Indianapolis 500 practice, top speeds, crashes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today 5/16/25
Cars receive a turbocharger boost to replicate qualifying setups on Saturday and Sunday, May 17-18. Speeds will rise from previous practice days, which are run with lower boost replicating race setups.
There was an interesting mix of teams atop the Thursday's leaderboard: Josef Newgarden (Penske), 226.632 mph; Scott Dixon (Ganassi), 225.457; Conor Daly (Juncos Hollinger), 224.894; Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren), 224.467; Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dreyer & Reinbold/Cusick), 223.983. Newgarden also has the best no-tow lap at 222.555.
Nathan Brown is your best Indy 500 follow, and sign up for IndyStar's motorsports newsletter. We will have speed updates and highlights all afternoon, so remember to refresh.
A 50% chance of rain with high temperatures in the low 80s.
TV: Coverage will be on Fox, FS1 or FS2, depending on day and time. Will Buxton is the play-by-play voice, with analysts James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell.
FoxSports.com, Fox Sports app.
IndyCar Nation is on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network (check affiliates for each race)
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Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
'My phone number is wide-open': Could Kyle Busch make his Indy 500 debut?
NASCAR veteran Kyle Busch has twice come close to an Indy 500 debut opportunity, and he says he'd still be interested. Busch was close to finalizing a deal with Arrow McLaren in the fall of 2022 for a ride that ultimately went to Kyle Larson. Busch: 'I'm not going to be making calls and pushing for it. If somebody calls me and says that they're ready to go ... we'll go do it.' Twice, Kyle Busch has had a major consumer-facing sponsor lined up to foot the bill for an Indianapolis 500 debut, and twice last-minute semantics have derailed his plans yards from the figurative finish line. Is he willing to pursue what remains his last remaining bucket list-type race before he hands up his helmet for the final time? 'Sure, I would do it. I would give it a go, give it whirl,' the 21-year NASCAR Cup series veteran told IndyStar last month. 'I know Kyle (Larson) ran into some terrible luck with some weather, so Mother Nature wasn't on his side, but maybe they'll be on my side. 'But my phone number is wide-open, so (teams): Call me.' Busch is among the favorites, of fans on social media since IndyStar reported that McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown is targeting a 'mega,' 'unreal' candidate to pilot Arrow McLaren's fourth one-off 500 entry next year – a driver Brown and team principal Tony Kanaan hope to get in a car for a rookie oval test in the coming weeks or months before deciding whether there's a fit for both sides. 'Conversations with that are ongoing, and it would be mega,' Brown told IndyStar in Toronto. 'I think we're going to do a test first, and when we do that test, it's going to be a bit of a giveaway on who it is, because I don't think we'll be able to do a top-secret test.' In order to check the 'mega' and 'unreal' boxes, many minds have immediately gone to ex-Formula 1 aces, though several – Daniel Ricciardo and Jenson Button, both major names of the sport's last couple decades who have McLaren ties – have said publicly they have no desire to make a run at the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Notably, four-time F1 champ Sebastian Vettel said previously he would entertain the idea of running the 500, and he's just 38 and has said he still would like to race after stepping away from F1 after the 2022 campaign. But beyond trying to get into Brown's head and discern just how 'mega' and 'unreal' he means, there's otherwise no indication the retired German F1 driver would be the selection. Others have called for Xfinity breakout star Connor Zilisch, who seems primed to make a leap to full-season NASCAR Cup series action in 2026, and Zilisch has said the 500 is most certainly on his to-do list, but doing so as a Cup series rookie at 19 years old would seem unwise. And for what it's worth, Brown denied to IndyStar Sunday morning that the six-time Xfinity series race-winner was his target. But Busch? He held talks with the team three years ago, not long after announcing his switch to the Chevrolet-powered Richard Childress Racing Cup team that would clear the pivotal manufacturer and team owner hurdles he'd struggled with in the past. According to Busch, in 2017, he had a deal 'signed, sealed and delivered' funded by his Cup sponsor M&Ms, and his Cup OEM Toyota had okay'd the plan to run for a Chevy-powered IndyCar team during the Month of May. 'But guess who said 'No'?' Busch asked fellow Cup veteran Denny Hamlin on an episode of the latter's 'Actions Detrimental' podcast back in May of this year, to which Hamlin answered the team owner they'd shared for the bulk of their careers: 'Joe Gibbs.' Busch nodded. 'And then I had it signed, sealed and delivered again, and then (Kyle) Larson took it,' Busch replied. As the two-time Brickyard 400 winner tells the story, he had a sponsor – believed to be Menards – that was in talks with Brown in the fall of '22, and most of the details had been settled, until the sides got to who would cover the cost of buying the brand-new car for the effort. 'I don't really think it's worth it': Why Kyle Larson may not do the Indy 500-NASCAR double 'The deal was done, and we were about ready to go to contract, and Zak Brown told the sponsor, 'Hey, I need you to buy the car.' And the sponsor was like, 'Why do I want to buy the car? I don't want to buy the car. I don't need the car. I want to sponsor the car. I'm sponsoring Kyle, and he's going to drive the car, but I don't want to buy the car,'' Busch said of the conversation. 'It wasn't two weeks later that I'm talking to this sponsor guy, and he says, 'Yeah, I guess we're too late anyways, now that the opportunity is closed because Larson got it.' 'And it was then I found out Larson signed a two-year deal, and we were only going to do a one-year deal.' It had been mid-September of that year when Busch announced his shift from JGR to RCR, and by the first week of October, Brown told reporters that someone within Arrow McLaren had been in touch with Busch about the opportunity. Three months later, Arrow McLaren announced that Larson, Hendrick Motorsports and Arrow McLaren had put together an elongated program that would see the 2021 Cup series champ slowly get up to speed over the ensuing 17 months ahead of a May 2024 Indy 500 debut. That extra 2023 Indy 500 seat at Arrow McLaren would ultimately go to Kanaan, who here made his final 500 and IndyCar start before assuming an advisory role that within 18 months would evolve into his present team principal position. In May of 2023, Busch told Fox Sports in the wake of his second Indy 500 opportunity that fell through that he was done proactively trying to make the dream happen – seemingly the same attitude the 40-year-old still holds. 'I'm not going to be making calls and pushing for it,' Busch said just over two years ago. 'If somebody calls me and says that they're ready to go, and it all lines up right, so be it. We'll go do it.'
