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a day ago
- Automotive
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How to watch 2025 NASCAR Truck Series: Schedule, start time, TV channel for Rackley Roofing 200
The 2025 Rackley Roofing 200 is back at Nashville Superspeedway for another year of racing. A 199.5-mile race that requires 150 laps to complete, it will mark the next race of the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Here's what you need to know about the race, how to watch and more. When is the Rackley Roofing 200? The Rackley Roofing 200 is scheduled for Friday, May 30th at 8 p.m. ET. Where is the race? The Rackley Roofing 200 will take place at Nashville Superspeedway in Nashville, Tennessee. How long is the race? The Rackley Roofing 200 is a total of 150 laps and 199.5 miles. Where can I watch the Rackley Roofing 200? What channel will it be on? The race will be broadcast live on FS1 and the FOX Sports App . How can I stream or watch the race without cable? The Rackley Roofing 200 can be streamed on FS1, the FOX Sports App or For those without cable, there are live-streaming services that carry FS1, including YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV and fuboTV. What is the Nashville Superspeedway Schedule? Friday, May 23rd Saturday, 24th NASCAR Xfinity Series Practice - 2:05 p.m. ET (CW App) NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying - 3:10 p.m. ET (CW App) NASCAR Cup Series Practice - 4:30 p.m. ET (Prime Video) NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying - 5:40 p.m. ET (Prime Video) NASCAR XFinity Series Tennessee Lottery 250 - 7:30 p.m. ET (CW App) Sunday, May 25th Who is driving in the race? There are 32 drivers entered into the Rackley Roofing 200. recommended Get more from NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Drivers weigh in on cars at end of Indy 500 lead lap: ‘Get the F out of the way'
Bruce Martin Special to DETROIT — For many of the 350,000 fans that attended the 109th Indianapolis 500 and the peak audience of 8.4 million viewers that watched on FOX, they wondered why the winner of the race was the third car that crossed the finish line and the fourth car on the track was scored as second. It was a rare situation that happens on ovals when the last two cars on the lead lap are actually running ahead of the leader and haven't been lapped yet. Because they are fighting to stay on the lead lap, they do not have to yield their position to the race leader, per INDYCAR rules. At the end of last Sunday's Indy 500, those two cars were raced by Devlin DeFrancesco of Toronto and Louie Foster, a rookie from Odiham, Hampshire, England. Both drivers race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and both were fighting to complete all 200 laps of the Indianapolis 500 on the lead lap. But in the final 16 laps of the race, Alex Palou masterfully used the two cars on the end of the lead lap to improve his speed the draft. That meant Palou's No. 10 DHL Honda could run faster while saving fuel. Marcus Ericsson was running second at the time after Palou boldly passed him for the lead on the inside of Turn 1 on the 187th lap. Because Palou was being aerodynamically towed by Foster and DeFrancesco, the car fourth in line experienced turbulence and could not get a run to attempt to pass Palou for the win. When the checkered flag waved, Palou was the winner of the race and Ericsson was scored second. Ericsson would later get bounced to 31st place by INDYCAR officials after his No. 28 Honda failed post-race technical inspection because of illegal modifications to the engine management system cover. Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood was also penalized for the same infraction after finishing sixth and he was moved to 32nd in the final results. Although Foster and DeFrancesco were both racing ahead of the leader based on the rules, many drivers believe the spirit of the rules should have seen those two drivers move over to let Palou and Ericsson by. Also, Palou knew his car performed better with another car in front and chose to stay behind the two to maintain his position as the leader, rather than give Ericsson a chance on the track. "We had two cars that were almost a lap down right in front of us," Palou explained to me in an exclusive interview the day after winning the Indy 500. "They were breaking the air in front of me, so I had a tow on the straight, so I was going a lot faster on the straight than if I was alone leading the race. "The only bad part is that on the corners, you're losing down force and you're losing grip, so you cannot go as fast. "It was the same for Marcus on the corners, but at least Marcus couldn't really get a big difference with the tow on me to overtake me on the straight. "It's similar to what Helio Castroneves did to me in 2021. "I'm glad it worked out for me this time." In the 105th Indianapolis 500 in 2021, Castroneves went to the outside to pass race leader Palou with two laps to go at the start-finish line. As they encountered a pack of lapped cars out of Turn 4, it gave Castroneves the drafting advantage. The cars at the tail end of the lead lap that ran in front of the two drivers fighting it out for victory were Ryan Hunter-Reay in the DHL car, Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske and James Hinchcliffe of Andretti