Some wondered if we would even have anything to talk about today, other than rain. Even the most optimistic forecasts called for rain in the morning, then maybe having enough time in the afternoon to get in more than 101 laps in order for it to be an official race. The early morning hours gave us no reason to think otherwise. Ominous looking clouds hovered over the Speedway, threatening to open up at any minute.
But as the Noon hour approached, the skies lightened and we allowed ourselves to think that there might be a chance to get the race in. As it turned out, the rain didn’t show up until Lap 116, but just in the form of a few sprinkles. The race was red-flagged briefly. Once what little moisture was on the track dried, racing resumed. It set up one of the most dramatic final laps that I can remember.
I was not there in 1982, when Gordon Johncock held off Rick Mears for what was then the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. But I was present ten years later when Al Unser, Jr. held off a charging Scott Goodyear. I was also there when Sam Hornish got an unbelievable run off of Turn Four to snatch victory from a nineteen year-old kid named Marco Andretti.
I would not only put yesterday’s finish in that category, I would put it at the top of the list. The last lap shootout saw David Malukas pass Marcus Armstrong for the lead. From my seats, I could see that Malukas had a head of steam exiting Turn One. Once the cars went out of sight, I had to rely on the video boards. You could see that Armstrong and teammate Felix Rosenqvist were both side-by-side battling it out for second-place on the backstretch. Normally when you see two cars fighting for position; the car in front of them pulls away. The two Meyer Shank teammates carried their fight through Turns Three and Four. When Rosenqvist finally emerged from that squabble, he set his sites on Malukas. It didn’t take long for him to be right on the gearbox of Malukas, as the two bobbed and weaved coming down the main straightaway. When Rosenqvist pulled out to the right, I thought it was too late. I was wrong! Rosenqvist had just enough momentum to carry him across the Yard of Bricks just .0233 seconds ahead of Malukas – becoming the new standard for all close finishes to be judged by.
TV Coverage: Dawson’s was surprisingly not crowded at 7:00 pm last night. We were seated immediately and got out before 8:00. We immediately went to the hotel and I thought I was awake enough to catch the second half of the race. I thought that would give me an opportunity to give a fair assessment of the TV coverage of the race. I’m not sure I lasted two laps. I will watch the race in its entirety in the next day or so, and I see anything excessively good or bad, I will comment on it later.
Early Out: Ryan Hunter-Reay ended his day early and took out Katherine Legge in the process. I’ve seen a lot of criticism of Hunter-Reay from Legge fans. If she was just holding on to complete the distance for the double and not actually racing, that was the wrong mindset. I think Hunter-Reay did them both a favor. He had a miserable month and he has confirmed that the fourth Arrow McLaren car for each 500 is well off the pace of the fulltime cars. Kyle Larson gave that car a decent run in 2024, but was off the pace for most of the month in 2025. Juan Montoya and Tony Kanaan did nothing in that car and it signaled the end to their respective careers. I can’t help but wonder if Sunday was the last time we will ever see the 2014 Indianapolis 500 champion in an Indy car.
Huge Ommision: During the pre-race ceremonies at the track, they listed drivers that had driven in the Indianapolis 500 and had also served their country in military service. One name left off the list was Eddie Rickenbacker, who drove in four Indianapolis 500s and was America’s first flying ace in World War I, bringing down a record (at that time) 26 aircraft. He later purchase the Speedway from Carl Fisher in 1927, and eventually sold it to Tony Hulman in 1945. I’m hoping I was distracted and missed his name on the list, but I don’t think so. How he was not included on the list is beyond me.
Justified Reaction: During a re-start on Lap 27, Ed Carpenter got squeezed by Takuma Sato and found himself in the outside Turn Two wall. Fans loved it when Carpenter pointed to Sato after he had climbed out of his car, and the field was going past. I heard some grumbling from the people behind me that Ed should look in the mirror before pointing fingers. After watching the replay, I thought Carpenter was completely justified. Sato tried to make it three-wide going through Turn One. That math doesn’t work.
The Lull: Every Indianapolis 500 has a lull somewhere, when there is a lack of action. On Sunday, that went from about Laps 30-90. We were treated to a couple of rounds of green-flag pit stops; but other than that, there wasn’t a lot going on. Beginning on Lap 66, Alex Palou and Scott Dixon seemed to be playing games with the rest of the field as they continually swapped the lead back and forth. Consequently, Palou led the most laps Sunday with 59, and Scott Dixon led the second most with 32. David Malukas ended up leading 30 laps, Felix Rosenqvist led 25 – but he also led the one that counted.
The Streak Continues: Santino Ferrucci completed his eighth Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, and he still has never finished out side of the Top-Ten. Do people realize just how difficult it is to do that? That’s not a fluke or luck. That takes skill. There have been a lot of close calls for Ferrucci over the years in Indianapolis 500 competition, but his aggression and lightning-quick reflexes have gotten him out of several jams.
This was not Ferrucci’s best Month. He was never considered a top contender for the win, but he still started on the second row and was running with the leaders for a lot of the race on Sunday. He ended up settling for eighth when the race was finished.
