INDY 500 - Race Day Trackside Notes

SUNDAY, MAY 26, 2019 – RACE DAY

Welcome to Race Day for the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway communications staffs are here to assist attending media. Direct questions and requests to a member of either staff at the front of the IMS media center.

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Live timing and scoring reports from today’s race is available at http://racecontrol.indycar.com. The live timing and scoring module provides statistical information, including track segment speeds, lap information and much more. Feature stories, reports, driver quotes and notes and photos will be posted on the INDYCAR media site, media.indycar.com. More detailed information, including media advisories and video news feed (VNF) coordinates, are also posted on the media site. Updates will also be provided on Twitter by following @indycar.

 

TODAY’S SCHEDULE (all times local):

5 a.m. –  Garages open

6 a.m. – Military bomb to open track

10:40 a.m. – “All cars to the grid”

12:01 p.m. – Driver introductions

12:05 p.m. – “All drivers to your cars”

12:38 p.m. – “Drivers Start You Engines”

12:45 p.m. – GREEN FLAG 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 (200 laps/500 miles), ABC (Live).

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INDIANAPOLIS 500 STARTING GRID BREAKDOWN

Past champions: 7–Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009), Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016), Takuma Sato (2017) and Will Power (2018).

Rookies: 6 – Marcus Ericsson, Santino Ferrucci, Ben Hanley, Colton Herta, Jordan King and Felix Rosenqvist

Nations represented: 11

•            United States (15): Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, Santino Ferrucci, Colton Herta, JR Hildebrand, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Kyle Kaiser, Sage Karam, Charlie Kimball, Josef Newgarden, Spencer Pigot, Graham Rahal, Alexander Rossi, Zach Veach

•            England (4): Ben Hanley, Jack Harvey, Jordan King, Pippa Mann

•            Brazil (3): Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Matheus Leist

•            Australia (2): James Davison, Will Power

•            France (2): Sebastien Bourdais, Simon Pagenaud

•            Sweden (2): Marcus Ericsson, Felix Rosenqvist

•            Canada (1): James Hinchcliffe

•            Japan (1): Takuma Sato

•            New Zealand (1): Scott Dixon

•            Spain (1): Oriol Servia

•            United Arab Emirates (1): Ed Jones

Oldest driver in field: Oriol Servia, 43

Youngest driver in field: Colton Herta, 19

Driver with most previous Indianapolis 500 starts: Helio Castroneves, 18.

 

103rd INDIANAPOLIS 500 RACE SPECIFICS:

• The race is 500 miles, 200 laps on the 2.5-mile oval.

• The race becomes official after 101 laps.

• The pit road speed is 60 mph.

• The green flag to start the race will be shown on the fourth time past the flag stand. The pace speed on the parade laps will be approximately 75, 85, 95 and 105 mph.

• All restarts will be single file.

• Each team will have 125 gallons of Speedway E85 fuel per car for the race. The fuel window is 30-35 laps under green flag conditions.

 

103rd INDIANAPOLIS 500 PRE-RACE:

            At 12:30 p.m., the ambient temperature was 78 degrees with a relative humidity of 63 percent and north winds at 5 mph. Skies were mostly cloudy. The track temperature was 104 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.

            At 12:38 p.m., Tony George, chairman of the board, Hulman & Company, gave the command, “Drivers, start your engines.” All cars have started and rolling on the pace laps.

            Dale Earnhardt Jr. is driving the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Pace Car during the pace laps. Nine-time Indianapolis 500 starter Sarah Fisher will drive the Pace Car during caution periods.

 

103rd INDIANAPOLIS 500 RACE RUNNING:

            Lap 1: GREEN. Matt Damon and Christian Bale wave the twin green flags. 22-Pagenaud leads the field into Turn 1.

            Lap 3: 22-Pagenaud leads 20-Carpenter by .3190 of a second.

Lap 4: 88-Herta off pace in Turn 3.

