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emailBy Robin Miller | May 30, 2021 7:29 PM ET

It was the fastest Indianapolis 500 ever and I think you’d be hard-pressed not to call it one of the best ever — from start to finish. It had 36 passes for the lead, including the winner with two laps left, and a total of 361 passes for position. It showed that a little team could take baby steps and leap out of the crib into big boy pants three years later with hard work, smart management and some under-the-radar talent.

Meyer Shank Racing is the best advertisement IndyCar could ask for because it’s a small-market team winning the World Series on a playing field about as even as has ever existed. And the fact a one-off effort whipped Andretti, Ganassi and Team Penske in the biggest race on the planet just confirms that theory.

But the best thing about May 30, 2021 was that nobody knew who was going to win until the very end. It could have been Conor Daly, Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward, Alex Palou, Graham Rahal, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Rinus VeeKay or Helio Castroneves and it had the fans (sure looked like more than 135,000) standing and screaming to the checkered flag.

True, the last 10 laps were pretty much a three-man scrum between Castroneves, Palou and O’Ward before Simon Pagenaud and Ed Carpenter joined the party but it all came down to the old guard against the new wave.
A decisive battle at the end between IndyCar’s old guard and new ended with the veteran taking the bows. Phillip Abbott/Motorsport Images

Palou, 24, is a breakout star who drove a magnificent race and came up a half a car length shy against a guy who began racing at IMS when the Spaniard was two years old.

At 46, Helio doesn’t look much different than he did at 26 and he damn sure acts the same as when Roger Penske gave him a ride back in 2000. We weren’t sure what to make of this bubbly Brazilian, who was always smiling and upbeat and never seemed to have a bad day. In an old IRL media guide, Vitor Meira said HCN was his favorite actor and we all laughed.

Yet as time went on, it became clear that this effervescent personality was for real and his consistent kindness towards the fans and media made him one of the most popular drivers.

Of course there is an expiration date at Team Penske and after 2015 winner Juan Pablo Montoya was transferred to the sports car side, Castroneves followed suit in 2017. He still ran Indy for The Captain but after losing the 2017 race to Takuma Sato by a car length, his last hurrah came in 2019.

It looked like game, set and match because very few drivers have ever won Indy after being cut by R.P. Especially old guys. But HCN swore he wasn’t ready for full-time sports car duty and wanted one more shot with IndyCar.

Not sure who gets the nod for signing Castroneves but he showed he was serious by turning up for pit stop practice at 7 a.m. last winter in Columbus, Ohio. It’s hard to not pull for Mike Shank because of his persistence to make it to IndyCar and partner Jim Meyer is a good guy who just blends in with the scenery.

The fact crew chief Matt Swan was first with HCN at Hogan Racing in 1999 just makes this story a little better, and obviously engineer Mark Bryant meshed well with the newest four-time winner.

After the controversial finish and kangaroo court in 2002 when many considered Paul Tracy the legit winner, there was quite a bit of grumbling that Castroneves didn’t deserve to be in the same breath with Foyt, Mears and Unser.

But that talk eventually died down and the guy who could hold the biggest grudge was damn near cheering for his old rival on Sunday. “The youngsters were playing checkers today and Helio was playing chess,” said Tracy during his NBC commentary. “He drove a helluva race and this has become the year of the old-timers.”
The reaction to Castroneves’ win was as popular with rivals like Power as it was with the crowd. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images

The crowd’s reaction was all anyone needed to hear to affirm this ageless racer’s popularity as he ran up and down the track saluting the fans and then was besieged by everyone from Will Power to Mario Andretti. And one of the legends he now sits at the same table with gave him the highest compliment.

“He deserved it — he worked hard to get it and he finally got it,” said A.J. Foyt, the first four-timer back in 1977. “It wasn’t given to him and when someone works as hard as he did, I’m glad it happened for him. As I said, he deserved it.”

Hard to disagree with the King.

 

Loose wheel wrecks Rahal at Indy

A single nut to hold the wheel on.....NASCAR fines $10,000 for a loose lug nut.....
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emailBy Robin Miller | May 30, 2021 4:32 PM ET

Strategy, pace and great fuel mileage — Graham Rahal had all three locked in Sunday afternoon. But the luck it takes to win Indianapolis wasn’t part of that package

Pitting from the lead on Lap 116, Rahal was accelerating out of the pit lane in Turn 2 when his left-rear wheel came off and sent him into the wall and out of his best chance ever for victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“We were in the perfect spot — we had them today,” said Rahal after his ride to the infield hospital. “We were right where we needed to be.”

