2019 Indianapolis 500
The 2019 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) was an IndyCar Series event held on Sunday, May 26, 2019, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The premier event of the 2019 IndyCar Series, the event ran 500 miles (200 laps). Simon Pagenaud won the race from the pole position, earning Team Penske's record-extending 18th Indy 500 victory. Pagenaud led 116 laps, taking the lead for the final time with just over one lap to go. He became the first French-born winner  since Gaston Chevrolet in 1920, and the first pole-sitter to win the race since 2009. The month of May activities formally began on May 11 with the IndyCar Grand Prix on the combined road course. Practice for the Indianapolis 500 began on Tuesday, May 14, and time trials were held May 18–19. Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice, as well as the annual Pit Stop Challenge and Indy Lights Freedom 100, were held May 24. Simon Pagenaud became the second driver in a row to sweep both the IndyCar Grand Prix and the Indy 500 in the  same year. Pagenaud also won the pole position, the record-extending 18th Indy 500 pole for Team Penske. Will Power, the winner in 2018, entered the race as the defending champion. During the Last Row Shootout on May 19, former Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, attempting his second Indy 500, was bumped from the field, and failed to qualify. This would be the final Indianapolis 500 held under the ownership of the Hulman/George family. On November 3, 2019, it was announced that Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of the Penske Corporation, owned by Roger Penske, had purchased the  Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the IndyCar Series, and IMS Productions. The sale was finalized in January 2020. Race background. Track changes. A recycled polyethylene (RPE) binding agent was applied to the oval track surface; six drivers participated in an aero and tire test at the track in October 2018 following the application. Qualifying changes. A revised qualifying procedure was announced, modifying the Two-day format utilized from 2014 to 2018. Qualifying will continue to be held over two days (Saturday, May 18 & Sunday, May 19), but bumping will be moved back to Sunday. Both the familiar Fast Nine Shootout and a  new Last Row Shootout will be held Sunday. Cars will continue to use the traditional four-lap qualifying attempts. On Saturday, the procedure will be as follows: On Sunday, time trials will conclude as follows: 2019 IndyCar Series. Five different drivers won the first five races of the 2019 IndyCar Series season. Josef Newgarden won the season-opening race at St. Petersburg. Series rookie Colton Herta won the inaugural race at Circuit of the Americas, in doing so became the youngest driver ever to win an Indy car race. Takuma Sato then won the race at Birmingham, and Alexander Rossi  won at Long Beach. The month of May opened with Simon Pagenaud winning the IndyCar Grand Prix, his first win since 2017 and third win in the event. Entering the Indianapolis 500, Josef Newgarden led the championship points standings. For the first time since 2015, no oval races were held prior to Indianapolis. Sponsorship. On January 31, 2019, it was announced that the online financial services company Gainbridge would become the new presenting sponsor of the 500 under a four-year deal. Entry list. The official entry list was released with 36 car/driver combinations. All chassis are Dallara IR12  utilizing the Universal Aero Kit, with Firestone tires. Schedule. An open test on the oval was scheduled for and held April 24, 2019 followed by a private manufacturer's test on the combined road course on April 29. Testing. August 2018. On August 6, 2018 a private test was conducted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval by Firestone. Two teams, one each representing Chevrolet and Honda, participated. Team Penske with driver Will Power tested for Chevy, and Chip Ganassi Racing with driver Scott Dixon tested for Honda. The test was focused on further development to the UAK18 universal aero kits  which debuted in 2018. After some criticism during the 2018 race, improvements were made to the front wing endplate and underwing panels to address stability issues. Speeds were not announced, and no incidents were reported. October 2018. A series-conducted test was scheduled for October 17, 2018 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Six teams tested with six cars, further developing aerodynamic specifications for the UAK18 universal aero kit as well as Firestone tires. In addition, the drivers were able to experience for the first time the performance of the Speedway's pavement, which was recently upgraded with an application of  the asphalt binding agent Recycled Polyethylene (RPE). No speeds were announced, and no incidents were reported. Following the test, the participants expressed that the track had more grip, and the new tire was more consistent than the compound used in 2018. Oval test — Friday April 19. Three Indy 500 rookies took part in an oval acclimation test at Texas Motor Speedway on April 19. Ben Hanley, Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson took part in the test, which was conducted by IndyCar officials. The test provided the drivers with high-speed oval experience prior to the start of the Rookie Orientation  Program. Conditions were reported as windy, and no incidents were reported. Time trials. Bump Day/Pole Day — Sunday May 19. Last Row Shootout. The six cars that failed to qualify on Saturday participated in the Last Row Shootout. Each car was permitted one qualifying attempt to fill positions 31-32-33. The three remaining cars would fail to qualify. Rain delayed the start of the Last Row Shootout until 4:30 p.m. The teams had been permitted only a brief practice session Sunday morning before weather moved into the area. After struggling during practice, and after managing