Josef Newgarden won a second Indy 500 with a last-lap pass after a four-hour delay

Josef Newgarden won the 108th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday 26 May 2024, passing Pato O'Ward into Turn 3 on the final lap. It was his second straight victory in the race, and it came after a thunderstorm had held the event back by four hours.

What was the 2024 Indianapolis 500?

The 2024 race was the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500, a 500-mile contest over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the fifth points-paying round of the IndyCar season, and the last Indy 500 to air on NBC before Fox took over the series rights.

The month built up slowly. The Sonsio Grand Prix on the road course opened it on 11 May. Oval practice began on 14 May, time trials ran on 18 and 19 May, and Carb Day, the last practice day before the race, fell on 24 May. The Speedway had also hosted an eclipse-viewing event on 8 April with Purdue University, and the open test ran on 10 and 11 April. The Sonsio Grand Prix had brought the Indy NXT and USF Pro support races with it.

Gainbridge was the presenting sponsor for the second year of its current deal. Its original four-year agreement had run from 2019 to 2022.

A four-hour weather delay could not stop a last-lap pass that made Newgarden the first driver to win the race in consecutive years since 2002.

Who took pole and why was it significant?

Scott McLaughlin took pole with a four-lap average of 234.220 mph (376.941 km/h), the fastest pole speed in the event's history and the second-fastest qualifying speed ever recorded there. Newgarden and Will Power completed the front row alongside him, the first time one team had filled it since Penske managed the feat in 1988.

The front row set the tone for a weekend that the weather repeatedly disrupted. Newgarden, the defending winner, started next to McLaughlin and Power, and the three Penske cars led the field to the green flag.

How did Newgarden pass O'Ward on the final lap?

Newgarden passed O'Ward in Turn 3 on the last lap, which made it the fourth 500 decided on a last-lap pass since 2006, 2011 and 2023. The finish came after a thunderstorm had delayed the race by four hours, and the race then ran its full length without another stoppage.

The win made Newgarden the first driver since Helio Castroneves, in 2001 and 2002, to take the race in consecutive years. It was also the first time a driver had won multiple Indianapolis 500s with last-lap passes.

For Team Penske and owner Roger Penske it was the 20th Indianapolis 500 victory, and the second since Penske bought the speedway in late 2019.

The victory was later clouded. A year on, Team Penske was penalised for using illegally modified attenuators, and the unapproved part was found on Newgarden's winning car as well.

Penske's year of penalties

The season had gone badly for Penske before the 500 began. Newgarden was disqualified from the St. Petersburg season opener on 24 April for push-to-pass breaches, which handed the win to Pato O'Ward.

An internal investigation then led the team to sit four staff members out of both the Sonsio Grand Prix and the 500. Team president Tim Cindric, who was also Newgarden's race strategist, was among them, along with managing director Ron Ruzewski, Newgarden's race engineer Luke Mason and senior data engineer Robbie Atkinson.

The 2024 season before the 500

Five different drivers won the first five points races of the year. Newgarden's St. Petersburg win was taken away after his disqualification, and Pato O'Ward was declared the winner. Alex Palou took the non-points Thermal Club event as well as the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis road course, while Dixon took Long Beach and McLaughlin took Alabama.

Palou led the championship points going into the 500, and the Sonsio Grand Prix had opened track activity for the month. The race itself was the fifth points-paying event of the season, and it arrived with the title picture still open.

Kyle Larson's Double Duty attempt

Kyle Larson attempted Double Duty, the plan to run the 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in one day, for the first time since 2014. The 2021 NASCAR Cup champion had planned to race both, but rain delayed the Indianapolis start and cut short the Charlotte race, so the attempt fell apart.

Larson still had a busy day in Indiana. He led four laps, finished 18th and collected the rookie of the year award. Afterwards he added the Brickyard 400, the seventh driver to race in both the 500 and the Brickyard in one year.

What rules changed for the 2024 race?

The cars lost roughly 30 pounds (14 kg) through lighter parts, and every oval entry had to fit stronger rear suspension uprights. That followed a 2023 wheel failure that sent a wheel over the catch fence. Rear wing inclination also rose from 5 to 9 degrees.

Blocking the draft by veering across the track was outlawed. Drivers may not go below the white line between the Turn 4 exit and the pit attenuator on the main straight, and trimmed sidewalls at the diffuser exits were banned as well. Inner bargeboards were also outlawed, while the outer ones survived.

