IndyCar: Month of May lives up to its billing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

By Asher Fair | Jun 1, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MAY 26: Simon Pagenaud of France, driver of the #22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet races Alexander Rossi of the United States, driver of the #27 NAPA Auto Parts Andretti Autosport Honda (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

After a 2018 Indianapolis 500 that left many fans disappointed and a start to the 2019 IndyCar season that resulted in more of the same, the month of May lived up to its billing.

After six consecutive Indianapolis 500 races from 2012 to 2017 during which fans were “spoiled” with a level of passing that resulted in the top six lead changes totals in the history of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, the 102nd running of the crown jewel on the IndyCar schedule left a lot to be desired last season.

The introduction of the new UAK18 aero kit resulted in a race that did not feature much on-track passing, especially for the lead of the race.

The race’s lead change total of 30 still ranked seventh on the all-time Indy 500 lead changes list, and the race’s leader total of 15 did tie the all-time record, but an overwhelming majority of those lead changes and different leaders resulted from varying pit stop strategies.

Team Penske’s Will Power won the race over Ed Carpenter Racing’s Ed Carpenter in second place, and his margin of victory was 3.1589 seconds, which was the largest non fuel-saving-induced margin of victory in an Indy 500 since Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2000 Indy 500 by 7.184 seconds after a dominant performance from start to finish.

This was the case despite the fact that the race’s final restart took place with a mere seven laps remaining.

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But after some slight tweaks to the aero package for this year’s running of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana, the racing was expected to be better than it was in last year’s running of the race.

That said, this year’s month of May, not just the Indy 500, had its own battle to overcome. The start of the 2019 season left many fans frustrated, as while the action toward the mid-pack had been consistently fun to watch, races were consistently being dominated by one driver and one driver only, in a manner almost like that which is so often seen in Formula 1 races that are classified as boring.

On top of that, the IndyCar Grand Prix, which kicks off the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course two weekends prior to the Indy 500, had become one of the most lackluster races on the IndyCar schedule over the last few seasons.

But this year’s running of the 85-lap race around the 13-turn, 2.439-mile (3.925-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course ended up being one of the most exciting races of the UAK18 aero kit era, and really of the last several seasons, to start off the month of May with a much-needed shot in the arm.

And the Indy 500 followed suit.

While passing was still at a premium throughout the field throughout the entirety of the race, there were far more drivers in the battle for the victory at the end of the race than there were last season, and this was the case even though the final restart took place with 13 laps remaining, nearly twice as long from the end of the race as the final restart in last year’s race.

This race featured 29 lead changes, a total that is tied for eighth place on the all-time Indy 500 lead changes list, and Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud won it by just 0.2086 seconds over Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi after passing him for the lead on the race’s penultimate lap.

A lead change had not taken place this late in an Indy 500 since Ryan Hunter-Reay passed Helio Castroneves for the lead of the 98th running of the race back in 2014 coming to the white flag en route to winning the race by 0.0600 seconds one lap later.

After 3.1589 seconds separated the top two drivers at the end of the 2018 Indy 500 following the race’s final restart with seven laps remaining, just 2.8055 seconds separated the top seven drivers at the end of the 2019 Indy 500 following the race’s final restart with 13 laps remaining.

This year’s month of May certainly lived up to its billing at the Brickyard, that is for sure.

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With the most important race on the 2019 IndyCar schedule officially behind us, the focus now officially turns to one thing: the championship. Of the 17 races on the schedule, 11 have not yet been contested, and two of them are set to be contested this weekend, one this afternoon and one tomorrow afternoon.

These two races are both a part of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, and they are both set to be broadcast live on NBC from the Raceway on Belle Isle on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on their respective dates. They are both scheduled to begin at 3:50 p.m. ET.