only 33rd on Saturday , Sage Karam set the fastest speed of the session. After crashing and failing to make the top 30 on Saturday, James Hinchcliffe also qualified solidly. Fernando Alonso of McLaren found himself sitting on the bubble with only one car remaining in line. Second-year driver Kyle Kaiser of Juncos Racing was the final driver to make an attempt. Going into the month, the sponsorship for the Juncos team fell through. They suffered a crash in practice on Friday, and ranked last after Saturday's qualifying session. With zero practice laps on the day, Kaiser dramatically bumped out Alonso by 0.0129  seconds to make the starting field. All three cars that failed to qualify were associated with Carlin (the McLaren entry was affiliated with Carlin). Charlie Kimball was the only Carlin entry to make the starting field (he had qualified 20th the day before and as such was not involved in the session). Despite an adequate budget, McLaren's effort with Fernando Alonso was riddled with mistakes, missteps, unpreparedness, and in hindsight was described as a "comedy of errors". During a test session at Texas, the team discovered they did not have a steering wheel. Later, a series of electrical issues  cut into much-needed practice time. When Alonso crashed his primary car during practice, his backup car was not available because the team had sent it back to the paint shop when they realized it had been painted the wrong shade of orange. The painting gaffe cost the team two days of track time. One practice run on Sunday was aborted when the team realized they had made errors in their chassis setups from converting from imperial to metric units. Firestone Fast Nine Shootout. Team Penske won their record-extending 18th Indianapolis 500 pole position, as driver Simon Pagenaud took  the top spot in the Fast Nine Shootout. Three-time polesitter Ed Carpenter was the third car out and set the pace early on with a four-lap average of 229.889 mph. Carpenter's fourth career pole, however, was not to be, as Pagenaud narrowly edged him out by 0.07 seconds. After a disappointing run by Will Power, which saw him drop from 2nd on Saturday to 6th on Sunday, Spencer Pigot was the last car with a chance for the pole. Pigot's first lap was quick, but his four-lap average dropped off and he qualified third. Ed  Carpenter Racing qualified 2nd-3rd-4th, one of the best combined time trials result for a three-car (or larger) race team. Penske Racing qualified 1st-2nd-3rd in 1988, and 1st-3rd-4th in 2010 and 2018. Andretti Autosport also qualified 2nd-3rd-4th in 2012-2013. Because of the earlier rain, the scheduled practice after the Fast Nine Shootout was cancelled. Post-qualifying practice. Pit Stop Challenge. The annual Pit Stop Challenge was held on May 24 following the Freedom 100 Indy Lights race. Victory in the event went to Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Marcus Ericsson's No. 7 car. The team bested Chip Ganassi  Racing's No. 9 car in a best of three shoot-out. The victory marked the first time since 2004 that a team other than Chip Ganassi Racing or Team Penske had done so. Starting grid. Failed to qualify ' = Indianapolis 500 rookie ' = Former Indianapolis 500 winner Race summary. First half. Race day saw a high temperature of with overcast skies for most of the race. Despite forecasts of thunderstorms throughout the day, the race was unaffected by precipitation. The start saw Simon Pagenaud pull out to the lead, with Ed Carpenter and Will Power behind. The first green  flag run was short lived, with the first caution period coming after just four laps, when Colton Herta came to a halt at the exit of turn 4; a gearbox failure causing a quick end to the rookie's race. Racing resumed on lap 10, with Power moving into second place ahead of Carpenter, with Spencer Pigot running fourth. This order would remain intact until the first stops of the race, which began at lap 32. After the stops, the top 3 remained the same, while Josef Newgarden moved to fourth. During the pit sequence, Hélio Castroneves and James Davison  collided in the pit lane, resulting in Davison spinning. Castroneves was handed a drive-through penalty for the incident. At lap 54, Ben Hanley became the race's second retirement, as a broken halfshaft brought an end to the DragonSpeed car's day, though Hanley managed to bring the car back to pit lane without the need for a caution period. The second round of stops came beginning at lap 62, though just before this, Carpenter managed to get back around Power for second. Scott Dixon led his first laps of the day during this period, having saved enough fuel  to stay out until lap 71. During this pit sequence, Jordan King was involved in a pit lane incident where he slid long in his box at hit one of his tire changers; the crew member suffered a leg injury and was transported to a local hospital. Just as the pit sequence ended, the second caution of the day came, as Kyle Kaiser crashed his car in turn 4, ending the day for the Juncos Racing entry. During the caution, Power was moved to the back of the field as a penalty for hitting one of his pit crew members  during his previous pit stop. The running order now ran Pagenaud, Carpenter, Alexander Rossi, Newgarden, and Sébastien Bourdais. Racing resumed at lap 78 with the running order remaining largely the same until the next round of pit stops, starting around lap 99. Rossi led his first laps of the day during the pit sequence after managing to stay out until lap 106, but a slower pit stop dropped him back behind Newgarden and Bourdais. Scott Dixon led again, staying out to lap 111. Second half. Despite the slow stop, Alexander Rossi quickly climbed back up the order, and by lap  112 was in second place and fighting with leader Simon Pagenaud. The two remained close until the next round of stops, beginning at lap 128. Rossi suffered an even slower pit stop when he came in on lap 136 when the fuel nozzle failed to engage properly. Rossi was saved