A red flag halted the race with five laps remaining in 2022, where Ericsson held off Pato O’Ward to the checkered flag. This time, Newgarden needed three red flags and a dramatic final lap sprint to deny Ericsson a second-consecutive Borg Warner Trophy.
Ericsson felt slighted in the immediate aftermath of the race, much like Lewis Hamilton did at the end of the 2021 Formula One season finale at Abu Dhabi, which gave Max Verstappen the victory and season championship with a final lap pass.
Pole sitter Alex Palou remained in the top five for most of the first half of the race, until Renus Veekay made contact exiting the pits on lap 94. Palau, who was in the first pit stall, was put into the wall exiting pit lane as Veekay spun the tires on exit, spinning completely around. Palou exited in 28th place, finishing fourth. Veekay finished 10th. If anyone had an argument about being slighted, it was Palou, who led 36 laps, second to only O’Ward. Veekay was given a drive-thru penalty.
Speaking of O’Ward, his chance to win his first Indy 500 came to an abrupt end on lap 192, after making contact with Ericsson. O’Ward was leading the race when going back to green, but race officials called off the restart, stating the pace being set back to the starting line was too slow.
His crash was one of three in the final 16 laps, pushing the race to just shy of three hours (2:58). The most frightening incident took place on lap 185, when Kyle Kirkwood and Felix Rosenquist made contact in turn 2. Kirkwood ended up upside-down, with his car at a 45-degree angle against the SAFER barrier. His left rear tire had snapped off the frame, and was launched over the safety fence by the grandstands. The tire thankfully found an opening between sections of the bleachers, landing on the hood of a car in the parking lot.
In all the years I have been watching Indycar racing, I have never seen anything other than random debris vault into the crowd. For an entire wheel, rim and all, to carry this level of trajectory only makes me shudder to think what could have happened if this was down the straightaway, instead of in the corner of the track.
The Nashville native, Newgarden, 32, had never finished better than fourth at Indianapolis (2019). In his 12th try at the greatest racetrack in the world, Newgarden gave team owner Roger Penske his record 19th Indy 500 victory. Penske, who purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in November 2019, said he wants to have 20 before he retires.
Instead of doing burnouts on the front straightaway, as drivers often do after a victory, Newgarden instead climbed from the cockpit of his #2 Shell Chevrolet, and found an opening in the fence just to the side of the track marshall’s tower, and ran into the grandstands. Newgarden said if he ever won at Indy, he always wanted to celebrate with the fans, having raced cars in Indianapolis in his younger days. Newgarden returned to the track after a couple of minutes amongst the fans to his wife Ashley, then was in victory lane sipping whole milk a few moments later.
Ericsson would have accumulated a $420,000 bonus for winning back-to-back years at the bricks, which is a rollover fund that has not been paid out since Helio Castroneves won in 2001 and 2002. The four-time champion finished 15. Right behind Helio in 16th was 2013 winner Tony Kanaan, who retired from Indycar after the race. I seem to remember watching Kanaan and Castroneves race for years, then realize that both are only three years older than I am (48).
Teams are already preparing for next week’s Detroit Grand Prix, but Newgarden might stay in Indianapolis an extra day or two before making the four hour drive north.
-JC24