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Starting 18th in the United Rentals Honda, the 32-year-old veteran made great mileage early and leap-frogged his way into the top 10 when the first caution waved on Lap 34 for Stefan Wilson’s accident in the pits. Scott Dixon and Alexander Rossi were forced to make emergency stops as they ran out of fuel and that effectively ruined their races but Rahal pounced on the opportunity and pitted under yellow and moved from 17th to ninth.

Rahal’s mileage was untouchable as he went longer than anyone all day and his speed improved with his positioning. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 79 and that put him in the front scrum to stay.


“Our strategy got us right where we needed to be and I was fuel saving and we were just cruising,” he lamented.

It was going to get real interesting at the end because Rahal would have undoubtedly stopped last and not needed much fuel to race for the checker.

“I’m sorry for our team and my sponsors we didn’t win this thing — because we should have,” he said. “We had ’em today.”

 

Sato fuel mileage gamble comes up short

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emailBy Joey Barnes | May 30, 2021 6:12 PM ET

Takuma Sato fell six laps shy of a shot at becoming a back-to-back and three-time champion of the Indianapolis 500.

The 44-year-old from Tokyo, Japan delivered a methodical drive after starting 15th. His No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda was consistent with pace and was a player in the top-10 throughout. Things were so good, in fact, that Sato continually extended the fuel mileage to the point that the team began to look at the possibilities of finishing the race with one less pit stop than their competition.

During the pit sequence that saw the rest of the front-runners make their fourth pit stop between Laps 148-150, Sato rotated to the lead and waited to come down pit lane until Lap 157. With 43 laps remaining, the message of trying to make it to the end was clear and he began to back up his lap times, running an average lap speed in the 208-212mph range instead of 220-225mph.

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While others opted to short pit just 20-25 laps into their final stint, Sato remained on track and pounded laps around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finding and following the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist, who inherited the lead on a similar strategy. However, Rosenqvist wasn’t able to stay out front and dove to the pits for a splash of fuel with seven laps to go.

Sato’s team continued to preach “save” over the radio in hopes of a chance, but moments later brought him in for a quick service of fuel. In the end, he was left with a deflating 14th-place finish.

“Well, before I committed to a strategy, I said, ‘Impossible’ twice,” said Sato, who sits 11th in the championship leaving Indy. “Not only for losing the shadow, which is losing the pack, and then you’re not going to be able to achieve the fuel number you needed. And I mentioned that it’s sort of the range of five times. I said, ‘Impossible’ twice, but equally, I cannot ignore the team’s decision. We’re a team player and were betting for the strategy.

“The team wanted me to run in a certain fuel number, which I tried to achieve (but) coming down to only 200mph, still was not possible. So once you lose the shadow and the momentum, I needed someone. At the end of the day, we committed to follow someone (Rosenqvist) clocking the same speed. At that point, we were using too much fuel and that’s how we shortened six laps to go.”

In some ways, Sato needed a similar outcome to what happened last year, when the caution came out with four laps to go while he was leading, helping him coast to the checkered flag. Instead, he was left watching Helio Castroneves capture his fourth Indy 500 victory.

“I think only if we had a caution we would have pulled a completely different result,” he added. “My point is that we relied on something like a caution, which was just disappointing. But, things happen. Huge congratulations for Helio. It’s big-time for a four-time winner. I fully respect him.”

 

O’Ward loses third by risking it all at Indy

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emailBy Chris Medland | May 30, 2021 5:11 PM ET

Pato O’Ward said he lost third place at the Indianapolis 500 because he risked everything trying to catch Helio Castroneves and Alex Palou despite not having a fast enough car.

Castroneves and Palou were trading the lead for a number of laps in the closing stages, with O’Ward sitting strongly in third place watching it all play out after all three had run the same strategy. But when it was time to let it all hang out after the last stops with less than 30 to go, the Arrow McLaren SP driver says he found that his Chevrolet-powered car was slightly lacking compared to the Hondas ahead.

“Man, we just didn’t have the speed,” O’Ward told RACER. “I was really, really pushing in the end to try and get into striking distance but Helio and Alex were just too fast. The Honda-powered cars have been very strong — as they were last year — and we have work to do. We need to do better.

“Right when they let us loose and they gave us full power, I knew they had full power as well and I just didn’t have enough against them.

“Simon (Pagenaud) got us on that last lap; I had a massive moment because I was trying to do everything I could to try and get that little bit of extra speed to try and get a run on one or the other.

“It is what it is — the only thing that matters here in Indy is winning, so we’re a little bummed but we should be proud of what we accomplished today. We ran a really good race, we were fighting towards the front the whole way, we just didn’t have enough to get by them.”