            Lap 6: YELLOW. 88-Herta has stopped on course. Leaders under caution are: 22-Pagenaud. 20-Carpenter, 12-Power, 21-Pigot, 2-Newgarden.

            Lap 8: Pits are open. 98-Andretti, 24-Karam, 10-Rosenqvist on pit road for four tires and fuel. Pit Report: 24-Karam tool fuel only.

            Lap 9: GREEN. 22-Pagenaud leads the field off Turn 4.

            Lap 10: 12-Power passes 20-Carpenter for second on frontstretch.

Lap 11: 22-Pagenaud leads 12-Power by 0.1433 of a second.

Lap 14: 22-Pagenaud leads 12-Power by 0.3866 of a second.

Lap 17: 22-Pageaaud leads 12-Power by 0.4368 of a second.

Lap 20: 22-Pageaaud leads 12-Power by 0.4609 of a second.

Lap 23: 22-Pageaaud leads 12-Power by 0.5839 of a second.

Lap 25: 22-Pagenaud leads 12-Power by 0.6285 of a second.

Lap 30: 22-Pagenaud leads 12-Power by 0.9564 of a second.

Lap 32: Leader, 22-Pagenaud on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (1): Leader is 12-Power.

Lap 34: 2-Newgarden on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 35: Leader, 12-Power on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (2): New leader is 20-Carpenter.

Lap 36: Leader, 20-Capenter on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (3): New leader is 30-Sato. 33-Davison spins on pit lane after contact with 3-Castroneves.  

Lap 37: Leader, 30-Sato on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 38: LEAD CHANGE (4): 10-Rosenqvist officially scored the leader of the race.

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PENALTY: Drive-through 3-Castroneves - Contact in pits.

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Lap 42: Leader, 10-Rosenqvist on pit road. LEAD CHANGE (5): New leader is 22-Pagenaud.

Lap 45: Green flag stops complete, 22-Pagenaud leads 12-Power by 2.9461 seconds.

Lap 50: 22-Pagenaud leads 12-Power by 1.9248 seconds.

Lap 55: 22-Pagenaud leads 12-Power by 1.6598 seconds.

Lap 60: 22-Pagenaud leads 12-Power by 1.9590 seconds.

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81-Hanley has retired from the race with a mechanical issue.

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Lap 64: Leader 22-Pagenaud on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (6): New leader is 20-Carpenter.

Lap 65: 20-Carpenter leads 12-Power by 1.8099 seconds. 21-Pigot on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 66: 2-Newgarden and 48-Hildebrand

Lap 67: Leader 20-Carpenter on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (7): New leader is 12-Power.

Lap 68: Leader 12-Power on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (8): New leader is 27-Rossi.

Lap 69: Leader 27-Rossi on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 70: LEAD CHANGE (9): New leader is 9-Dixon.

            Lap 72: Leader 9-Dixon on pit road for four tires and fuel.

`            Lap 74: LEAD CHANGE (10): 22-Pagenaud is officially scored the leader of the race. YELLOW. 32-Kaiser does a complete spin at the exit of Turn 3. Car then spins to the right and makes contact with the retaining wall in the north short chute with the rear of the car. Car comes to rest at the entry to Turn 4. Leaders under caution are: 22-Pagenaud, 10-Rosenqvist, 20-Carpenter and 2-Newgarden

            Lap 75: Pits are open: 10-Rosenqvist, 5-Hinchcliffe and 30-Sato on pit road for four tires and fuel.

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PENALTY - Back of the Field, 12-Power - Hitting Personnel (7.12.1.8).

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            Lap 79: GREEN. Pagenaud leads the field off Turn 4.

            Lap 80: 22-Pagenaud leads 20-Carpenter by 0.1710 of a second.

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PENALTY - Drive Thru Penalty, 42-King - Hitting Personnel (7.12.1.8).

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            Lap 85: 22-Pagenaud leads 20-Carpenter by 0.4367 of a second.

