2018 IndyCar season in review: The good, the bad and the ugly

Superspeedway racing (continued)

The Indianapolis 500 still featured 30 lead changes, which would be the highest of all-time if you don’t include the six Indy 500 races that took place from the 2012 season through the 2017 season. Again, fans were certainly “spoiled” during these six seasons.

But only a small fraction of those lead changes took place as a result of on-track passes for the race lead. The race featured 15 leaders, which was tied for an all-time record, yet only five of those leaders led more than seven laps of the race. In fact, nine of the 15 leaders led four laps or fewer. Yet two drivers, the top two finishers, combined to lead 125 of its 200 laps.

The final restart of the race took place with only seven laps to go, yet Will Power managed to win by 3.159 seconds over second place finisher Ed Carpenter, which was the largest margin of victory in the Indy 500 since Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2000 Indy 500 by 7.184 seconds over second place finisher Buddy Lazier.

The race at Texas Motor Speedway featured slightly more action that the Indy 500 did as a whole, but it was still pretty much a foregone conclusion that Scott Dixon would win it once he took the lead. He led 119 of its 248 laps and won it by 4.294 seconds despite the fact that the final restart took place with 33 laps remaining.

Truth be told, there was really no need for two-thirds of the track in the turns. There was only one real racing groove, unlike in years past, and that did not change throughout the race, which prevented the potential of more passing.