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McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown was there to see it all unfold and congratulated O’Ward as soon as he climbed of the No. 5 car, but admits it’s tough to miss out after feeling in the mix right up to the final lap, as Juan Pablo Montoya finished ninth and Felix Rosenqvist’s gamble on a late yellow failed.

“Disappointed, because I think Pato had a car to win,” Brown said. “I think we just lacked a little bit of juice there in the final stint. He drove great, the team did a great job in the pits all day, fourth is a great result. Bummer to lose third on the last lap.

“Juan did a great job — he did what he would say he would do. Maybe didn’t feature too much on TV but a P9 is a strong finish, and Felix had his pit speed violation, which he never seemed to quite recover from and then a stall at the end, so a disappointing day there.

“I would say overall a strong race, just a bit disappointing when you think you maybe had a chance at winning.”

Fourth marks McLaren’s best result at the Indy 500 since partnering with Schmidt Peterson, and Brown is encouraged by how competitive the team is both at the Brickyard and in the title race.

“I think by the time we rest and look back on it and you said coming into the weekend would you be happy with that type of result, I think we would have been thrilled. So all the more reason we want to come back next year and try it again.

“Today was a good points day for Pato — that puts him second or third so from that standpoint a very strong day.”

Arrow McLaren SP, Indy 500, Pato O'Ward, IndyCar

 

Pagenaud finds the silver lining after late charge to third

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emailBy Joey Barnes | May 30, 2021 7:04 PM ET

If the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 were just a handful of laps longer, it may very well have played into the hands of Simon Pagenaud.

Despite starting 26th, the 2019 Indy 500 winner came on strong late in the No. 22 Team Penske Chevrolet to finish third, behind race winner and the newest member of the four-timers club Helio Castoneves, and runner-up Alex Palou.

“I was hoping,” said Pagenaud, of catching the front two drivers. “I was really hoping. The big thing for us is obviously we got caught up in the first yellow (on Lap 34). We hadn’t pitted, so we had to take an emergency pit stop after (on Lap 36). From there, we got sent back to the back of the field because of the emergency pit stop. We had 156 laps to come back to the front.”

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Which the 37-year-old Frenchman was able to do as he climbed into the top-10 by Lap 125. From there, it became a track position game with critically timed pit stops and fast in and out laps to jump ahead of the competition. Additionally, he made a race-high 26 on-track passes for position.

“What a shame,” Pagenaud sighed. “I really think we had the race car to get it done today. Certainly Chevy did an amazing job with the engine power and the race was amazing. Handling was phenomenal all day. We managed to really adjust the car through the beginning of the race. At the end I was pedal to the metal. I didn’t care. Just wanted to get to these guys and have some fun with them. I could see Helio was playing a very smart game. Obviously he knows how to win the race. Alex was trying his best to hold him off. Helio was just biding his time.

“Because of that the draft was difficult in fourth place. It was difficult to get through Pato (O’Ward). We did on the last lap. I thought I may have had a shot in Turn 4, but Helio was too fast.

“Congrats to him. He’s writing a huge page of the 500-mile history here. Finally a guy of our generation is going in the ‘four’ club. That’s very special. He’s a great friend. He just gave me 10 more years in my career to go catch him. Thank you, Helio!”

When Castroneves and Palou began battling for the lead once Takuma Sato, pitted from the lead on Lap 194, it set up a chain reaction that allowed Pagenaud to get the jump on O’Ward. Even though Palou was able to get the lead on Lap 196, Pagenaud had a front row seat to Castroneves’ winning pass on the penultimate lap.

“Alex was showing his game too early,” said Pagenaud. “No disrespect to him at all. He did an amazing job, great race. Obviously he’s young, learning the draft and all that. It’s not easy on an oval of this size.

“I could see what Alex was doing. He was trying to find ways to keep Helio behind, but there were too many laps to go. Helio was just waiting in the back, keeping Pato behind, judging the timing. He knew exactly where he could get him, when he could get him. All of a sudden you saw him, he jumped at his throat like a tiger. That’s when the attack started. …. I knew it was coming.

“I was waiting for Helio to do that because he disrupted the rhythm of the pack in front of me. That’s what helped me get Pato and maybe I could have gotten Palou quicker. It was very interesting to watch. Certainly there’s a lot to learn from that battle.”

While a second Indy 500 victory escaped Pagenaud, the double points value has him settled at fourth in the championship, just 47 points behind leader Palou.

“It’s a silver lining,” Pagenaud added. “I’m going to be honest, it hurts. All I’m thinking about is the 500-mile race I just lost. Like I said, no disrespect to Helio. I’m super happy for him and he deserved it, but I do believe I had the chance.

“I need to just mourn my loss tonight and get back into the championship rhythm. It’s obviously great to be fourth, I think that’s what I heard. That’s definitely going to help me going forward.

