Josef Newgarden makes last lap pass to win the 107th Indianapolis 500

The biggest spectacle in racing took place on Sunday afternoon with the 107^th running of the Indianapolis 500. Thirty-three drivers aimed to either win their first 500 or repeat as an Indy 500 winner.

Leading up to the race, Graham Rahal was bumped out of the race in qualifying, however, he replaced Stefan Wilson after he suffered an injury in Monday’s practice crash. In addition, this was also the final Indy 500 and IndyCar race for Tony Kannan as he announced he was retiring from IndyCar full-time.

After the opening ceremonies were complete, it was time to go racing. Right away, Graham Rahal could not start the car and it went to pit road. The team discovered a dead battery and replaced it but Rahal was two laps down.

Early in the race, it was the Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay show. Both drivers took turns to lead laps to save fuel and tires. Together, the two drivers combined to lead 31 laps. Felix Rosenqvist, Will Power, Colton Herta, and Alexander Rossi all took turns leading laps before Palou and VeeKay took back the first two positions.

The first driver out of the race was Katherine Legge. She had gone to pit road on lap 33 with a mechanical issue and slid through several pit boxes trying to stop. Her pit crew was unable to diagnose the condition. After trying to drive the car and several more pit stops to try and fix the issue she was forced to retire on lap 41.

The first half of the race was relevantly clean with lots of passing. However, the first caution came out on lap 92 when Sting Ray Robb went high into marbles at turn one and crashed. Before the crash, Graham Rahal passed him for a position, and during an interview, Robb was not happy with Rahal. He felt Rahal was being too aggressive even though Rahal did make a clean pass.

Pit Road saw the most action. There were two separate incidents. First, Christian Lundgaard went into the wrong pit box and ran over a wheel. Then, Rinus VeeKay got sideways exiting his pit box, and hit Alex Palou, breaking his front wing but VeeKay’s car did not suffer any significant damage. Palou’s team put a new front wing on afterward. VeeKay was issued a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact.

Felix Rosenqvist was the new leader as the race restarted on lap 100. The Arrow McLaren team of Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward were in control of the race’s second half. The two drivers ran first and second until O’Ward pitted on lap 129 and Rosenqvist went on lap 132. Santino Ferrucci, Helio Castroneves, and Marcus Ericsson took turns leading the race. Marcus Ericsson passed Castroneves to take over the lead on lap 137.

Meanwhile, on pit road, more drama unfolded when teammates Colton Herta exited his pit box and hit Romain Grosjean, who was coming to pit road. Herta’s right front tire made contact with Grosjean’s left rear tire.

Herta was issued a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release from pit road. Later, Grosjean got loose at turn two and crashed hard into the wall on lap 150, bringing out the second caution.

Marcus Ericsson was still the leader when the race resumed on lap 156. He lost the lead to Josef Newgarden before getting it back on lap 158 and then losing it to Santino Ferrucci.

In the last 15 laps, there were three major crashes. On lap 185, Felix Rosenqvist got into some dirty air and lost the car before hitting the turn two wall and spun. Shortly after, Kyle Kirkwood hit him, ripping a tire completely off, which flew over the spectators and into a parking lot. Kirkwood’s car went upside down before stopping and he got out under his own power. The first red flag came out shortly after.

Once cleanup was complete, the race resumed on lap 192.  Josef Newgarden got a great start from third to first before Pato O’Ward slammed the wall a lap later. To add insult to injury, Agustin Canapino hit O’Ward. The accident started when Scott McLaughlin hit Simon Pagenaud, who then hit Canapino before he collided with O’Ward. The race was red-flagged again for clean-up before it could be restarted.

Once cleanup was complete, the race resumed on lap 196. However, the restart did not last long as a three-car crash happened in the back of the pack between Ed Carpenter, Graham Rahal, and Benjamin Pederson. Marcus Ericsson had gotten the lead but the race was red-flagged for the third time. Ericsson had to overcome a red flag last year to win the Indy 500. Ericsson was looking to do something that hadn’t been done since Helio Castroneves (2001-02) to win back-to-back Indy 500s.

The race restarted with one lap to go and Josef Newgarden passed Ericsson to win his first Indy 500 after 12 years by .0974 seconds over Marcus Ericsson. Newgarden climbed through the fence to celebrate with the fans.

The rest of the top ten finishers were Santino Ferrucci third, Alex Palou fourth, Alexander Rossi fifth, Scott Dixon sixth, Takuma Sato seventh, Conor Daly eighth, Colton Herta ninth, and Rinus VeeKay tenth. In his final race, Tony Kannan finished in 16^th place.

“I’m so thankful to be here. You have no idea. I started out as a fan in the crowd and this place is amazing regardless of where you’re sitting. It doesn’t matter if you’re driving the car, you’re working on it, or you’re out here in the crowd, you’re a part of this event and the energy,” said Newgarden.

“Everyone just kept asking me why I haven’t won this race,” said Newgarden. “They looked at you like you’re a failure if you don’t win it. I wanted to win it so badly. I knew we could. I knew we were capable. It’s a huge team effort, as everybody knows. I’m so glad to be here.”

“I was just trying to stay locked in,” said Newgarden. “I was emotional the last 10 laps because I knew we were in a position to fight for this win at the end. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I knew it was going to come to some last-lap shootout like it always is these days, which is exciting but stressful for us.”

“It was unfair and dangerous end to the race. I don’t think there was enough laps to do what we did,” said a dejected Marcus Ericsson. “I think we did everything right today. I’m proud of the No. 8 crew and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing. I think I did everything right behind the wheel. I did an awesome last restart. I think I caught Josef completely off guard and got the gap and kept the lead into Turn 1. I just couldn’t hold it on the back. I was flat. I just couldn’t hold it.”

“It’s just tough. We were here all day. I mean all day,” said Santino Ferrucci. “I’m so proud of our A.J. Foyt Racing team. This one stings. It’s bittersweet but I’m happy for third and happy for the team.”

Thoughts: This was an exciting Indy 500 but not without some hiccups. First, I feel bad for Marcus Ericsson. You can hear the frustration in his voice criticizing IndyCar for the red flag with less than five laps to go. It’s understandable and I think he has a case. IndyCar should limit the red flags, especially with under five laps to go. If a crash happens with less than five to go, the race should end under caution.

As for Alexander Rossi’s comments about restarts. He makes a great point. There were a few drivers who got off to crazy jump starts. IndyCar should have the pace car lead them toward the start/finish line before pulling into the pits. Too many drivers did not get the chance to compete and that’s something IndyCar should consider changing and not let the drivers dictate when the race restarts.

The NTT IndyCar Series heads the streets of Detroit, Michigan next Sunday for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at 3 pm on NBC. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series season. Purchase tickets for all IndyCar races today on StubHub and Viagogo.

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