Autosport. Castroneves knew to draft behind those cars to disturb the aero on Palou's No. 10 Honda on the final lap, as he became the fourth four-time Indianapolis 500 winner. Ironically, Hunter-Reay's sponsor on the No. 28 Honda in 2021 was DHL — the same sponsor for Palou's No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda in 2025. David Malukas was scored as third on Sunday but moved up to second place on Monday after Ericsson was penalized. After the race, Malukas claimed that "lappers spoiled the party." At Monday night's Indianapolis 500 Victory Awards Celebration at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, he took a much more open view of the end of the race. He said neither Foster nor DeFrancesco did anything wrong. It was just bad timing for some of the drivers fighting it out for the win that they caught up to the tail end of the lead lap near the end of the race. "I understand it from both sides," Malukas told me. "It's more of just an unfortunate situation that they get to be there at that final battle. "You take those lap cars out of the scenario, and now it's a four- or five-way battle for the lead. It's not like if lapped cars weren't there, it's a guaranteed win. "To be fair, we could have probably finished even worse and could have been fifth, but … it just makes for a very good ending. "It's a high-octane finish. People are going left, right, back and forth, pushing. But when you have lapped cars racing up to speed and you have the leader just towing up behind them, nobody can do anything with 15 laps to go. "Everybody knew that." Team Penske's Will Power believes INDYCAR officials should revise the rule and force the tail end of the lead lap to move over and let the drivers fighting it out for the victory get by. "If the leader is coming up behind you, get the F out of the way," Power told me Monday. Night. "That's certainly one way to do it. "Just get out of the way. Your day is done. There are 15 to go. People are fighting out for a win. "Come on." Power won the 2018 Indianapolis 500 and has often criticized race officiating for not having slower cars move over to keep the leaders out front. "There would have been a lot of passing for the win if there weren't two back markers racing in front of them," Power continued. "All the people watching and they're just watching two back markers for the last people on the lead lap fight it out which is wrong. "I just think maybe with 20 to go, you need a blue flag rule or something because everyone's there to see the leaders fight it out. For me it's been a huge problem with INDYCAR for a long time. Why should you fight with a person in last place, who is still running?" Barry Wanser calls the race strategy for Palou at Chip Ganassi Racing and he is the team manager for the six-time Indy 500 winning team. He was adamant that it was the circumstance of the race that the drivers fighting it out for the win encountered the end of the lead lap. "They were definitely not lapped cars," Wanser told me. "They were the tail end of the lead lap, which means if a yellow came out, they would be packed up at the back of the pack and they'd be racing for a higher position when it goes green. So, they were doing exactly what they were entitled to do. "It benefited us. You don't know what is going to happen during the race that will hurt you or benefit you. That helped us. "We lost to Helio in 2021 because he passed us and then caught the traffic in front of him. And then that makes it much harder, and we had to settle for second. "This allowed us to run technically in third as the leader with those two cars in front of us, which helped us." Wanser also cleared up the misconception that INDYCAR should have used the blue flag, for Foster and DeFrancesco to move over. On the ovals, INDYCAR uses the 105-percent rule. "If you are not maintaining at least 105 percent of the leader's pace, then you're required to make a pit stop and change the car," Wanser explained. "On road courses, street courses, we have the blue flag rule, but you have to be a lap down to the entire field until you're a blue-flag eligible." Ricky Davis is Palou's crew chief at Chip Ganassi Racing and prepared the race-winning machine that won. "They didn't spoil it," David told me, referring to Foster and DeFrancesco. "Well, they didn't spoil our party. They might have spoiled it for Ericsson and Malukas, and we were certainly appreciative of that. "Those cars are still in lead lap, so they did not have to move over. If they were off the pace, they would have moved over. But the thing is, they were running as fast, if not faster, than we were." Palou's latest win came in the biggest race on Earth and gives the popular driver from Spain a 112-point lead over Pato O'Ward in the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship. It was also Palou's fifth win in the first six INDYCAR races this season. Team owner Chip Ganassi realizes this combination is historically special and credits Palou with understanding the situation that helped him win. "There was lots of racecraft going on in his head while he's driving around," Ganassi told me. "We won the race, and we lost the race by those same sort of circumstances, as you said. "It's just one of those things that happens in motor racing, when you're on a closed circuit and you have other cars that are