“We’ve got some great things for Detroit coming up. We know we have a strong car for the street course. Excited about that. But Indy to me is the one-off. I don’t really put it in the championship.”

 

Domino effect from Wilson pit incident spoils Dixon’s Indy chances

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emailBy Chris Medland | May 30, 2021 4:54 PM ET

Scott Dixon has started on the pole four times in the Indianapolis 500, and the first time he won. But after finishing fourth the next time he led the field to green, he then had the massive 2017 crash 53 laps after his third start from the front. Today’s hopes didn’t even last that long, as Dixon was forced to pit from the lead for emergency service in a closed pit and went a lap down.

Chip Ganassi Racing was confident in its speed but knew it didn’t have the performance to drive away from what had been the fastest field in the race’s history. So Dixon made his intentions known instantly as he let Rinus VeeKay and Colton Herta scrap for the lead, and settled into third place.

The approach was a simple one: Leading the race meant stint lengths of around 31 laps, but sitting further back in the queue could allow Ganassi to stretch that to more like 36 and do it on one less stop.

We saw how that panned out when VeeKay was one of the first to pit, but then came the yellow for Stefan Wilson’s pit lane crash and Dixon’s day started unravelling. He ran out of fuel, then couldn’t get the car started again when in the closed pit lane, and feels IndyCar’s rules around such a situation need revisiting.


“I knew it was coming,” Dixon told RACER. “I had that last year in Road America where we ran the car out — they just take a long time to prime the engine, so it’s frustrating. You try to get to the pits as quick as possible but I think IndyCar need to be more cognizant of how they can ruin people’s days doing what they do in closing the pits in those scenarios.

“At least if they kept it open, we could go to the back of the line or something like that. Maybe we should have taken the penalty earlier and pitted that first lap on the first lap.”

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After Helio Castroneves became the joint most successful driver in Indy 500 history, Dixon crossed the line in 17th and was left to wonder how he has just one win to his name.

“It’s tough to swallow — when it’s the first pit sequence it’s very frustrating,” he admitted. “But at that point you can’t do anything about it, man. As soon as the yellow came, I knew we were in trouble.”

Up to that point, the New Zealander was comfortable. There had been no surprises, and he insists he didn’t mind that Ganassi ran so long with all four of its cars, with only Alex Palou escaping the emergency service in a closed pit penalty by stopping after the pits reopened and ending up P2.

“It was unlucky in the fact that the caution fell when it did, but maybe we should have managed it a little bit better,” he admitted. “We were just kind of cruising, trying to figure out how long the other manufacturer’s going to go and seeing what we could do mixture-wise for later in the race. Then that was it.

“The car was pretty comfortable — who knows what could have happened later; but it’s cool to see Helio get his fourth. That’s pretty special.”

 

Wheel that ‘fell out of the sky’ slows Daly’s Indy charge

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emailBy Chris Medland | May 30, 2021 6:00 PM ET

Having not led a single lap before, Conor Daly led the most laps of this year’s Indianapolis 500 but had his race hopes ended after Graham Rahal’s left-rear wheel broke loose — something he literally couldn’t see coming.

Daly hit the front for the first time on Lap 50 and was there again as the race reached halfway, but on Lap 119 Rahal — who had just pit from the lead — crashed exiting the pits after his left rear detached. Daly was comfortably away from the wreck on the inside of Turn 2 but his Ed Carpenter Racing No. 47 car struck the wheel as it bounced right in front of him.


“Honestly, I have no idea what happened!” Daly told RACER. “I thought we were avoiding everything and he was up top, but the way the aeroscreen is we have that visor strip, so I didn’t see the tire at all. I never saw it, and then it was like it fell out of the sky right in front of me. I was like ‘W,here did that come from?’ I had no idea!

“I have no other way to explain it — it literally just fell on top of me and I was like, ‘Oh, OK!’ We have a very small range of vision. We think we can see a lot but realistically if there’s stuff like coming down at us you can’t really see it.

“It just slammed the nose and I noticed there’s a chunk out of the sidepod too, so I don’t know what else happened. Our car’s in bits!

“It really is going to eat at me — I don’t know when that stops. I feel like we come out here, we execute, we do a good job, we’re having a great race, the car is good and a tire falls out of the sky. I’m like, ‘How does that even happen?’”

The tip of Daly’s nose was nearly broken off due to the impact and the damage meant from that point on he didn’t have the car to remain with the leaders, slipping back to finish 13th.

“We peeled so much rear wing out of it we should have been qualifying. The front lost so much grip, 2% COP — and that’s what made us so good, I think, in traffic was the use of the front wing, so it was just really hard from then on, man. I was working my tools like crazy, hanging on to it. Five laps to go I was nearly spinning the thing in Turn 2 — I at least wanted to savor a top-10 but you’ve got to be perfect and we just didn’t have everything go our way.

