the grass, spun and took out Marcus Erriccson in the process, to cap off a disappointing May for the former winner. These cautions bred cautions, which consequently made fuel saving less necessary than in the last few 500s, leading to the drivers racing each other even harder, breeding yet more cautions. Praise needs to go to the safety team, for how quickly they react to problems on track. They were always at the scene within ten seconds of an accident. Comparing the Indy safety team to F1’s, where it sometimes takes over half a lap for race control to call a safety car, it’s clear which sport values safety the most.
However, not all of the cautions were caused by accidents and collisions. Others were caused by Hondas. Whilst the Chevrolet engines were in danger during qualifying, come race day, it was the Hondas blowing up. Honda’s reliability woes made me worry for Colton Herta, one of the favourites to win the race. I like Colton, he’s funny, talented and attractive. If Dixon isn’t winning the race, I’d like it to be Colton. Yet, I didn’t have to worry about Colton’s engine taking him out of the race, as Colton was willing to do that on his own. Whilst Colton felt like a brand-new person this year, he made the same old mistakes, taking himself out of 2nd place and a possible win. Whilst a win would have bolstered Herta’s championship challenge, a 23rd place has done the exact opposite, to the disappointment of many an American racing fan.
Towards the middle of the race, a frantic battle erupted between Alexander Rossi, Scott McLaughlin, Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden and Santino Ferrucci for the effective lead. Every driver knew that it was vital to gain necessary track position at this point, put themselves towards the head of that train, as it would give them the best chance of battling for the win at the end of the race. Rossi and Newgarden were most successful in these struggles, but up the road, Scott Dixon and Pato O’Ward were leading, on alternative pit stop strategies. Whilst they needed to fuel save, they had a really good chance of being in the fight for the lead come the end of the race. And then came the last thirty laps.
The last thirty laps of this year’s Indy 500 was some of the greatest action I’ve seen in any motorsports race. There was a four-way battle, as Rossi, O’Ward, Dixon and Newgarden all took times leading and there were moves on nearly every lap. Initially, Dixon seemed like he might have the driver’s seat. Whilst the most successful driver currently in the series, Dixon has only won the 500 once, in 2008. As he’s the driver I support, to see him win it from his lowest starting position ever, would have been cathartic after witnessing so many near misses. Alas, his starting position did represent one truth, Dixon’s Chip Ganassi car did not have the ultimate race pace of the Penskes and the McLarens, thus he faded as the stint continued. However, a last lap move on Rossi guaranteed a place on the podium, a consultation to wrap up an otherwise difficult month of May.
As the final stint continued, the race became a two-car battle between O’Ward and Newgarden. They swapped the lead, again and again, but at the beginning of the final lap, Pato made a decisive move on the main straight. It looked like, after many heartbreaking near misses, Pato might finally achieve his dream. He put in so much work into getting to this moment and earlier in the race, had managed to save himself from two snaps of understeer, that would have, and did, put many other drivers into the wall. This was about to be his moment; Mexico was about to celebrate its first Indy 500 win. But last year’s winner had something to say about that. Josef Newgarden, the two-time champion, having waited twelve years to win his first Indy 500, made an amazing move around the outside of O’Ward on turn three, at the last possible opportunity, to win two in a row. It was heartbreaking for O’Ward, who was visibly distraught after the race, but elation for Team Penske and Newgarden, who once again celebrated in the crowd. The emotions in this race are part of what makes it the greatest, as throughout the entire month, everyone tries so hard to win. And everyone takes the emotions seriously, no failed stand-up comedy like you get from F1’s commentators, instead you get pure hype and emotion. Even viewing from home, I can feel the gravitas of this event, so I can’t imagine what it’s like in that crowd, knowing that you’re viewing the greatest spectacle in racing and then celebrating with the winner.
Thus, the Indy 500. Whilst I’ve been able to talk about my favourite moments, there’s still so much I missed. From Sting Ray Robb (yes, that is his name) leading the 3rd most laps, to Dixon’s controversial contact with Ryan Hunter Ray, to Will Power’s disappointing afternoon, going from a pre-race favourite to the wall, this race had everything. I reiterate, if you didn’t watch it, you missed out. So, remember to put May 25th in your calendar next year, avoid missing out again.
[1] I was reading a book.
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