going to be involved in the outcome of a race sometimes." It was Castroneves that schooled Palou to become the fourth four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2021. Four years later, Palou remembered that lesson and used it on 2022 Indy 500 winner Ericsson. "He was an amazing teacher," Palou said of Castroneves. "It was an expensive class, honestly. "I would say there's part of luck, as well. Like you need to have the traffic at the right time, and yes, you need to be able to read it, but everything was falling to my way and then I had to overtake Marcus. But I don't know if he thought he was safe or if he was not thinking that traffic was playing a big role on the race or not. "But yeah, glad that the 2021 class paid off." With his latest triumph, Palou has certainly moved to the head of the class in INDYCAR. Bruce Martin is a veteran motorsports writer and contributor to Follow him on X at @BruceMartin_500 . BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Ranking Indy 500 drivers from 33 to 1: Can anyone unseat Josef Newgarden? Got milk? 33 potential Indy 500 winners pick preferred dairy option Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me' No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word 2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Marcus Ericsson among the ‘heartbroken' after Indy 500: ‘More than just a race'
Bruce Martin Special to INDIANAPOLIS — Finishing second in the biggest race in the world would seem like a reason to celebrate. But finishing second in the Indianapolis 500 usually makes a race driver cry. That's what Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global did when he pulled into pit lane and climbed out of his No. 28 Andretti Global Honda on Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ericsson won the Indianapolis 500 in 2022. He finished second in 2023 but was more upset with the way INDYCAR Race Control handled a late Red Flag in order to have a one-lap restart in that race, as Josef Newgarden captured the first of his two Indianapolis 500 wins. In Sunday's 109th Indianapolis 500, Ericsson was battling with his former Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Alex Palou. You may know him as the driver that always wins in INDYCAR. And on Sunday, he won the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in his career. Ericsson was in the lead from Lap 170 to Lap 186 before Palou passed him on Lap 187. From that point until the yellow and checkered flags waved after 200 laps, Palou used all the skill, savvy and experience to drive to victory and deny Ericsson the second Indy 500 win of his career. Ericsson finished 0.6822 of a second behind Palou's No. 10 DHL Honda. For Palou, it was joyous. For Ericsson, it was heartbreaking. Ericsson sat on pit wall and hung his head with the helmet still on. That's because tears were flowing down his face. When he took off the helmet, his eyes were filled with tears. It's proof that losing hurts worse than winning feels good. "This race is more than just a race. It means everything to me," Ericsson told me. "To be that close to winning again. It's the second time I finished second here. "It's painful to miss out. The winner takes it all. That's how it works here. "No one cares about who finished second." Ericsson attempted to compare his two second-place finishes. "They both hurt very much," Ericsson said. "It's tough to be that close. We got ourselves out in the lead. It's tough with the lapped cars in front of us. They played a big part and Alex took the opportunity. "I'm just angry with myself that I didn't keep the position. "It was my race to win." "I came out of the pits in the lead and lost it at the end," Ericsson told me after the race. "It was a tough race, and we were in the back there for a bit struggling with the car. We kept fighting, and the crew did a really good job, and we got back in the fight. "We were back in the lead there, but it's painful to not win. "It would have been nice to get the win. We were very, very close." Ericsson was thankful that his team kept fighting, even when the car was in the back. Through their hard work, he was in position to win the race. On the final pit stop, the team got him on the track ahead of Palou. It was the big moment for Ericsson and it was his shot at victory. "I gave everything at the end," Ericsson said. "I'm dwelling right now at how I should have kept that position. The team gave me everything to win that race with that pit stop." Ericsson then followed with a heavy sigh. "I should have done better," he said. A few feet away stood Ericsson's team owner, Dan Towriss. He had a smile on his face, to hide the disappointment of finishing second. He believes the key was the two lapped cars that Palou craftily used to help pull his car forward through the draft while he saved fuel. That was just enough speed to keep Ericsson's Honda from making a serious run for the lead. "It's tough. It's the Indy 500. It has to be earned," Towriss told me. "I'm just gutted right now for Marcus, the effort that he put in. "I'm just gutted for him right now." Towriss was really proud of his team, with two drivers in the top 10, including Ericsson in second place and Kyle Kirkwood in sixth. "Really experienced teams and experienced drivers excel in the Indianapolis 500," Towriss continued. "There is so much that