“But it was awesome. The car was so good and I think we showed what we really deserve to do is to be up at the front. I knew this car could do that. Oh well.

“Definitely one of the coolest experiences of my life and the fact that we didn’t just lead one, we led a lot.”


Daly led 40 laps in all — five more than Alex Palou who finished second — but says he will take the positives out of a strong run and seeing Helio Castroneves win a fourth 500, even running out on to the track to embrace the Brazilian.

“All I know is that this team is preparing incredible cars and we are fast — we’re constantly up front, at least qualifying at Barber, Indy GP; we’re in a good spot with this team now. We’ve just got to keep on pushing.

“You gotta be happy for Helio, what a cool deal. Even just to race with him out there too is awesome. Such a legend and such a champion — such a well-respected champion.”

 

Castroneves joins list of four-time winners with thrilling Indy 500 triumph

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | May 30, 2021 3:46 PM ET

Helio Castroneves capped a thriller in the closing laps of the Indianapolis 500 to become the newest member of the four-time winner’s club in his first drive for Meyer Shank Racing.

It was a duel to the end with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou coming up just 0.4928s short at the checkered flag as Honda-powered drivers completed a 1-2 finish ahead of Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud. Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward was fourth and Ed Carpenter followed as Chevrolet completed the top five.

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The driver nicknamed “Spiderman” stopped just after the yard of bricks and leapt from the No. 06 Sirius/XM Honda to climb the fence for the first time since 2009. Rather than move toward the podium, the Brazilian started a new tradition by running backwards up the track, cheering with fans and hugging MSR crew members and former Team Penske teammate Will Power and MSR teammate Jack Harvey along the way.
A breakthrough moment at Indy for Shank (far right) amid the four-finger salutes for Castroneves. Motorsport Images

Before he ran off, team owner Michael Shank joined Castroneves by climbing the fence, and moments later, team co-owner Jim Meyer gave the 46-year-old a massive hug. Castroneves, welcome to the exclusive club with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears.

“I can’t thank the entire organization [enough],” said the 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021 Indy 500 winner. “Power by Honda — I needed it most and they were right there. I love Indianapolis. The fans, they give me energy. This is absolutely incredible.”

Castroneves drove for Wayne Taylor Racing in January at IMSA’s Rolex 24 At Daytona, winning overall in the No. 10 Acura ARX-05 DPi. He’s perfect so far in 2021.

“I knew I had to fight, put the elbows out,” Castroneves added. “Man, I only did two races this year and I won two. You think I still got it? It’s not the end of it. It’s the beginning. The old guys are still kicking the young guy’s butts.”

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Palou looked strong while leading past the start/finish line to start Lap 199, but Castroneves shot past entering Turn 1, and with a big line of slower cars ahead, traffic had the potential to ruin the MSR driver’s run, but he was not significantly slowed as the field tore around the oval to start the final lap.


Palou closed slightly into Turn 1, but Castroneves got a great run out of the corner and again leaving Turn 2, and with a few car lengths in hand, the motored around Turns 3 and 4 to reach the checkered flag without the Spaniard in tow. Despite losing to one of the Indy 500’s all-time greats, Palou showed his team and the 135,000 fans in attendance that he’s something special at the Speedway.

“Oh man, it hurts,” he said. “It’s the Indy 500. I cannot be angry about finishing second. And man, Honda gave us a lot of speed. Super proud of finishing second. It hurts, but it hurts less being beaten by the best in the business.”

O’Ward held third as Castroneves and Palou were locked in their fight for the win, and after trying to make a great run to catch the leaders, a slight loss of speed allowed Pagenaud, the 2019 Indy 500 winner, to take third.

“He’s a great friend and writing a great page of history in Indianapolis,” the Frenchman said after finishing 0.5626s arrears to his former teammate. “Very happy for him, but very disappointed for myself. I think one more lap, I could get Helio.”

O’Ward did big things for his AMSP team, which was slightly off the pace all month at Indy.

“I really think we did a perfect race,” said the Mexican who won the second Texas race just prior to the 500, and came home 0.9409s behind Castroneves. “I don’t think we could have done anything better. We just needed to be faster. I would have loved to get this win for everybody, but we didn’t have enough speed.”

 

Castroneves joins list of four-time winners with thrilling Indy 500 triumph

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | May 30, 2021 3:46 PM ET

Carpenter had a few challenges on the way to finishing fifth, with an early stall on pit lane and shifting issues, but he persevered and recovered to finish 1.2424s behind the winner. His team, led by Rinus VeeKay and Conor Daly, ran up front for 72 laps on Sunday, but both faded with VeeKay taking eighth and Daly 13th.