Slight Redemption: Heading into Sunday’s race, May of 2026 seemed like a month to forget for Andretti Global. Kyle Kirkwood had shown a hint of speed early in the month, but it continually went away as the month progressed. Marcus Ericsson seemed slow, but steady. He has proven himself many times on this track and you thought he might have something for the race. Will Power was fairly invisible all month.
In Sunday’s race, the only time I even took note of Power was when his car lost its engine on Lap 92 and his month went up in smoke on the pit warm-up lane. Kirkwood made a charge early in the race, but fell back to finish sixteenth – which was still much better than his twenty-fifth starting position. I believe I saw Ericsson running as high as fifth, and that wasn’t due to pit-stop shuffles. But somehow he faded at the end and would up finishing thirteenth, after starting seventeenth.
This is a proud well-financed team. I don’t think they put out all that time and money to have a best finish of thirteenth among their three cars. I think this team has some soul-searching to do before next May.
No, Palou! Fans that follow the entire series were probably ecstatic when points leader Alex Palou crossed the line in seventh-place, giving him his worst finish of the season while still running. Palou Fatigue has infiltrated the fan base. It is nothing against the man personally, but fans have grown tired of seeing him in Victory Lane so much. Fans also learned Sunday night that his car failed post-race inspection. Chip Ganassi Racing was fined $10,000, and Palou was docked five championship points.
Despite his second worst finish this season and the penalty, Palou extended his lead in the points by ten. David Malukas moved up to second in points, but is now thirty-seven points down to the Spaniard.
They Returned: If you read my post from a year ago, you know that I am in the vast minority on one topic; the pre-race helicopters. I didn’t like them last year, and I was sorry to see they were back this year. While it creates a cool “wow” factor, I think the dander they present far outweighs an wow-factor benefit they bring. Last year, I saw shots from the top of the Turn Three stands looking down at the helicopters. They have to get elevated above the front-stretch to avoid the scoring pylon. It’s my understanding that helicopters are very sensitive to wind. It wouldn’t take much to cause a major problem. Can you imagine the sight of a helicopter rotor striking the upper-deck and then crashing down onto the track – taking out a few race cars and grandstand sections in the process?
The least of my concerns is that it serves as a distraction from what we have all come to see – that sight of the cars in their rows of three on the parade lap. That is a beautiful sight to many and doesn’t need helicopters to add to it. I was disappointed to see their return and I hope we have seen the last of them. But I also realize that very few people agree with me.
Drive of the Day: There were several good drives that went into consideration for this prestigious award. Romain Grosjean started twenty-fourth and was running a legitimate fifth late in the race. I will have to go back and see how he did it. He was never in contention for the win, but did well to finish ninth. Nolan Siegel did what he needed to do, starting twentieth and finishing a respectable eleventh. But I’m reluctantly giving this award to Marcus Armstrong. He started sixteenth and was leading the race on Lap 199 and in position to win, before being passed by David Malukas and finishing fifth.
I say I’m giving it “reluctantly”, because I did not care for his post-race comments. Instead of congratulating his teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, he criticized him by saying Rosenqvist put him into a position on that final lap, where he was left him with two options – crash or lift. He chose to lift. This is the final lap of the Indianapolis 500, where everyone is urgently going for the win. It was not Rosenqvist’s job to look out for the well-being of his teammate. It was his job at that point to do whatever it takes to win. I am hoping that this morning, Armstrong regrets saying what he did. If he truly believes that Rosenqvist was wrong to not give ground to Armstrong – then he has some issues he needs to work through. I thought Armstrong came across as very immature and entitled. This is the last lap of the Indianapolis 500. Grow up!
All in All: From start to finish, I thought this was a very enjoyable Indianapolis 500. It was safe, with enough cautions and accidents to make things interesting, but everyone walked away unhurt. I’m still perplexed as to what happened to make Josef Newgarden spin during the re-start on Lap 124. I’ll have to go back and see the replay. And what in the world is going on with the car of Alexander Rossi. That was the same car that caught fire in last year’s race. Seeing that car burn again on Lap 91, after catching fire on his first pit stop is a bit of a head-scratcher.
After a month that didn’t have a whole lot of buzz or storylines, the actual race was very compelling even before the dramatic and historic finish. The fact that they were able to get in the full 500 miles after a very threatening forecast is just icing on the cake.
Another Month of May has come and gone. This one really seemed to fly by. I’m hoping it’s because the race was so early in the month, and not because I’m getting old and time seems to fly. Next year, the calendar flips around and the 111th Running of the Indianapolis 500will run on the traditional date – May 30. While it’s 53 weeks away this year, the actual Month of May will be a week longer. That’s always a good thing.
Thanks to everyone that followed along from the Open Test at the end of April to today’s post. I will have one more post tomorrow, but it will mostly be a compilation of photos that Susan and I took through the month I will also have the obligatory Detroit Preview on Friday. Check back tomorrow.
George Phillips