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Medical update from Dr. Geoffrey Billows, INDYCAR Medical Director: Kyle Kaiser has been checked and released from the IU Health Emergency Medical Center. He is cleared to drive.

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Lap 90: 22-Pagenaud leads 20-Carpenter by 0.3091 of a second.

Lap 95: 22-Pagenaud leads 20-Carpenter by 0.3280 of a second.

Lap 99::Leader, 22-Pagenaud on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (11): New leader is 20-Carpenter.

Lap 100: Halfway – 20-Carpenter leads 2-Newgarden by 1.7158 seconds.

Lap 101: Leader, 20-Carpenter and 21-Pigot on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (12): New leader is 2-Newgarden.

Lap 102: Leader, 2-Newgarden and 48-Hildebrand on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (13): New leader is 27-Rossi.

Lap 104: 18-Bourdais, 7-Ericsson and 23-Kimball on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 105: 27-Rossi leads 9-Dixon by 7.9416 seconds.

Lap 106: Leader, 27-Rossi on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (14): New leader is 9-Dixon.

Lap 108: 15-Rahal on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 109: 5-Hinchcliffe on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 110: 9-Dixon leads 10-Rosenqvist by 3.6312 seconds.

Lap 111: Leader, 9-Dixon, on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (15): New leader is 10-Rosenqvist

Lap 112: Leader, 10-Rosenqvist on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 113: LEAD CHANGE (16): 22-Pagenaud reassumes the lead of the race following green flag pit cycle.

Lap 120: 22-Pagenaud leads 27-Rossi by 0.4531 of a second.

Lap 125: 22-Pagenaud leads 27-Rossi by 0.3253 of a second.

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Medical update from Dr. Geoffrey Billows, INDYCAR Medical Director: Rahal Letterman Lanigan crew member Chris Minot has been transported to IU Health Methodist Hospital for evaluation of a leg injury.

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Lap 129: Leader 22-Pagenaud on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (17): New leader is 27-Rossi.

Lap 130: 27-Rossi leads 20-Carpenter by 1.7642 seconds.

Lap 133: 20-Carpenter on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 135: 2-Newgarden on pit road for four tires and fuel. 27-Rossi leads 18-Bourdais by 9.8622 seconds.

Lap 136: 18-Bourdais on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 137: Leader, 27-Rossi, on pit road for four tires and fuel. Car had issue fueling and had a 23-second stop. LEAD CHANGE (18): New leader is 9-Dixon.

Lap 138: YELLOW. 7-Ericsson spins entering pit lane. Leaders under caution is 9-Dixon, 19-Ferrucci, 10-Rosenqvist, 14-Kanaan and 26-Veach.

Lap 141: 14-Kanaan on pit road for fuel only.

Lap 142: Pits are open. Leader, 9-Dixon, 10-Rosenqvist, 26-Veach, 19-Ferrucci and 63-Jones on pit road for four tires and fuel. Pit Report, 63-Jones had front and rear wing adjustments.

Lap 143: LEAD CHANGE (19): New leader is 22-Pagenaud.

Lap 148: GREEN. 22-Pagenaud leads the field out of Turn 4.

            Lap 150: 22-Pagenaud leads 2-Newgarden by 0.1313 of a second.

            Lap 151: LEAD CHANGE (20): 2-Newgarden passes 22-Pagenaud for the lead in Turn 3. He leads at the line by 0.2793 of a second.

             Lap 156: 2-Newgarden leads 22-Pagenaud by 0.1883 of a second.

            Lap 160: 2-Newgarden leads 22-Pagenaud by 0.1681 of a second.

            Lap 165: 2-Newgarden leads 22-Pagenaud by 0.1214 of a second. 63-Jones on a pit road for four tires and fuel.

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PENALTY - Drive Thru Penalty, 63-Jones - Pit Lane Speed Violation (7.10.10) at Pit In.