“We were pretty fortunate to get up into the top five,” Carpenter said of the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy. “I stalled it. Fought hard, kept my head in the game. The guys were great in the pits. At least we were able to fight our way back in it. A lot of things to be happy about. Not a bad day.”

After Carpenter, the top 10 was rounded out with Santino Ferrucci maintaining his incredible Indy 500 finishing record, taking sixth with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing — adding to his seventh and fourth places — in the No. 45 Honda. The driver with the longest haul was Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Sage Karam, who raced from 31st to seventh in the No. 24 Chevy.
Spectacular early on, VeeKay faded to eighth in the closing stages. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images

VeeKay was eighth in the No. 21 Chevy, AMSP’s Juan Pablo Montoya was ninth in the No. 86 Chevy, and Ganassi’s Tony Kanaan, who started fifth and fell towards the back after the first pit stop sequence, charged back to 10th in the No. 48 Honda.

Outside of Pagenaud, best of the rest among Penske drivers was Josef Newgarden, who tried an alternate pit strategy that helped him to improve from 21st to 12th.

As high as the highlights were for the finishers up front, the bottom half of the field was littered with dashed hopes and big disappointments.

Chip Ganassi Racing went from the strongest overall team heading into the first round of pit stops to the biggest losers as the team’s plan to run long was dashed when Stefan Wilson crashed entering pit lane. With no response from his brakes, the Andretti Autosport driver pumped his brake pedal and when they caught, his car slewed sideways and hit the right-side wall. The timing of the ensuing caution was everything race leader Scott Dixon and fellow CGR top-10 runners Kanaan and Marcus Ericsson didn’t need.


"Sorry, pal. Gas station's closed!" signed, Indy 500 officials.
Go shove it while you lose laps!

Forced to make emergency pit stops, Dixon suffered most as he coasted into the pit stall with his motor silenced by an empty tank. He’d sit and lose an immense amount of time as the car refused to fire, and by the time it did, and he returned when the pits were open to receive full service, a lap was lost. His other teammates, barring Palou, would go through the same emergency procedure and tumble to the rear.

Palou, by chance, was able to circulate under the caution and make a normal stop that kept him in contention all day, but for the former points leader, leaving Indy with the pole and a finish of 17th as Palou claimed the championship lead was well shy of expectations. Ericsson, like Kanaan in 10th, never gave up and got back to 11th by the finish.

“It was just unlucky with that yellow,” Dixon said. “Unfortunate day for us. It hurt a few of us from the team. Tried to go longer on that first stop and it hurt us.”

Ahead of Dixon, Colton Herta spent most of the afternoon in the mix up front, but fell back over the last two pit stops to an unrepresentative 16th. Remarkably, it was the best result among the six-car squad. Teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay was another strong presence for Andretti, but the no-brakes-then-full-brakes snake bit him as he blew past the point where he needed to be at the pit lane speed limit; a penalty for speeding dropped the 2014 Indy winner from a top five to 22nd. And the misery for Andretti Autosport wasn’t over.

Hunter-Reay’s teammate Alexander Rossi went through the same out-of-fuel anguish as Dixon, and the two spent a lot of the race running in tandem at the rear of the field. Dixon’s choice to go into hyper fuel-saving mode to eliminate a pit stop is what helped the No. 9 Honda to take 17th; without a similar tactic for Rossi’s No. 27 Honda, he was left two laps down in 29th.

Penske’s Will Power made great inroads from starting in 32nd, but like Wilson, going from no brakes to locked brakes in an instant on pit lane caused his car to spin, and while he didn’t hit anything, his day was ruined on the way to placing 30th. Penske will kick Power's butt for that one!

Paretta Autosport’s Simona de Silvestro didn’t have a ton of speed to offer, but she kept digging until the same absence and rapid appearance of braking spun her car into the inside pit wall, damaging the rear suspension and relegating her to 31st.

Graham Rahal went from leading to crashing after his crew sent the No. 15 RLL Honda from the pit stall without the left-rear wheel held in place with a nut. He was uninjured and credited with 32nd. And behind them, Wilson had the unfortunate distinction of being first out in 33rd. No nuts? You are out, Buddy!

There wasn’t a lot of action of interest until the important laps arrived, as drivers focused on saving fuel for most of their stints. In-car footage confirmed that passing attempts were indeed possible for most of the race, but big lifts to improve fuel mileage on a day that only had two cautions is what kept a flurry of passing from taking place.

