The unmatched unpredictability of IndyCar was on full display in the 102nd running of the Indy 500 this past Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Let’s get started with the one thing everyone seems to be talking about. No, the first Indianapolis 500 with the new IndyCar UAK18 aero kit did not feature as much passing and lead changes as the previous six Indy 500 races did dating back to 2012 when the DW12 era began.
However, the lead change total of 30 in the 2018 Indy 500 still ranks seventh on the all-time list behind the lead change totals of only the six Indy 500 races from 2012 to 2017, and the leader total of 15 tied the all-time record that was just set in the 2017 Indy 500.
While there was certainly not as much passing, drafting and lead changes as there were in the last six Indy 500 races in the Indy 500 this past Sunday, there was still plenty of action throughout the race that kept things exciting, at least enough to make up for, or nearly make up for, the 3.1589-second margin of victory that Will Power had over second place finisher Ed Carpenter even though the final restart took place with only seven laps to go in the 200-lap competition.
Aside of the fact that there were still plenty of passes and lead changes in the 2018 Indy 500 to make it very exciting, what I am mostly referring to that makes IndyCar truly great is the unpredictability. The entirety of this year’s Indy 500 put the overall unpredictability of IndyCar on full display for all to see.
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The top six finishers in the 2017 Indy 500 were Takuma Sato, Helio Castroneves, Ed Jones, Max Chilton, Tony Kanaan and Juan Pablo Montoya. They finished in first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth place, respectively, in the 2017 Indy 500. Of those six drivers, only five raced in this year’s Indy 500, as Juan Pablo Montoya could not land a ride.
Of the five drivers who finished in the top six in the 2017 Indy 500 and actually raced in the 2018 Indy 500, only one of them finished the 2018 Indy 500. None of them finished on the lead lap or even one lap off the lead. Takuma Sato crashed on lap 48, Ed Jones crashed on lap 68, Helio Castroneves crashed on lap 146 and Tony Kanaan crashed on lap 189.
The only one of those five drivers who actually finished the race was the driver who is currently last among full-time IndyCar drivers in the championship standings and who finished the race all the way back in 22nd place two laps off the lead. That driver was Max Chilton.
If the huge change to the front of the finishing order from the 2017 Indy 500 to the 2018 Indy 500 doesn’t illustrated the unmatched unpredictability of IndyCar, I don’t know what will.
Compared to any other racing series, such as the NASCAR Cup Series, where Kyle Busch led 377 of 400 laps of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, or Formula 1, where Daniel Ricciardo led every single lap and there were no changes in position among the top six qualifiers during the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, the unpredictability of IndyCar is on another level.
Now feel free go enjoy the fourth consecutive Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals matchup if you are a fan of unpredictability’s opposite.
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From race to race, no racing series is more unpredictable than IndyCar. In fact, no sport is more unpredictable than IndyCar. Be sure to follow along with IndyCar throughout the rest of the 2018 season and beyond, as you do not want to miss any of the action.