goes into this. Chip Ganassi brings a fast car to the Indianapolis 500. Alex Palou has done what he has done. He is obviously a special driver, a generational talent, but we want to beat him. "We gave it our best shot, and we'll get them again next year. "You want a battle between the heavyweights, the showdown at the end. That's what the fans got. We came out on the losing end this time. We'll get them next time." Another driver who admitted he had tears afterward was 23-year-old David Malukas of AJ Foyt Racing. He finished third in the No. 4 Chevrolet. "I was crying coming into the pits," Malukas told me on pit lane. "It's incredible, but it comes down to this track picking the winners. Palou comes behind us, we're a sitting duck sitting in first without a tow and two lapped cars come behind. It's easy work for him to use the tow from the two lappers. "That's how this place is. It didn't play in our favor. "I wanted to get this car back into Victory Lane at the Indianapolis 500 and just feel slightly short." Malukas was involved in several of the four-wide restarts going into Turn 1 that thrilled the sellout crowd of 350,000 fans. But Palou played it cool, used his head and experience and celebrated his first Indianapolis 500 victory. Palou is the first Spaniard to ever win the Indianapolis 500. Malukas was attempting to become the first driver from Chicago to win the Indianapolis 500 since Billy Arnold in 1930. From Palou's unbridled joy and celebration to the tears of disappointment from the second- and third-place drivers, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway once again proved it is the world's largest theater of human drama. Bruce Martin is a veteran motorsports writer and contributor to Follow him on X at @BruceMartin_500 . BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Ranking Indy 500 drivers from 33 to 1: Can anyone unseat Josef Newgarden? Got milk? 33 potential Indy 500 winners pick preferred dairy option Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me' No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word 2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Sloppy start at 109th Indy 500 had 'shades of 1992'
Bruce Martin Special to INDIANAPOLIS — The cold winds of 1992 returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 33 years later for the start of Sunday's 109th Indianapolis 500. It was back in 1992 on a bitterly cold day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, when pole-sitter Roberto Guerrero crashed on the Parade Lap. As the field entered the backstretch on the second parade lap, he gunned his machine to warm up the tires. The back end whipped around, and the car spun into the inside wall. The suspension was damaged enough that he could not continue, and he was out of the race before the green flag. Moments later, Philippe Gache lost control on cold tires and spun lazily into the apron of Turn 4. A couple extra pace laps were run, and the incidents delayed the start by about five minutes. By the time that race concluded, it proved to be one of the most brutal Indianapolis 500s in history and led to a series of changes at the track, including the elimination of the apron inside the turns that many drivers used as part of the racing line. Thirteen cars were eliminated in crashes during that race, and several other serious wrecks occurred during practice. Jeff Andretti experienced the worst crash during the race itself, suffering serious injuries to his legs and feet. His father, Mario, was also involved in a crash and suffered broken toes. Sunday's 109th Indianapolis 500 was also known for unusually cool weather. The temperature was 65 degrees but with brief rain drops and some wind, it felt much colder. The start of the race was delayed by 36 minutes by drops of rain, just persistent enough to send the track dryers onto the track and increase the tension for the start. What happened on the Pace Lap was reminiscent of what happened to Guerrero on the Parade Lap in 1992. Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske was considered one of the favorites to win the pole before he crashed his race car during the practice session on Saturday, May 17. He started Sunday's Indy 500 in 10th position, the inside of Row 4. McLaughlin had just received the one-to-go signal from the flagman and picked up the pace to pack up for the start. When he was zigzagging across the asphalt in an attempt to heat up his tires, it appeared that he spun himself out. The No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet spun and hit the pit wall, as the yellow flag waved because of the crash. McLaughlin was dumbfounded but mostly heartbroken. He was determined to prove a point in Sunday's Indy 500 after his teammates Josef Newgarden and Will Power were penalized for unapproved modifications to the rear attenuator. INDYCAR put both entries at the back of the field. The most severe penalties that came were from team owner Roger Penske, who dismissed Team Penske INDYCAR President Tim Cindric, Managing Director Ron Ruzewski and General Manager Kyle Moyer. Penske also owns INDYCAR. And his team was involved in the push-to-pass scandal in 2024 that led Penske to suspend Cindric and Ruzewski from the month of May at the Indianapolis 500. On Thursday, McLaughlin vowed that he was determined to prove a point and win the Indy 500 out