Newgarden rises above multiple late restarts to win Indy 500

Josef Newgarden won the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 after pulling off a last-lap ambush on defending winner Marcus Ericsson.

What had already been a chaotic final stint saved the biggest bit of drama for the final corners when Ericsson, looking to defend his lead with a single lap of green flag running after a late restart, was unable to hold off a lunge from Newgarden through Turn 2. Newgarden held firm, echoing Ericsson’s ‘dragon move’ on the exit of Turn 4 to give Roger Penske his 19th Indy 500 victory as a team owner.

Restarts figured heavily in the final stint; a chain of events that began with Arrow McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist — who had run up front all afternoon — lost control and crashed in Turn 2 with 16 to go. Andretti Autosport’s Kyle Kirkwood also got caught up, and both were eliminated on the spot.

Once that mess was cleaned up, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward led the field for the next restart on lap 191. That was waved off, but the next one was better… until the Mexican feinted around Ericsson to the right in Turn 1, lunged to the left, then lost control — or was squeezed, depending who you ask — and found the barriers. Adding insult to injury, a separate incident further back ended when Agustin Canapino’s broken Juncos Hollinger car sledding into the rear of O’Ward’s stationary No. 5. More red flags.

The next restart came with seven to go, and lasted just two laps before a group of cars tangled towards the back of the field. Rather than keeping the field circulating under yellows, race control opted for another red flag on lap 198: one lap behind the pace car, and one to decide whose portrait would take its place on the Borg Warner Trophy.

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AS IT HAPPENED

The drama began even before the race started, as both Helio Castroneves and Graham Rahal failed to get underway. While Meyer Shank Racing refired the four-time champion, the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing crew had to drag the No. 24, originally destined for Stefan Wilson, behind the wall to install a new battery. He would eventually rejoin but two laps down.

As Adam Driver dropped the green flag for the remaining 32 runners, Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda’s polesitter Alex Palou made a great start to lead Rinus VeeKay and Felix Rosenqvist into Turn 1, while immediately Dixon moved up to fourth chased by A.J. Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci, the Arrow McLaren-Chevys of Alexander Rossi and Pato O’Ward, and a third Ganassi car of Takuma Sato. Will Power hung on around the outside of Marcus Ericsson and Tony Kanaan at Turn 3 to grab ninth.

At the start of the third lap, VeeKay drafted past Palou along the front straight to lead for Ed Carpenter Racing, but Palou was back in front on lap four, and the ECR-Chevrolet driver was lifting off down the back straight to stay close to the leader but save fuel in his draft. It was the same story in the chain of cars behind him. VeeKay returned to the front for lap 11, and on that same lap Power sent his Penske-Chevy passed Sato’s Ganassi-Honda to take eighth.

Palou was into the lead for lap 16, while on lap 19, Ferrucci and Rossi demoted Dixon who lost another place to O’Ward the following lap and then Power on lap 21. Ganassi’s 2008 Indy winner appeared to be adjusting his in-cockpit tools a lot and losing pace, to the extent he had dropped outside the top 10 by lap 23, and he reported a left-rear tire vibrating hard. In fact it was visible, shaking the rear wing on the camera slow-mo, so the team called him in on lap 26. Castroneves also came in early.

Up front, VeeKay had taken the lead once more, but on lap 28 into Turn 3 it was Palou’s American Legion colors heading the field, but he pitted at the end of lap 29, while Ferrucci also pitted from the top five. Notable by his progress was Josef Newgarden who even before these pit stops started, had clambered from 17th into the top 10.

VeeKay ducked into the pits on lap 32 and took two turns of front wing as well as fuel and tires. He emerged still behind Palou. Rosenqvist was next of the front-runners to stop, with Rossi, O’Ward and Power pitting on lap 34. They emerged still in that order, and just behind another Arrow McLaren, that of Rosenqvist, who had lost third to Ferrucci during the pit stop exchange. Like Ferrucci, Newgarden had gained a place in the stops, jumping Sato to run ninth behind Power and defending winner Ericsson.

Rosenqvist was back in front of Ferrucci on lap 39 and the other two Arrow McLarens also got around the Foyt car next time by, as VeeKay took top spot from Palou, but Ferrucci stemmed the tide and re-passed O’Ward the following lap. Power was now informed that his weightjacker wasn’t working, although he was maintaining seventh while his tires were relatively fresh. It could prove very difficult in a year when cars were struggling to make their tires last for a full stint.

Palou retook the lead on lap 48 and remained up front as the race passed quarter distance. The top three — Palou, VeeKay and Rosenqvist — had started separating themselves from the pack a little by now, Felix pulling two seconds on Rossi, who lost a place to Ferrucci on lap 56 and to O’Ward on lap 57.

Palou made his second stop at the end of lap 60, and Ferrucci joined him on pitlane, as did Dixon who had been running in 21st, and reported to his team that he had no vibration issues with his second set. VeeKay stopped on lap 64, and this time he emerged ahead of Palou, who was being chased by Ferrucci, but they were both jumped by Rosenqvist who stopped two laps later.

However, O’Ward was flying and passed not only Palou and VeeKay but on lap 70, his teammate Rosenqvist too, as the pair ran behind RC Enerson of debutant team Abel Motorsports, running not quite a lap down. The McLaren drivers seemed happy to be up front, but still able to briefly save fuel behind Enerson. Further back, the No. 2 Penske crew had jumped Newgarden ahead of Ericsson in the pit stop exchange, while just outside the top 10, local hero Conor Daly was up to 11th for Ed Carpenter Racing.

Palou lost fourth to Ferrucci on lap 76, but still the top nine were blanketed by only four seconds, while Sato’s loose car had fallen to 2.5s off the back of Ericsson.

Rosenqvist drafted past O’Ward to lead on lap 79, the pair of them planning to swap back and forth to take turns at saving fuel now that Enerson had pitted for a third time. He would retire on lap 76. However, there was no guarantee that they’d get to pick and choose when to pass, since as O’Ward took over from Rosenqvist at the front, Ferrucci passed VeeKay for third.

As Rosenqvist took the lead on lap 91 and Rossi passed Palou, Sato suddenly slowed, forcing Scott McLaughlin’s Penske and Kanaan’s McLaren to take evasive action, Kanaan putting all four wheels in the grass out of Turn 2 to pass McLaughlin. Much further back, Rahal unlapped himself from Sting Ray Robb, but the Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Honda tried to hang on around the outside, hit some marbles and slid up the track into the wall. That was the first caution of the race.