Tyre allocations changed too. Each entry was permitted 37 sets for the whole event, up from 34 once the second open test day was lost to rain.

What changed at the Speedway itself?

Track work went in during the offseason. A 1,700-foot stretch of catch fence was added along the inside of Turn 3, and 800 feet of new SAFER barrier went inside Turn 4. An 85-foot run of SAFER barrier replaced old Armco guardrail on the north short chute, and every existing SAFER barrier received new foam.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum was another project. It closed in November 2023 for substantial renovations and reopened in 2025 after an $89 million modernisation.

Why was the hybrid system not in the race?

IndyCar scrapped a planned hybrid formula in late 2022 and chose instead to add an energy recovery system to the existing twin-turbocharged V6. The new system was due to debut at St. Petersburg on 10 March, but on 7 December 2023 the series postponed it until after the Indianapolis 500.

The system was still tested in October 2023. Andretti and Chip Ganassi Racing ran Hondas, Arrow McLaren and Penske ran Chevrolets, and the six drivers covered 1,325 laps with no incidents reported.

Who was in the 34-car field?

Thirty-four entries were confirmed, including eight former winners and seven rookies. Every car ran the spec Dallara IR18 chassis with the universal aero kit and aeroscreen. Honda (HRC) and Chevrolet (Ilmor) supplied the engines, and Firestone was the only tyre supplier.

Helio Castroneves entered for his 24th consecutive race, the most of any active driver. Simon Pagenaud sat out, still recovering from a July 2023 accident at Mid-Ohio. Tony Kanaan, retired since the 2023 race, was named as a possible replacement for Kyle Larson in the No. 17 car.

Callum Ilott stepped into the No. 6 Arrow McLaren during the April open test after David Malukas was injured, and he took the seat for the race when Malukas was released in late April. A tentative 35th entry from Abel Motorsports was withdrawn on 3 May.

Rookie tests and the Texas gate

Rookies first need a supervised high-speed oval test before they can join the Rookie Orientation Program at Indianapolis. Three drivers ran the Texas test on 27 March. Kyffin Simpson covered 202 laps, Christian Rasmussen 134 and Nolan Siegel 146, and all three were approved for the April open test.

Kyle Larson was exempt from the Texas test because of his NASCAR oval record. His first Indy car laps came in October 2023, when he logged 72 without incident, and his Phoenix evaluation on 5 February ran to 172 laps.

Four drivers were scheduled for the October 2023 rookie orientation, Marcus Armstrong, Linus Lundqvist, Tom Blomqvist and Kyle Larson. The first three had already completed the Texas test, but Kyffin Simpson had not, so he was ineligible for that session.

The three phases set the bar. Phase one is ten laps at 205-210 mph, phase two is fifteen laps at 210-215 mph, and phase three is fifteen laps above 215 mph.

April open test: rain and a lost second day

The first open test day on 10 April was run in cloud, with rain arriving in the afternoon. The veterans had the track from 9:05 a.m. to 11 a.m., and Josef Newgarden set the morning's fastest lap at 228.811 mph (368.236 km/h). Kyle Larson was second at 226.384 mph (364.330 km/h), and Simpson, Siegel and Rasmussen completed their rookie orientation.

Rookie and refresher testing ran from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Andretti, Legge and Fittipaldi were among those finishing their refresher programmes. Full-field running began after that, but rain started within minutes and officials ended the session early, just past 4 p.m. Colton Herta was fastest in the few afternoon laps at 225.907 mph (363.562 km/h). The second day, 11 April, was canceled because of rain.

Open test and practice speeds at a glance

Why did practice week stall in the rain?

The opening day on Tuesday 14 May was ruined by rain. The track opened at 9 a.m., but showers began after 23 minutes and ended running for the day. Scott Dixon was quickest in that short spell at 229.107 mph (368.712 km/h), and 31 of the 34 entries managed laps, with at least five limited to install laps.

Wednesday 15 May was another weather-hit day. The track opened at 10 a.m., but rain pushed the start back to 3:06 p.m., and sustained rain around 6 p.m. ended the session. Officials called it at 6:55 p.m. after about two hours of green-flag running, with 2,084 laps turned in total. Scott McLaughlin was fastest at 229.493 mph (369.333 km/h).