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Lap 168: 22-Pagenaud on pit road for four tires and fuel.

Lap 169: 27-Rossi and 9-Dixon on pit road for four tires and fuel.

            Lap 170: 18-Bourdais and 15-Rahal

            Lap 171: Leader, 2-Newgarden on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (21): New leader is 20-Carpenter.

            Lap 172: Leader, 20-Carpenter and 25-Daly on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (22): New leader is 19-Ferrucci.

            Lap 173: Leader, 19-Ferrucci, on pit road for four tires and fuel. :LEAD CHANGE (24): New leader is 12-Power.

            Lap 175: 12-Power leads 30-Sato by 5.0572 seconds.

            Lap 176: Leader, 12-Power, on pit road for four tires and fuel. LEAD CHANGE (25): New leader is 21-Pigot.

            Lap 178: YELLOW. Multi-car accident in Turn 3. Cars involved are: 15-Rahal, 18-Bourdais. 10-Rosenqvist, 23-Kimball and 26-Veach. 15-Rahal and 18-Bourdais made contact entering Turn 3 to trigger the incident, 18-Bourdais spun and hit the SAFER Barrier, 15-Rahal also hit the SAFER Barrier. Behind, 10-Rosenqvist spun and collected 26-Veach and 23-Kimball. Leaders under caution are: 21-Pigot, 27-Rossi, 22-Pagenaud, 20-Carpenter and 2-Newgarden.

 

            Lap 180: RED FLAG. Track cleanup following the accident.

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Medical update from Dr. Geoffrey Billows, INDYCAR Medical Director: Felix Rosenqvist, Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastien Bourdais have been checked and released from the IU Health Emergency Medical Center. All are cleared to drive.

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Engines have re-fired and the Indianapolis 500 has resumed after a RED FLAG delay of 18 minutes.

            Lap 181: Leader 21-Pigot enters closed pit for fuel only. LEAD CHANGE (26): New leader is 27-Rossi.

            Lap 182: Pits are open. 21-Pigot, 9-Dixon and 5-Hinchcliffe on pit road for four tires and fuel. 9-Dixon also made repairs for damage sustained in the Lap 178 incident.

 Race Control: These cars need to drive through pit lane, as they are lapped cars: 24, 60, 77, 48, 3, 7, 42, 23, 98.

            Lap 187: GREEN. 27-Rossi leads the field out of Turn 4 to start-finish. 22-Pagenaud makes pass for the lead on the frontstretch

            Lap 188; 27-Rossi makes pass for the lead in Turn 1.

            Lap 189: 22-Pagenaud takes the lead with a pass on the frontstrtech.

Lap 190: 22_Pagenaud leads 27-Rossi by 0.1617 of a second.

Lap 195: 22-Pagenaud leads 27-Rossi by 0.1264 of a second.

Lap 196: 22-Pagenaud leads 27-Rossi by 0.1177 of a second.

Lap 197: 22-Pagenaud leads 27-Rossi by 0.0077 of a second.

Lap 198: 27-Rossi makes pass for lead around outside of Turn .1 0964

Lap 199: 22-Pagenaud passes 27-Rossi for the lead in Turn 3. WHITE: 22-Pagenaud leads 27-Rossi at the line by .3439 of a second.

Lap 200: CHECKERED. Simon Pagenaud wins the 103rd Indianapolis 500 by 0.2086 of a second over Alexander Rossi.

