Kirkwood Leads Choppy Session

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Kyle Kirkwood emerged with the fastest lap of the weekend in a morning practice interrupted by several red flags.

Rinus VeeKay lost an engine to bring out the second stoppage of Detroit Grand Prix practice. The first one was to retrieve a blue flag dropped by a corner marshal.

Christian Lundgaard lost his engine during the first group practice. It has been a difficult month for Chevy engines beginning with the Open test in late April.

Kirkwood had scraped the wall with his right rear tire, but he returned before the end of the group round to set the quickest lap. Just 4 tenths of a send separate Kirkwood from fourth place Alex Palou.

Results:

Qualifying Groups;

Group 2 looks brutal. One contender might get knocked out.

Saturday at Detroit

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SATURDAY, MAY 30

8-8:45 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone practice #2, FS1(live)

9:05-10:25 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice #2 (45 minutes all car session followed by two 10-minute group sessions), FS1 (live)

Noon-12:30 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying (Two groups, 10-minute session), FS1 (live)

1-2:30 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying for NTT P1 Award (Three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS1 (live)

IMSA Race 4pm NBC

Practice Groups

Group A goes first in the split sessions following the entire grid period.

Notes

For the 2026 season to date, five drivers- Palou, Kirkwood, Newgarden, Lundgaard, and Rosenqvist- have won races. The drivers represent five different teams- Penske, Andretti, Ganassi, Arrow McLaren, and Meyer Shank. At this point last year only Palou and Kirkwood had won races.

Indianapolis 500 leftovers:

Sincde 2020 only four different teams have won the Indianapolis 500- Rahal Letterman Racing (1) Team Penske (2), Meyer Shank Racing (2), Chip Ganassi Racing (2).

Six different drivers have won the race, none from the pole.

I’ll be back with Practice 2 results and qualifying groups later today, and qualifying results this evening.

Palou Tops Detroit Practice 1

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Alex Palou was fastest in Friday practice for the Detroit Grand Prix, just edging defending race winner Kyle Kirkwood by 19 hundredths of a second. Will Power was third quickest, 22 hundredths of a second behind Palou.

Palou is seeking his third pole in the month of May. He won the pole at the Sonsio Grand Prix, where he finished fifth, then took the coveted Indianapolis 500 pole position for the 110th running. Palou finished seventh last Sunday.

“Good start,” Palou said. “It’s just super tough to get a lap here when everything feels good. Although we looked very good, I think we need to work on the car and try to make it a little bit better because I think there was a ton of people that couldn’t really get a good lap.”

Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist was 11th fastest in today’s practice.

Tomorrow is a short, ,packed day with practice at 9 am Eastern and qualifying at 1 pm. IMSA then has the track for the rest of the day.

Results

Detroit Has a Tough Act to Follow-

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Against the tide of a lingering Indianapolis 500 hangover, the Detroit Grand Prix begins today with a practice at 3 pm for the IndyCar series. The Detroit race on the downtown streets usually presents a less than scintillating show, and its place on the schedule does the event no favors. IndyCar goes from a 220 mph drag race for the Borg-Warner trophy to a sub 100 mph tour in the Motor City.

This weekend is the fourth edition of the Detroit race since its move from Belle Isle, a track where the racing became decent in the late 20 teens. I used to wish the series would not race there because the contests were dull processions. Be careful what you wish for, I guess.

Detroit is the eighth race on the 18 race calendar for 2026, and unlike the last two years, the potential for a title fight remains. David Malukas has moved into second place, trailing Alex Palou by 37 points. Kyle Kirkwood has dropped to third, 49 points behind. Kirkwood lost 32 points to Palou in May.

Here are some things to watch for:

Andretti Rebound

Andretti Global had a difficult May at IMS, but the team returns to the discipline which is their strength. Kirkwood has won three street course races since 2025, and he is the defending winner at Detroit.

Will Power has been a winner on several street courses, and Marcus Ericsson also has a street victory to his name.

