Josef Newgarden has become the first back-to-back winner of the Indianapolis 500 since Helio Castroneves last accomplished the feat 22 years ago in this morning’s 108th edition of the famed event.
The 2024 spectacle came down to a four-car, 30-lap showdown following the final round of stops, with the lead cycling between Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Pato O’Ward, and Alexander Rossi numerous times.
O’Ward hit the front entering the final lap, but Newgarden returned serve at Turn 3 to retake the position to power to victory and join an elite group of just 21 drivers who have won the event more than once.
Newgarden pockets a paycheck estimated to be in excess of $3 million for the win, with a US$440,000 bonus from BorgWarner, the sponsor of the winner’s Borg-Warner Trophy, for his repeat win.
In a race plagued by cautions following a four-hour rain delay, Dixon elected for an alternate strategy and gradually worked his way towards the front from his starting position of 21st.
He led following the final stops but was ultimately unable to match the late pace of Newgarden, O’Ward, and Rossi, who exchanged the lead several times over the final 10 laps.
Dixon settled in fourth as the leaders battled and would sneak through for the final podium spot on the last lap at the expense of Rossi.
Reigning IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou was fifth and extended his points advantage at the top of the 2024 standings as a result, with Dixon climbing to second, 20 points in arrears of his teammate.
Penske’s Will Power, who entered the race in second, was one of 11 non-finishers.
Pole-sitter Scott McLaughlin went on to finish sixth, having led 66 laps of the race despite battling with clutch issues all day.
The 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 featured 49 lead changes amongst 18 drivers, with Newgarden’s advantage at the chequered flag just 0.3417 of a second.
Kiwi Indy 500 rookies Tom Blomqvist and Marcus Armstrong were both non-finishers, the former crashing out on Lap 1 and the latter withdrawing with electrical issues on Lap 6.
NASCAR Cup star Kyle Larson elected to run the Indy 500 over the Coca-Cola 600 following the rain delay and ran deep in the top 10 until a pit lane penalty for speeding derailed his chances.
He would go on to finish 18th before immediately jetting to Charlotte for the remainder of the NASCAR race.
As it happened
McLaughlin led the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 to green and got off to a good start, retaining his position through turns one and two before the yellows came on for an incident at the back of the field.
Blomqvist’s maiden Indy 500 lasted less than one lap, with the Meyer Shank Racing driver touching the curbing at Turn 1 and snapping out into the outside wall.
Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 champion, ran a higher line in the #28 Andretti Global Honda and was collected by a spinning Blomqvist, ending his race.
Pietro Fittipaldi and Callum Illott came together as they reacted to avoid the incident, with the former forced out and only Illott able to continue.
Several drivers elected to stop on Lap 3, behind the Safety Car, to split the strategies.
Indy 500 rookie Marcus Armstrong was the next to withdraw, with an electrical failure derailing his chances during the caution.
McLaughlin led the field to green on the restart and retained his position at the front over the first 20 laps.
An issue for Katherine Legge’s Honda forced her out shortly after the 10 per cent mark, moments before the #3 Penske Chevrolet stopped from the lead on Lap 25.
He rejoined in fifth with Sting Ray Robb hitting the front.
The next caution came when Linus Lundqvist hit the wall on Lap 28, which brought further pit activity.
McLaughlin jumped to the front for the restart, with Conor Daly, Santino Ferrucci, Robb and Christian Lundgard behind.
Dixon continued to make inroads in the mid-field and entered the top ten as the next cycle of stops began to play out.
Felix Rosenqvist was the third Honda-powered entry to suffer a mechanical, which brought out the race’s third caution.
Just 26 cars remained in the 33-car field shortly after the 57-lap mark, with Kiwi hopes resting on the shoulders of McLaughlin and Dixon.
A slower stop for the Penske entry dropped him to fourth for the restart, but a bold move up the inside heading into Turn 1 put him to the front.
Robb would briefly go on to take the position but, having stopped on Lap 4, dropped out of the top 20 when he came in under green flag conditions.
McLaughlin was back in front when the next yellow came on Lap 86 when Colton Herta crashed out from second, spinning exiting Turn 2 and snapping up and making light contact with the outside wall. He would later rejoin the race, albeit 12 laps off the pace.
Rinus Veekay led the field to green ahead of Lundgaard, Robb, Daly and Newgarden, with McLaughlin sixth and Dixon 16th.