3 days ago
A power loss changed everything: How Palou secured his fourth IndyCar title
Alex Palou wrapped up his fourth IndyCar championship in the last five seasons on Sunday at Portland International Raceway when title contender Pato O'Ward lost power early in the race. O'Ward started from the pole and was the only driver mathematically eligible to beat Palou for the championship. Palou went into Sunday with a cozy 121-point lead over O'Ward in the standings and so long as he left Portland up by 108 points, he'd clinch the championship in the first race of a three consecutive weekends to close the season. The Astor Cup became his just 22 laps into the race on the Portland road course when O'Ward had an electronic issue on his Arrow McLaren Chevrolet and had to make an unplanned pit stop. He returned to the track down nine laps from the leaders. Palou finished third, O'Ward finished 25th and Palou has the title cemented with two races remaining in the IndyCar season and an insurmountable 151-point lead. Palou was feisty in the closing portion of the race and raced unnecessarily aggressive at times — even driving off course with four laps remaining and drag-racing Christian Lundgaard for position. 'We're here to win. That's why we're here. We've said it many times. When we come here, although we have that big goal of winning the championship, our priority is always to win races and win every single weekend,' insisted Palou. 'Even though could have been OK to stay third, we wanted to win.' Palou has won all four of his championships for Chip Ganassi Racing and ran away with this one, his third consecutive, by storming out of the gate with a win in the first two races of the year to set the pace for Ganassi to win its 17th IndyCar title in 30 years. The 17 championships tie Penske Racing. Twelve of Ganassi's IndyCar titles have come in the last 17 years, starting with Scott Dixon's brilliant 2008 season in which he put together a run similar to the one Palou had this year. Dixon in 2008 won six races, including the Indianapolis 500, six poles and the first of his six championships. Ganassi has many times before dressed-down drivers for putting themselves in unnecessary positions, but this time had no qualms with Palou racing hard for a race win rather than sitting back and coasting to to the title. 'It depends on the situation, the driver. Like Alex said, we go into this race with that 10 car team, every race, we want to win the race, OK? That's how we got to this point,' said Ganassi. 'We didn't change anything today. You can't play God." But Ganassi admitted Palou did cause a brief scare with his determination to race hard in the final laps. 'When he was fighting for second or third, I was fine with it,' said Ganassi. 'I got to say my heart skipped a beat when he went off there, but other than that I was all for it.' Only A.J. Foyt (seven) and Dixon (six) have more championships than Palou, who broke through this season by winning on ovals to finally show he's the complete package. That was clear years ago, and he is embroiled in a $30 million breach of contract civil suit with Arrow McLaren for not honoring a deal to join that team. He's instead stayed loyal to Ganassi and this year, Palou won five of the first six races, including the Indianapolis 500 that had eluded him in five previous tries. That win at the Brickyard cemented the Spaniard's path to another championship and he's been untouchable since. Palou went into Portland with a series-high eight wins, five poles, 11 top-five finishes in 14 races, 563 laps led and a 1.2 average finish. He padded those number on Sunday. Palou joined Dario Franchitti, Sebastien Bourdais and Ted Horn as the only drivers in series history to win three consecutive titles. But, with two more races this season, Palou has a chance to tie the IndyCar record for victories in a season set at 10 by Foyt in 1964 and Al Unser in 1970. He lost his chance to break the most wins in a season record Sunday when Will Power won at Portland. It was the first victory of the season for the Penske fleet, which has been in a slump all year and did not get its first win until the 15th of 17 races.
Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- Indianapolis Star
'Just funny.' Will Power delivers Team Penske breakthrough IndyCar win despite unknown future with team
PORTLAND, Ore. — A year ago, Will Power sat at this very stage and was resolute that at 43 years old, with series season highs of three wins, seven podiums and Team Penske's most recent IndyCar title, he wasn't about to be pushed out of the sport as he approached what would be the final year on his current contract in 2025. And yet, 12 months later with just two races remaining on that deal, as Team Penske's only race-winner this season, and its leader in points, podiums and top-5s not only this year but since the start of 2022, that future remains as uncertain as ever. This week, Power revealed the deadline for which news will be known as to whether Team Penske's 17-year veteran with two championships and an Indy 500 victory to his credit — sometime around the Aug. 31 season finale — but even in the wake of his victory Sunday at Portland International Raceway, Power spoke every bit like a driver somewhat fed up with the lack of clarity, given the resume he can lay out for Roger Penske at the board room table. 'I won three races last year. If you're a team, and you're waiting on me to know if I'm good enough, I don't know what you're thinking,' a resolute Power said Sunday, having leapt to sixth in points with two races to go, just 56 points back of where he finished a year ago (fourth) despite a pair of blown engines, a tire failure while in the lead at Gateway and a Lap 1 crash at St. Pete that, admittedly, was a calamity of his own making. 'If you're actually waiting, 'I'm not sure this guy is good enough,' just go back to last year, and you'll (expletive) know.' When asked directly whether he felt capturing the team's first win of 2025 and his present place in the points had earned him another stint at his longtime home, Power answered as politically correct as he could, but was clearly miffed and seemed to give an answer that was genuine. 'I have no clue. I don't know. Nothing else to say, man," he said. "I don't know. '(Winning) is a nice feeling. Done it many times before. Just funny that it comes at this time of the year. It's going to be interesting, man. Obviously, I don't know what the future holds, but I think this was just very nice.' Asked in a different manner, with a reporter curious whether he can now feel as if he's firmly put the ball in Penske's court, having finally captured a win this year, something he said two months ago would be a key box to be able to tick in the midst of negotiations, Power offered this rather interesting quip: 'I don't know, man. Maybe it's my decision?' Without question, his demand runs wide throughout the paddock, with virtually no Silly Season yet for 2026, beyond Arrow McLaren and Andretti Global declaring that seats of theirs that appeared to be in some level of question would see no changes heading into 2026. Insider: When will Will Power learn his IndyCar future? Team Penske legend expects to have to wait til finale Elsewhere, Meyer Shank Racing notably has yet to come to terms on a new deal to secure Marcus Armstrong's services beyond the end of this season (Armstrong, for what it's worth, is on loan from Chip Ganassi Racing, so it's unclear exactly which party may be doing the direct negotiating with the young Kiwi driver who sits ninth in points). Rahal Letterman Lanigan is also known to be a potential landing spot, should the team trigger unique terms in its multi-year deal with Devlin DeFrancesco that could lead to the sides parting ways after just one season. Multiple sources in the paddock believe there are mechanisms, too, that could hold onto much-needed funding for the No. 30 that could make continuing to fund that ride in DeFrancesco's absence easier than originally believed. 'We've been very fortunate the last 17 years that Will has had the consistency and a solid home at Penske,' Will's wife Liz told IndyStar post-race Sunday when asked what the months of uncertainty had been like to experience. 'This has been the longest — and really the first time. We've never gone through this before like this. 'After May, seeing Will going through this rollercoaster of the emotions, it's been more melancholy. Not mad; just disappointed because, as he's said, 'I've been loyal,' and we haven't gotten a lot of answers, and it's been hard to watch him go through that. But on the flipside, it's been a fun experience for us …' Fun? 'Well, just because you see there's interest in Will. There's a lot of interest in Will. (Other teams outside Penske) see his worth. I think he's handling this, in whatever which way it goes, so we'll see what happens at the last race.' Explainer: Why is Team Penske considering replacing Will Power when he's been its best driver this year? In his first public news conference as the president of Team Penske's IndyCar and sportscar programs, Jonathan Diuguid wasn't prepared to offer any concrete resolution to Power's future beyond the season finale Aug. 31 at Nashville Superspeedway. 'Will's future is about 30 minutes old from winning a race,' Diuguid said. 'His future's definitely bright. He did an amazing job today. We're looking forward to the last two races of the season.' When pressed by IndyStar why the team's longest-tenured driver, who holds the team's top championship position, its first win in 2025 and its most recent championship, among other notable metrics in Power's and manager Oriol Servia's corner at the negotiating table, doesn't yet have that future with the team set in place, Diuguid declined to elaborate further. 'I'm not going to discuss that today. I'm going to focus on the win, the team performance,' Diuguid said. 'Like you mentioned before, winning can do a lot of things. It's very positive for our program. We're going to reap all the benefits of that as we head to Milwaukee.'