Nonetheless, it’s the finish that we’ll remember, and what an amazing finish is was with the second-oldest driver in the field of 33 schooling two of the youngest race winners in the series with Palou and O’Ward in that final blast to the checkered flag. And then there was Pagenaud, quiet all month until it mattered with a late pass to demote O’Ward.

And Carpenter, representing for his team, and Castroneves’ old crew chief Matt Swan from 1999 coming back to lead him to victory at the 500. And Shank, who loves nothing more than drinking Busch Lites with fans, knocking back a can on national television during the post-race interviews.

The magic, of Indy, with all the pageantry and surprises, in front of 135,000 fans at Roger Penske’s facility, closing with the happiest driver in the world receiving the one thing he waited 12 years to achieve by earning his fourth spot on the BorgWarner trophy.

It was a Penske-perfect day, with a upset win by a former Penske driver. How incredible.
But professional racer Roger Penske only uses you as long as he has to.
So bite the big one, Roger! Your best just wasn't good enough!

 

Castroneves joins list of four-time winners with thrilling Indy 500 triumph

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | May 30, 2021 3:46 PM ET

AS IT HAPPENED

Will Power’s race went off without a spark as his No. 12 Chevy failed to start and leave the grid with the rest of the cars. He rejoined at the back of the field without issue after the car decided to fire.

Cool temperatures in the low 60s meant the cars would make ample downforce in the thicker air, and with 135,000 fans watching, the field of 33 rocketed into Turn 1 with Dixon leading Herta into Turn 1, and by Turn 3, Herta took the lead as VeeKay remained in P3. VeeKay took P2 from Dixon on Lap 2 entering Turn 3 and went after Herta, taking the lead into Turn 1 on Lap 3.

Power was charging, up to P25 from a P32 start on Lap 4.

By Lap 8, VeeKay held 0.4s on Herta and 0.9s on Dixon.

Lap 10 had a top 10 of VeeKay, Herta, Dixon, Carpenter, Kanaan, Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Palou, Ericsson, and Rossi, 3.8s behind the Dutchman.

At the back of the field Wilson was P28 followed by Bourdais, Karam, de Silvestro, Kellett, and Chilton in P33. By Lap 12, Harvey was in P15 after starting P20.

Lap 20 had a top 10 of VeeKay, Herta, Dixon, Carpenter, a change with Castroneves taking P5 from Kanaan, Hunter-Reay, Palou, Ericsson, and Rossi, 4.0s behind the Dutchman. Simon Pagenaud demoted teammate Power from P25 to P26.* On Lap 22, Hunter-Reay took P6 from Kanaan. Herta is doing an excellent job of staying close and drafting off of VeeKay. Dixon hovers between 0.4-0.9s back, doing the same.

Lap 30 had a top 10 of VeeKay, Herta, Dixon, Carpenter, Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Kanaan, Palou, Ericsson, and Rossi, 4.7s behind the Dutchman. VeeKay was first to pit at the end of Lap 31, locking up a tire while slowing his car at the top of the lane. Carpenter was in on the next lap, the two leading Chevys, along with Hunter-Reay and Ed Jones.

By Lap 33, the majority of the field had pitted as Carpenter stalled and lost crucial time. Dixon stayed out as the caution came out for the first accident as Stefan Wilson went too fast into the pit lane, locked up and speared into the right pit wall, breaking the right-front suspension.

Dixon pitted from the lead on Lap 37 as he ran out of fuel and Castroneves inherited the lead while still needing to make his first stop. Dixon’s car refused to fire, losing a lap as it eventually started. Rossi also required an emergency stop, and dealt with the same failure to fire and delay. Once fired, Rossi nearly spun leaving his pit stall. Dixon pitted the next lap for full service and Rossi would do the same.

Lap 40 had Herta, VeeKay, Daly, Hunter-Reay, Castroneves, Palou, O’Ward, Sato, McLaughlin, and Rahal completing the top 10 under caution. The disaster for Dixon and Rossi was on display with their new homes in P31 and P32, one lap down.

Lap 47 restart sees Castroneves go ham, moving from P5 to P3 to chase VeeKay and Herta. At the back Kanaan was demoted by the series due to taking emergency service, and Hildebrand and Ericsson were there. All by Palou from Ganassi was at the back after being inside the top 10 before Wilson’s crash.

Daly reclaimed P3 from Castroneves and on Lap 50, took P2 from Herta. He took P1 from teammate VeeKay into Turn 3 on Lap 50 as well.

Lap 50 closed with a top 10 of Daly, VeeKay, Herta, Castroneves, Palou, Sato, O’Ward, Hunter-Reay, McLaughlin, and Rahal, 3.2s behind Daly.

Castroneves took P3 from Herta on Lap 55. O’Ward did the same to a weaving Sato on Lap 58, moving into P6.