 

INDIANAPOLIS 500 POST-RACE QUICK NOTES:

  • Simon Pagenaud is fifth French-born driver to win the Indianapolis 500. The last French-born driver to win was Gil de Ferran in 2003. De Ferran is Brazilian citizen but was born in Paris. Pagenaud is the first Frenchman to win since Gaston Chevrolet in 1920.
  • Today’s win is Simon Pagenaud’s second win of 2019 and his 13th career Indy car victory.
  • Pagenaud became the second consecutive driver to win both the INDYCAR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and Indianapolis 500 in the same season. Will Power accomplished the feat
  • It is the 18th Indianapolis 500 win for Team Penske, which is the most among all entrants. The team’s last Indianapolis 500 win was 2018 when Will Power won the race.
  • Alexander Rossi finished second, his third top-five finish in four Indianapolis 500 starts. Rossi has not finished outside the top 10 at Indianapolis
  • Takuma Sato finished third, his second podium finish at the Indianapolis 500. His only other podium was when he won in 2017.

 

103rd INDIANAPOLIS 500 presented by Gainbridge TOP THREE QUICK QUOTES

 

SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, winner): “It’s hard to believe right now, to be honest with you. It’s been such an intense race. I believe we led most of the race. The car was just on rails. The yellows came out perfectly. The stars are aligned. Man, wow, I’m seeing myself on TV with this. It’s pretty amazing. It’s a dream come true, a lifetime of trying to achieve this. So I’m just speechless. It’s just incredible. I never expected to be in this position, but I certainly was trying to make it as hard as I could. I want to thank the fans. The fans are amazing. It was awesome to share that with you guys on the Yard of Bricks. You’re the best, Indianapolis.” (Did questions about your job security motivate you?): “It didn’t. I’m just focused on the job, man. When you have a car like this, a team like this, you just work your way. It’s all about achieving and executing at the end, and we did execute perfectly today. No mistakes. Here we are, Victory Lane, man. We did it!”

 

ALEXANDER ROSSI (No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda, second): (What was the difference at the end?): “Horsepower. That’s unfortunately the way it is. They did a great job. Obviously, he was on pole and led the most laps, but I think we had the superior car. We just didn’t have enough there at the end. Huge hat’s off to the entire No. 27 NAPA Andretti Autosport team. They’ve been fantastic all month, and I’m happy to get them a result. But unfortunately, nothing else matters here but winning. This one will be hard to get over, but at the end of the day, it was a great showing for the team and good for the points overall. But today will suck for a while.”

 

TAKUMA SATO (No. 30 Mi-Jack/Panasonic Honda, third): “We had some issue on the second pace lap, and we got down. It was lucky that we got back. And the last 15 laps were great excitement. Huge congratulations to Simon (Pagenaud). A big win. We tried to get Alex (Rossi), but we were not quite there yet.” (Did you think you could run this well?): “It’s always challenging. It’s always difficult. We just kept our heads down, did our job and made the most of it.”

 

UNOFFICIAL NTT INDYCAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS

1. Simon Pagenaud            250

2. Josef Newgarden            249

3. Alexander Rossi            228

4. Takuma Sato                        203

5. Scott Dixon                        203

6. Will Power                        184

7. Ryan Hunter-Reay            157

8. James Hinchcliffe            145

9. Spencer Pigot                        133

10. Santino Ferrucci (R)            144

 

UNOFFICIAL NTT INDYCAR SERIES ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POINT STANDINGS

1. Santino Ferrucci            129

2. Felix Rosenqvist            117

3. Colton Herta                        110

4. Marcus Ericsson            72

5. Patricio O’Ward            53

6. Ben Hanley                        31

7. Kyle Kaiser                        22

 

INDIANAPOLIS 500 HISTORICAL NOTES

 