Look for this trio, especially Kirkwood, to be at or near the front the entire weekend.

Rosenqvist 500 Hangover

Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist might have the ultimate post=race hangover following a week of activities honoring the new Indianapolis champion. The race might be his most relaxing time of the past eight days.

Winners of the 500 don’t traditionally fare well in the race following the 500. It was true in Milwaukee, and it remained true in Texas and continued to Detroit.

Malukas Momentum?

David Malukas remains agonizingly on the cusp of his first series win. He has an average finish of 7.3 this season in the three previous street races. AS result in that range will keep him in the title hunt. I think he gets his first win at Gateway next weekend.

A solid result on a course that is not Malukas’s strength will go a long way toward erasing the pain he felt at the end of the race five days ago.

The Indianapolis 500 is a tough act to follow no matter which race is next. There have been rumblings this week about giving everyone in the series a break after the 500. The schedule is hard on the crews and staff, and this year there are consecutive weekends following the 500. IndyCar is afraid of losing momentum by taking a week off, but a break would allow about 12 days to celebrate the winner of the biggest race in the world and promote the rest of the season.

If the series wants to build on the momentum of the 500, an oval race should be the next contest. Gateway and Detroit should swap dates on the calendar.

I see Kyle Kirkwood reestablishing his street course dominance with a victory on Sunday, inching closer to second place and gaining on Palou.

I will be covering the race from home with results of all sessions and reports on anything else I hear.

Indianapolis 500 Purse Payout

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1. Felix Rosenqvist $4,340,500

2. David Malukas $1,682,500

3. Scott McLaughlin $1,414,500

4. Pato O’Ward $1,279,000

5. Marcus Armstrong $1,206,500

6. Rinus VeeKay $1,178,500

7. Alex Palou $1,399,000

8. Santino Ferrucci $1,164,000

9. Romain Grosjean $1,150,000

10. Takuma Sato $137,000

11. Nolan Siegel $1,132,000

12. Conor Daly $138,000

13. Marcus Ericsson $1,125,500

14. Kyffin Simpson $1,183,500

15. Scott Dixon $1,218,500

16. Kyle Kirkwood $1,102,000

17. Christian Lundgaard $1,105,500

18. Mick Schumacher $218,800

19. Dennis Hauger $159,800

20. Graham Rahal $1,105,500

21. Louis Foster $1,105,500

22. Jack Harvey $102,000

23. Sting Ray Robb $155,300

24. Jacob Abel $103,000

25. Helio Castroneves $102,000

26. Caio Collet $1,126,500

27. Christian Rasmussen $1,110,000

28. Josef Newgarden $1,105,500

29. Will Power $1,105,500

30. Alexander Rossi $1,141,000

31. Ed Carpenter $102,000

32. Ryan Hunter-Reay $105,500

33. Katherine Legge $102,000

Indianapolis 500 Purse Soars to New Increases by More than 50 Percent

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 INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, May 25, 2026) – The Indianapolis 500 purse record was broken for the fifth consecutive year for the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, with first-time winner Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian earning a record-high $4.34 million from a total purse of $30,906,400.This is the largest purse in the history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on the heels of four consecutive record-breaking years.
This year’s average payout for NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers was $936,500, which also exceeds last year’s average of $596,500.In 2025, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $20,283,000, and the year’s winner payout was $3.8 million.
In 2024, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $18,456,000 and the winner earned $4.3 million, which included a $440,000 roll-over bonus from BorgWarner for earning back-to-back wins.
In 2023, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $17,021,500, and the winner earned $3.7 million. In 2022, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $16,000,200, and the winner earned $3.1 million.
Prior to 2022, the largest Indianapolis 500 purse was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indianapolis 500.
“The Indianapolis 500 continues to make history, in more ways than one,” INDYCAR and IMS President J. Douglas Boles said.
“The Month of May featured a back-to-back grandstand sellout crowd – our largest crowd since the 100th Running in 2016 – and intense on track action with the most lead changes ever in the Indy 500. Felix Rosenqvist added his name to the history books in stellar fashion, with the closest finish in Indy 500 history and now the largest purse. There’s no better end to a memorable month.”
Mick Schumacher of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors for his performance during the Month of May. Schumacher earned a $50,000 bonus for being named Rookie of the Year, adding to a total take-home prize of $218,800.
The Indianapolis 500 purse consists of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NTT INDYCAR SERIES awards, plus other designated and special awards.
Purse awards are presented annually at the Victory Celebration, held this year at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis Monday night.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday, May 31 on the streets of Downtown Detroit. The race will be broadcast live on FOX, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls at 12:30 p.m. ET.

