Yahoo Autos Team Chevy conquers all at Indy
Team Chevy came, saw, and conquered the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.
From Team Penske’s 1-2-3 ownership of the front row in qualifying to packing the 500-mile race’s top 12 with nine Chevy-powered drivers led by new two-time winner Josef Newgarden, the Bowtie mastered every phase of the event.
Newgarden’s No. 2 Chevy was chased home by Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevy. Honda’s best hope — 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon — did his best for Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 9 entry, but was powerless to stop O’Ward and Newgarden from firing by late in the race.
McLaren’s Alexander Rossi was fourth in the No. 7 Chevy; Penske’s Scott McLaughlin — the race’s polesitter — was sixth in the No. 3 Chevy; A.J. Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci was eighth in the No. 14 Chevy; Rinus VeeKay was ninth in the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy; Conor Daly was 10th in the No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports Chevy; McLaren’s Callum Ilott was 11th in the No. 6 Chevy, and Carpenter’s Christian Rasmussen was an impressive 12th — best rookie, as well — in the No. 33 Chevy.
Team Chevy, along with its engine-building partners at Ilmor Engineering, didn’t leave a lot of space for archrival Honda at the sharp end of the results, and that’s exactly what they were aiming for.
“Congratulations to Josef and the No. 2 Penske team on winning back-to-back at the Indianapolis 500,” said General Motors president Mark Reuss. “What an incredible accomplishment. I’m so happy to see Roger (Penske) get his 20th win here. Chevrolet engineering, our partners at Ilmor and race teams worked hard in the off-season to prepare for the 2024 Indy 500. They delivered power, speed and performance all month long.”
Honda Racing Corporation USA’s president was gracious in defeat.
“It was a disappointing day,” said David Salters. “All things considered, we weren’t good enough on the day. We’ll regroup, lick our wounds, focus our efforts, and come back. That’s how racing works.”
