The 109th Indy 500 – drama from (pre) start to (post) finish

The Indy 500 is over for another year and for the first time I can remember, it was rooted in controversy and drama…much of it before and after the race itself!

I have to say firstly a huge congratulations to Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou is a true Indycar great and his dominance this season has even extended to his first 500 win. What a moment and what a run he is on. It’s crazy to think it was his first win on any oval. His move on Marcus Ericsson with 14 laps to go proved to the winning move, as ‘slower’ traffic in front meant overtaking was practically impossible for the leading cars.

Sadly though, the race will probably be remembered for many other things that happened that were either gut-wrenching to see or controversial.

Let’s start with qualifying. Everything seemed quite normal...apart from a fantastic rookie driver and team on pole... until a modification made to the rear attenuator was noticed on two of the Penske cars. This forced Will Power and Josef Newgarden to effectively be disqualified from the ‘Fast 12’ qualifying, before ultimately ending up at the back of the field, with Penske announcing several key personnel departures following this.

It called into question the integrity of one of the sports most legendary teams, and with Penske owning the Indianapolis Motor Speedway too, it was a huge talking point. From what I saw on social media, there were strong feelings amongst fans and commentators alike, including that Penske shouldn’t be allowed to race, with Jacob Abel taking the final slot after he was ‘bumped’ of the grid in qualifying. Ultimately, Abel didn’t appear and the Penske cars were in the race.

Come race day, the weather was unsettled, and rain caused a delayed start, with cold track temperatures. It instantly reminded me of conditions leading up to the 1992 race. Then when Scott McLaughlin crashed on the formation lap, the 1992 vibes happened again – where polesitter Roberto Guerrero also spun and DNF’d before the green flag. Anyone who has watched the 1992 race will know what a horror show it was after that with numerous injuries from crashes throughout the race. Luckily, we didn’t get that this time despite a few shunts, a testament to the safety developments throughout the years.

The race had six cautions and seven cars ended up out before halfway due to accidents or mechanical failures. The polesitter ran into his pit crew. There was a spin in the pits (Veekay). There was fire (Rossi). It seemed almost everyone led at some point. It’s a long time since we saw this much action. Even Marco Andretti, in his 20th Indy 500 start, didn’t make a lap after contact forced him into the wall.

Whilst the on-track action in terms of overtaking was limited – which has been common over the last few years in the race due to the difficult aerodynamics of the current cars – it was certainly an exciting race, apart from lacking a grandstand finish which everyone wanted. Apart from Palou maybe!

As Palou, his team and family celebrated, the dust had just started to settle and…bang…another controversy!

Following post-race inspections, Marcus Ericsson, who originally finished second, was demoted to 31st place due to illegal modifications on the Energy Management System cover of his car. His teammate, Kyle Kirkwood, and British driver Callum Ilott faced similar penalties, dropping them to 32nd and 33rd places, respectively.

These infractions led to the forfeiture of prize money and championship points for the drivers, and the team directors received one-race suspensions and $100,000 fines. As a result, David Malukas was elevated to second place, with Pato O'Ward moving to third. I assume appeals may be launched if they can be, but either way, this was a huge development.

In my view, it calls into question the legitimacy of the technical inspection. David Land, respected YouTube social commentator, called for an independent body to be developed to prevent these mistakes from happening again and I for one totally agree. It’s also ridiculous that it took over a day for the ‘disqualification’ to be confirmed. It’s embarrassing for Indycar and it needs to be sorted.

I love Indycar – it offers the best top line motorsport action anywhere on the planet in my opinion. But changes are needed – and they are vital too. I’ll post another blog with my thoughts on this in the coming weeks.

Ultimately, I can’t wait for the 110th running next May. Who knows, I may finally be there (hopefully). I just hope there is less technical dramas and it’s more about duels on the track.

Image credit: Taylor Wilkerson

Author: Jon