from falling well off the leader by the race's third caution flag. Behind Rossi, Marcus Ericsson spun coming into the pit lane, making contact with the wall with the nose of the car. Though Ericsson's car was not damaged enough to end his race, the car had stalled  and needed retrieval, necessitating the caution period. Those who had not yet stopped, including Scott Dixon, were forced to pit during the caution, placing them behind those who had already stopped. As the field prepared for the next restart, the running order was Pagenaud, Carpenter, Newgarden, Bourdais, and Rossi. Racing resumed at lap 148. Soon after, Josef Newgarden passed Carpenter for second and then successfully stole the lead away from his teammate Pagenaud. Pagenaud elected to stay behind Newgarden for several laps in an effort to conserve fuel and make it to the end on only one more pit stop . This lasted until lap 168, when Pagenaud passed Newgarden back just before pitting again and triggering the final round of pit stops. During the sequence, Rossi was able to jump past both Newgarden and third place Ed Carpenter thanks to the advantage of an undercut. Soon after, Rossi passed Pagenaud for the virtual lead of the race while an off sequence Spencer Pigot led. Just as this happened, caution came for the fourth and final time of the day for a multi-pile up in turn 3. Graham Rahal and Sébastien Bourdais made contact entering the turn, causing them to  crash. Behind them, Felix Rosenqvist, Zach Veach, and Charlie Kimball also lost control of their cars trying to avoid the incident. Of the five cars involved, Kimball was the only one able to continue on with the race. Scott Dixon also received minor damage in the incident. Due to the lengthy necessary clean up, the race was red flagged. Bourdais was deemed to be at fault for the incident, and was handed a 30-second avoidable contact penalty, relegating him to a 30th place finish, placed behind all other drivers involved in the crash. Finish. After roughly 18 minutes, cars  returned to the track, with the top five following Pigot's pit stop being Rossi, Pagenaud, Carpenter, Newgarden, and Takuma Sato, who had finally recovered from trouble during his first pit stop. Racing resumed at lap 186, with Pagenaud immediately passing Rossi in turn 1 to reclaim the lead. The two exchanged places again the next lap before Pagenaud again reclaimed the lead, with the battle cooling down for a few laps. Behind them, Sato managed to pass both Carpenter and Newgarden, placing the former winner suddenly in contention for victory. With three laps to go, Rossi retook the lead  of the race, but one lap later, Pagenaud moved back around Rossi with a pass into turn 3. Despite Rossi's efforts to reel him back in on the final lap, Pagenaud held on to take victory. The final margin of victory was 0.2 seconds, the seventh closest in the history of the race. Pagenaud's victory marked the first time since 1920 that a French-born driver had won the race. It was the elusive first Indianapolis 500 win for longtime IndyCar sponsor John Menard, Jr. It also marked the first time since 2009 that the pole sitter had  won. For winning, Pagenaud earned $2,669,529 out of a total purse of $13,090,536. Rookie of the Year honors went to Santino Ferrucci, who finished seventh in his Indy 500 debut. Points include qualification points from Time Trials, 1 point for leading a lap, and 2 points for most laps led. Broadcasting. Television. NBC televised the race in the United States, having assumed the broadcast rights as part of a new, three-year deal to televise the entire IndyCar Series, replacing ABC for the first time since 1965 (NBCSN held cable rights over the previous contract, but selected races , including the Indianapolis 500, were part of a separate package sold to ABC). The race was called by NBC's commentary team of Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell, and Paul Tracy. Mike Tirico served as on-air host for pre-race coverage, joined by Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as analysts. Dillon Welch, whose father was a former ESPN pit reporter for the Indianapolis 500, was also a reporter. Portions of pre-race activities were exclusive to NBC Sports Gold's "IndyCar Pass" subscription, including most practice sessions and all of the first day of qualifying with the final hour  simulcast by NBCSN along with the entirety of Carb Day also simulcast. Bump and Pole Day were exclusive to NBCSN; while NBC had a scheduled window, the session was delayed due to rain, and NBC had commitments to air an NHL playoff game. The season-long broadcast team of Jake Query, Anders Krohn, and Katie Hargitt covered the Indy Lights Freedom 100. NBCSN broadcast a two-hour pre-race show and a one-hour post-race show on race day. The 2019 Indianapolis 500 saw an average of 5.4 million viewers, and a 3.9 overnight rating—a 15% increase over  the 2018 edition (which was the least-viewed 500 since the introduction of live flag-to-flag coverage). Radio. The race was carried by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. Mark Jaynes served as the chief announcer or "Voice of the 500" for the fourth consecutive year. For 2019, the booth announcers moved to a new location. The IMS Radio Network took over the studio formerly occupied by ABC television, on the second floor of the Pagoda renamed the Sid Collins Booth. NBC took over the booth high atop the Pagoda which the radio crew used to utilize. As a  result, the chief announcer no longer had a clear view of turn one, and the separate turn one announcer (which was left vacant multiple times in the past several years) was brought back once again. Nick Yeoman took the prestigious turn one reporting location, as Jerry Baker was now permanently retired from the crew but was working with the public address department. 1070 The Fan broadcast nightly with "Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee", followed by Donald Davidson's "The Talk of Gasoline Alley".