  • Simon Pagenaud was the top lap leader in the 2019 Indianapolis 500 with 116 laps led. This is the 12th time, among eight different drivers, that a Penske-owned car has been the top lap leader in the race.
  • 2019 winner Simon Pagenaud is the 73rd driver to win or co-win the Indianapolis 500. Pagenaud’s highest previous Indianapolis 500 finish was sixth place in 2018.
  • Simon Pagenaud’s 2019 win came in his eighth Indianapolis 500 start.
  • This is the first time car No. 22 has won the Indianapolis 500.
  • 2019 winner Simon Pagenaud has completed 1,599 laps out of a possible 1,600 laps in eight Indianapolis 500 career starts.
  • Scott Dixon moved past Bobby Unser for ninth place on the Indianapolis 500 all-time lap leader list with 452 laps led, after leading 13 laps in the 2019 race.
  • Simon Pagenaud won the 2019 Indianapolis 500 with a winning average speed of 175.794 mph, which is the fifth-fastest winning speed in race history.
  • Simon Pagenaud’s winning margin of .2086 of a second is the seventh-closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.
  • 2019 represents the 21st time the winner has started from the pole position. The last driver to win the race starting from the pole was Penske driver Helio Castroneves in 2009.
  • Car owner Roger Penske has had eight cars win the Indianapolis 500 after starting from the pole position. Rick Mears won starting from the pole in 1979, 1988 and 1991, Bobby Unser in 1981, Al Unser Jr. in 1994, Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006, Helio Castroneves in 2009 and Simon Pagenaud in 2019.
  • Car owner Roger Penske has won the Indianapolis 500 a record 18 times. A Penske-entered car won the race in 1972, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2018 and 2019.
  • The 2019 race had 29 lead changes, tying the 1960 event for eighth-highest total. The record is 68 lead changes by the 2013 field.
  • There were 10 different lap leaders for the 2019 Indianapolis 500, tied for seventh most in race history. The record is 15 different lap leaders in 2017 and 2018.
  • The Andretti family has made 74 Indianapolis 500 starts. This is the most cumulative starts by a family in Indianapolis 500 history. The Unser family is second on the list with 73 total starts.
  • There were two first-time lap leaders in the 2019 Indianapolis 500. Rookie driver Felix Rosenqvist led six laps, and rookie driver Santino Ferrucci led for one lap.
  • There were 26 cars running at the finish of the 2019 Indianapolis 500, which tied 2013 and 1911 fields for the second-most cars running at the finish. The rain-shortened 1976 race, which went 102 laps, had 27 cars running at the finish.
  • Five former winners finished the 2019 race in the top nine. 2016 winner Alexander Rossi (second), 2017 winner Takuma Sato (third), 2018 winner Will Power (fifth), 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay (eighth) and 2013 winner Tony Kanaan (ninth).
  • Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power finished fifth in today's race. That is the highest finish position for a defending winner since Sam Hornish Jr. finished fourth in the 2007 race.
  • The 2019 race represents the 12th time Scott Dixon has led the Indianapolis 500. Dixon is tied with Helio Castroneves for the third-highest number of races led. Tony Kanaan has led a record 14 races, followed by A.J. Foyt with 13 races led.
  • In the last decade (2010-19), the eventual race winner took the lead with 10 laps or less in each of the 10 races.
  • Today featured the 11th red flag in Indianapolis 500 history and first red flag since 2017. That year the race was stopped on Lap 55 to repair the damage to the inside fence and SAFER Barrier in the short chute near Turn 2, caused by a two-car accident involving Jay Howard and Scott Dixon.
  • Alexander Rossi has led in all four of his Indianapolis 500 starts.
  • Ed Carpenter led the Indianapolis 500 for the seventh time in his career.
  • The 2019 race marked the seventh consecutive year Will Power has led the Indianapolis 500. Power and Tony Kanaan are the only drivers to have led seven consecutive races.

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The next NTT IndyCar Series race is Chevrolet Dual in Detroit on June 1 and 2 at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park. The doubleheader races will be televised at 3 p.m. (ET) each day by NBC and broadcast by the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, including SiriusXM, IndyCar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile App powered by NTT DATA.

 

 

Tom Beeler

Tom has been a contributor to RIS since 1992, and has covered IndyCar, Formula 1, NASCAR, Grand-Am, ALMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition to his RIS work, Tom has been a contributor for General Motors, Nissan, Toyota and the ACO.

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Volume 2019, Issue 5, Posted 2:23 PM, 05.27.2019