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.