2018 Indy 500: Winners and losers

Will Power won the 102nd Indianapolis 500, but a lot of drivers leave Indiana disappointed. Who are the winners and losers from this year’s Indy 500?

Winners from Indianapolis

Will Power

Coming into Sunday, Will Power had 31 career IndyCar victories. He has won three of the five runnings of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. He is the 2014 series champion.

But there was something that was missing from that list: a win in the Indianapolis 500. Power finally crossed the last major accomplishment of his IndyCar career off his list on Sunday by claiming his first Borg-Warner Trophy in victory lane. Team Penske added their 17th Indy 500 victory and Power moved from seventh to first in the championship standings just in front of Alexander Rossi in second.

Alexander Rossi

Speaking of Alexander Rossi, Sunday could have been a disaster for the driver who came in second in points just behind Josef Newgarden. He qualified 32nd and didn’t look like he had a top car for most of the day, but attrition and gradual improvements got him through the field. What else got him through the field? Some wild and brave passes on the outside after restarts. Rossi stayed exactly where he was before the Indy 500 — two points back of the points lead, except he trails Will Power as opposed to Newgarden. He now has the daunting task of catching the hottest driver on the circuit right now in Power.

Ed Carpenter

Ed Carpenter last ran a full season in 2013. He last scored a podium finish at Fontana in 2014. Despite running in 14 consecutive Indy 500 races coming into Sunday, he had never finished on the podium and had just three top 10 finishes at the track. But he qualified on the pole for this year’s race, his third time doing so. He led 65 laps, the most he has ever led in an Indy 500, and finished the race in second. He didn’t get the Borg-Warner Trophy nor visit victory lane at Indianapolis for the first time since an Indy Lights victory in 2003, but it was still a strong showing for the veteran.

Losers from Indianapolis

Brace yourself: this is going to be much longer list than usual this week after an Indy 500 marred by spin after spin.

James Hinchcliffe

James Hinchcliffe didn’t race on Sunday despite coming into the day in fifth in the overall standings. The debate over how fair that is belongs somewhere else, but the fact that he missed the race essentially ends any hopes of winning a title this year, as he leaves Indianapolis 10th in the championship standings.

Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves

Two drivers returning to IndyCar after some time away — Danica Patrick, who left for NASCAR after 2011, and Helio Castroneves, who is running in IMSA this year — had high hopes on Sunday and both saw those hopes dashed with crashes. For Patrick, this is it, as she’s calling it a career. For Castroneves, his quest for a fourth Indy 500 win is expected to continue in 2019 for the 10th consecutive year.

Ed Jones

Ed Jones, who finished third last year, didn’t have a great start to this year’s Indy 500, as he started ninth. He didn’t have a great first 50 laps, as he consistently ran at the back of the pack, and he didn’t have a great end to the day either, as he crashed out and finished in 31st. The second-year driver was transported to a local hospital for evaluation, but he has been released. However, IndyCar reporter Jim Ayello had this to report on Jones.

Ed Jones checked and released from IU Health Methodist Hospital, however he's not guaranteed to race in Detroit. Will undergo further evaluation on the weekend.
— Jim Ayello (@jimayello) May 27, 2018

Sebastien Bourdais

Sebastien Bourdais dropped from third in the championship standings to eighth after a 28th place finish following a crash. It was his third finish of 20th or worse in the Indy 500, and it was a tough break for the driver who missed last year’s Indy 500 after breaking his pelvis and right hip in a qualifying accident.

Takuma Sato

Last year’s Indy 500 winner hasn’t finished in the top five yet this season. He saw his day end early on Sunday with a crash, and he finished 32nd. The Indy 500 was likely Sato’s best chance to get his 2018 season on track, and he couldn’t do it.

Winner…and loser…from Indianapolis

Stefan Wilson

For me, the story of the end of this year’s race was Stefan Wilson, who was hoping to stretch his fuel load and score a surprise victory. Wilson, the younger brother of the late Justin Wilson, who died after being hit in the helmet with debris from a crash at Pocono in 2015, was hoping for a late caution to help him make it to the end, but he was forced to pit from the lead with just over four laps remaining. It was one of those heartbreaking moments to see a driver get so close but not win, especially after Wilson gave up his seat in last year’s Indy 500 to two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso.

Wilson is a winner because he was never supposed to be up front, but the sadness that comes with the end of his race is tough to swallow. Will he be able to parlay this run into a ride in next year’s Indy 500?

Next: Top 10 Indianapolis 500 drivers of all-time

With May’s races over, the IndyCar season ramps up for one of its most interesting tests: two days of racing in Detroit. Saturday, June 2 AND Sunday, June 3 are the dates for this year’s Chevrolet Dual in Detroit on the streets of Detroit’s Belle Isle. Both races will air on ABC at 3:30 p.m. ET on their respective dates. In five previous Duals in Detroit, we’ve had just one driver, Graham Rahal, sweep the weekend. What will happen this season?