Lap 60 had a top 10 of Daly, VeeKay, Castroneves, Herta, Palou, O’Ward, Sato, O’Ward, Hunter-Reay, McLaughlin, and Rahal, 3.1s behind Daly. Rossi was P31 and Dixon P32, still one lap down. Lap speeds hovered in the 217-218mph range as not much was happening in the middle of the stint.

Lap 60 had a top 10 of Daly, VeeKay, Castroneves, Herta, Palou, O’Ward, Sato, O’Ward, Hunter-Reay, McLaughlin, and Rahal, 3.1s behind Daly. Rossi was P31 and Dixon P32, still one lap down.

Castroneves improved to P2 on Lap 69 as VeeKay pitted for fuel.

Lap 70 had a top 10 of Daly, Castroneves, Herta, Palou, O’Ward, Sato, O’Ward, Hunter-Reay, McLaughlin, Rahal, and Newgarden 3.7s behind Daly. Rossi were still in P31 and Dixon P32.

Daly pitted from the lead at the end of Lap 71 as Castroneves, Herta, and the train behind kept motoring. Lap 76 started a big wave of pit stops for those behind the leaders. Lap 77 had Herta take the lead from Castroneves as they headed to pit lane. Castroneves’ stop was a little bit slower than Herta’s, which played out when they got back to racing and were separated by four cars.

Lap 80 had a top 10 of Rahal, Sato, Ericsson, Kanaan, Hildebrand, O’Ward, Rosenqvist, Montoya, VeeKay, and Daly as pit stops continued. Rahal pitted from the lead at the end of Lap 81. Rosenqvist’s tough season continued with the announcement of a penalty for speeding on pit lane.

Lap 83 had O’Ward taking P3 from Herta. Sato too P8 from teammate Rahal on Lap 86.

Lap 90 featured a top 10 of Daly, VeeKay, O’Ward, Herta, Hunter-Reay, Palou, Castroneves, Sato, Rahal, and Newgarden, 3.0s behind Daly.

Lap 91 saw Hunter-Reay pass teammate Herta for P4.

The halfway point, Lap 100, featured a top 10 of Daly, VeeKay, O’Ward, Hunter-Reay, Herta, Palou, Castroneves, Sato, Rahal, and Newgarden, 2.9s behind Daly. Newgarden pitted on Lap 101, promoting McLaughlin to P10.

VeeKay took the lead from Daly in Turn 3 on Lap 103 as the two pitted. A slow stop for Daly with the left-rear meant VeeKay pitted with a one-car length advantage and return to the track with 20-plus. More green stops continued as leader O’Ward put Daly a lap down.

Lap 110 had a top 10 of O’Ward, Hunter-Reay, Palou, Castroneves, Rahal, Sato, McLaughlin, Jones, Karam, and Montoya, 6.2s behind O’Ward. Lap 116 saw McLaughlin return to pit lane to perform a drive-through penalty for speeding.

Leading into pit lane, Rahal stops and the car was sent before the left-rear tire was attached. He then crashed coming out of the pits in Turn 2, spinning in front of the leaders.

Palou, Castroneves, O’Ward, VeeKay, Newgarden, Hunter-Reay, Sato, Herta, Daly, Harvey were then the top 10. Rahal’s errant tire clocked Daly’s car in the nose, but Daly’s machine appeared to be mostly unscathed.

By staying out as other pitted, Dixon was able to get his lap back and improved to P26. Rossi wasn’t as fortunate, stuck one lap arrears in P31.

Palou led the field to green on Lap 126 but Castroneves took P1 entering Turn 1. O’Ward was next, pushing Palou to P3. Lap 127 saw O’Ward take the lead in Turn 3. Palou returned the favor on Palou into Turn 1 on Lap 130.

Lap 130 had a top 10 of O’Ward, Palou, Castroneves, VeeKay, Newgarden, Hunter-Reay, Herta, Pagenaud, Sato, Daly, and Harvey.

Palou was on the move again, claiming P1 from O’Ward on Lap 131 into Turn 3. Castroneves took P2 from O’Ward the following lap. An off-strategy Newgarden pitted on Lap 137.

Lap 140 had a top 10 of Palou, Castroneves, O’Ward, VeeKay, Hunter-Reay, Herta, Pagenaud, Sato, Daly, and Harvey, 4.6s behind Palou. Daly dove in for service on Lap 141. A slow right-rear tire change impeded an immediate exit. VeeKay pitted on Lap 144. Dixon had risen to P22. Hunter-Reay and Herta pitted next. Pit stops continued as Lap 150 approached. The Ganassi team called Palou in from the lead after being slowed by Newgarden.