Newgarden hit the front ahead of Ferrucci and McLaughlin once those on the alternate strategy stopped on Lap 101, the minimum distance required for classifications to stand should rain become a factor.
McLaughlin got past Ferrucci to take second at Turn 1 on Lap 106, one tour before the next yellow, which came when Ryan Hunter-Reay and Dixon made contact.
Hunter-Reay had a run on the Kiwi down the inside of the back straight in a battle for 15th, with the Chip Ganassi entry drifting left and connecting with the right front of the American’s entry.
Hunter-Reay did a full spin, amazingly preventing his car from drifting higher into the line of the trailing pack. He was immediately able to take to pit road with significant damage to his front wing.
The front three remained out under caution, with Newgarden leading the field to green on Lap 114. McLaughlin would take the lead into Turn 1.
Another incident saw the yellows immediately back on when Marco Andretti spun out from the mid-field and made rear-first contact with the wall.
McLaughlin led the field to green on Lap 119, with Rossi briefly taking second, only for Newgarden to take the position back shortly after before passing the Kiwi for the top spot on Lap 127.
The 2023 Indy 500 winner stopped from the lead on Lap 131, and McLaughlin and several others followed the next tour.
Larson, who had been running well deep inside the top ten, entered pit lane too hot and received a pass-through penalty.
O’Ward was the last of the primary strategy stoppers on Lap 137. Dixon hit the front as McLaughlin, Newgarden, Rossi, Palou, and Ferrucci battled amongst themselves for the lead of those on the primary strategy.
The 2008 Indy 500 winner emerged from his Lap 141 stop in net second, behind only O’Ward and ahead of Palou. He would pass the McLaren on Lap 146 for the net lead.
Power then caused the race’s eighth caution on Lap 147 by spinning hard into the Turn 1 wall.
Robb and Lundgaard stopped under the yellow, putting Dixon first and McLaughlin seventh for the Lap 156 restart.
Rossi and O’Ward hit the front on the green, with Dixon shadowing the McLaren duo in third.
With 40 laps to run and one pit stop remaining, the top ten consisted of Rossi, O’Ward, Dixon, Newgarden, Palou, McLaughlin, Veekay, Daly, Ferucci, and Kirkwood.
Rossi was the first of the group to make his final stop on Lap 169, and Dixon passed O’Ward for the lead on the next tour with extra fuel on board.
Newgarden, McLaughlin and Daly stopped on Lap 171, and Dixon followed on Lap 173, locking up as he entered the pit lane.
The Kiwi emerged with the net lead but was overcome by Newgarden, who had momentum as he got back to speed.
Dixon would respond at Turn 1 on Lap 176 to lead, but the American took the position back at Turn 3, only for Dixon to take it back again at Turn 1.
The two continued to exchange the lead, with the McLaren duo of Rossi and O’Ward following behind ahead of Kirkwood, Palou, Veekay and McLaughlin.
A lapped Canapino threw a spanner into the works, with Newgarden, who had returned to the lead, able to pull to a slight advantage as the Kiwi struggled to get through.
Rossi took net second over Dixon, while Canapino continued to battle and caused issues for the leaders.
Rossi and Newgarden exchanged the lead between themselves with 15 laps to run, with Dixon and O’Ward trailing close behind.
The McLaren #5 moved into third at Turn 1 at the expense of Dixon, with the front four holding a one-second advantage over Kirkwood entering the final 10 laps.
Rossi took the lead on Lap 191, and Newgarden retook it on Lap 193, with O’Ward sneaking through and into second at the expense of his teammate. Dixon remained fourth, with Palou and McLaughlin climbing to fifth and sixth at the expense of Kirkwood.
O’Ward and Newgarden exchanged the lead over the next tours, with the reigning champion taking the penultimate lap at the front.
O’Ward took the lead as the field greeted the white flag and remained at the front through Turns 1 and 2, but the American got a great draft down the back straight despite the Mexican’s attempts to break it with a fierce dive down low.
He would hit the front in Turn 3 on the final lap and power down to go back-to-back and win the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
O’Ward was left visibly dejected with second, while Dixon, who had run behind the lead trio for the final 15 laps, snuck past Rossi for third through the final turns.
Rossi was left in fourth, ahead of Palou and McLaughlin.
Header Image: Penske Entertainment: Karl Zemlin