110th Indianapolis 500 Wrap Up

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The Indianapolis 500 ending people dream of, followed by the victor’s unbridled joy, and the runner-up’s dejection, was the perfect ending to a compelling race. It was a day tha many thought would not happen on this particular Sunday, with storm clouds looming and pessimistic forecasts even from the most optimistic of forecasters.

Here are the highlights from my perspective from the back of the media center.

The Agony of Defeat

David Malukas’s heart rending post-race interview with FOX was tough to watch, but I admire his outpouring of what he was going through at the time. We rarely get such a heartfelt interview with the second place driver anymore. David’s time to win is coming, perhaps as soon as June 7 at Gateway.

The Fall of 500 Favorites

Things tend to run in cycles, but the drop-off in results from ECR and Andretti Global is painful to watch.

ECR used to be a qualifying powerhouse, with two poles and a consistent top nine presence. While Alexander Rosswi grabbed the middle of the front row and led a few laps, his car, the same one he drove in last year’s race. caught fire as did in 2025.

His teammates also watched the end of the race from the pits. Ed Carpenter was knocked out after being squeezed by Takuma Sato in turn 1 on a restart, and Christian Rasmussen leaving the fray with mechanical issues.

Andretti Global started the practice week strong, but lost speed every day, and were relegated to the back of the starti9ng grid. Will Power lost5 an engine before t5he halfway point, and Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood soldiered on all day, improving their positions. Ericsson finished 13th, and Kirkwood 16th.

I hope both teams can find some answers for next May. The race will be even more fun with these two teams mounting a challenge.

The Other Photo Finish

I did not see whether FOX covered the race for third or not- I’m guessing they didn’t because of the incredible finish, but Scott Mclaughlin, O Pato O’Ward, and Marcus Armstrong crossed the line in a near photo finish for third, fourth, and fifth. McLaughlin beat O’Ward by0.0066 seconds for third, and O’Ward nipped Armstrong by another 0.0089 seconds. The difference from third to fifth- 0.0155 seconds.

The Race

Many years ago (around the time Joe Dawson won) I created my guidelines for a good race- No driver leads more than a third of the laps, and caution periods consume no more than 25% of the day. Yesterday fit those criteria.

The yellows came at just the right times to trigger multiple fuel strategies, and they were spaced just right to allow teams to fine tune their plans. When the early leaders fade because of pit strategies, we are going to see a great race.

besides the record 70 lead changes, many of which I dismiss as merely a fuel saving tactic by the leader, not real competition passing, there was close racing throughout the field.

Yesterday’s 500 was one of my favorite all time races. It did not change my top three of 1986, 2024, and 2014- but it will definitely be in the top 10, perhaps as high as fifth.

The Pre Race and Pace Laps

Maybe it’s the old man who lives inside me talking, but the opening ceremonies seemed overly long this year. The speech by the army officer was much longer than necessary and devolved into propaganda and jingoism. I think this part of the program can be eliminated.

While I was disappointed to see the helicopters ruining the pace laps again, I was glad that there were only two instead of four and that they left after just a couple of laps. The speedway should continue to eliminate two helicopters each year.

369 More Days- UGH

Now we wait a very long 369 more days until the 111th Indianapolis 500, w2hen the race runs on its proper date. I always feel gypped when the race is on the 24th.

Thanks to everyone who followed along during the fortnight of May.