of respect to the three friends that lost their jobs in the Penske housecleaning. "I'm disappointed with how Roger's name has been thrown through the mud, his integrity, our team, the people on the floor, the people that spend hours away from their families trying to build these cars," McLaughlin said, referring to Team Penske owner Roger Penske. "Basically, they're being thrown to the mud. I take that personally." McLaughlin has been on a quest to win the Indianapolis 500 since he attended it for the first time in 2016. That was the 100th Indianapolis 500 and Alexander Rossi won the milestone race. "When Rossi won, I was in the middle of one or two on the Silver Bullets," McLaughlin said, referring to Coors Lights. Although he had crashed his primary car on Saturday, he was confident the backup Speedway car was just as good and could deliver Penske a record-extending 21st Indianapolis 500 win. "It's a brand-new car, brand-new chassis, brand-new speedway car," McLaughlin said before the race. "It's a purpose-built speedway car. Unfortunately, in the circumstance we have a crash like this, we had a car like that ready to go. Just bolted my race motor, all the race uprights, everything that I had done earlier in practice. "Honestly, in Monday's practice, it felt very close. We just had a couple things not quite at upright that affected some setup and stuff. Ironed that out, had a good week to prepare, and things should be just as fast." The look on McLaughlin's face entering the race was one of determination. "I'm not taking it for granted," he said. "It's going to be a tough race regardless. I know we have fast cars. Everyone feels that way, as well. "For me, I'm focused on my own race. But we know what we need to do to sort of keep ourselves in the game. I've said it all month. It's been so nice to be able to come into a month where I was up the front a little further than I had been in my career. I understand the cadence a little bit more, you could say. "I'm just focused on myself." The focus went fuzzy before the race ever began, crashing out on the Pace Lap. All the emotions built up in McLaughlin after his embarrassing crash. He climbed out of the wrecked racing machine, took off his helmet and buried his head in his hands, overcome with emotion. He was downright despondent when he was checked and released from the IU Health Care Center in the infield. Just as he began to speak to the media, his wife Karly gave him a kiss. He needed that love to get through a moment he hated. Race drivers face the potential of experiencing the greatest joy and the most bitter disappointments every time they compete. The schedule can be relentless. However, there is always the next race, and the next race for McLaughlin is next Sunday's Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of downtown Detroit. "We have another race next week, but this race is everything to us," McLaughlin told me. "I didn't even see the green flag. "My heart is broken. Not good." The first four laps were scored under caution, with the green flag to start racing waving on Lap 4. The front of the field made it safely through Turns 1 and 2, but drivers in the back were engaged in a four-wide battle. Jack Harvey's Chevrolet moved up the track in the four-abreast clash, and that pushed Marco Andretti's No. 98 Honda into the outside wall. The yellow flag waved again. "I'm fine, just the ego," Andretti said after his trip to the IU Health Medical Center. "I just got crowded up high and I assume whoever came into me was crowded as well. It was four-wide, I was up against the wall, and there was nothing I could do. "I got enough speed scrubbed off before I hit. I was at the wall, then I got pushed into the wall. "In hindsight, maybe I should have waited at the start but that is not in my nature to do that. It's a bummer to wait all year for something like that, but that's what I get for starting way back there (in the 10th row)." When asked if he were coming back next year, Andretti said, "It would suck to go out like that." More disaster came on a pit stop on Lap 74 when Alexander Rossi, who was moving on up the field, came in for a pit stop. During the refueling, flames erupted, and the driver had to bail out of the cockpit as he was on fire. Rossi angrily took off his gloves and slammed them against pit equipment. "It's always a terrible situation," Rossi said after he was checked and released from the care center. "It's so disappointing. It was such a phenomenal race car. The team made a great decision to stay out there when that first split happened with strategy. Everything we were doing on the No. 20 stand was awesome. "That's what is so painful about this place. You have to have so many things go right. That's what is so disappointing. It's another opportunity gone. That's the way that it goes. "All I know is that the gearbox was starting to go. All I know is that it was a gearbox issue." Robert Shwartzman was one of the major stories of the week, as he became the first rookie to win an Indy 500 pole since Teo Fabi in 1983. Shwartzman started on the pole and led the first eight laps. Then, he pitted on Lap 87 and slid into his pit box, pinning his fueler, Spence Hall, into the pit wall. Hall suffered a foot injury, but the team told me it was "a minor injury." Shwartzman's No. 83 Chevrolet experienced brake issues. "I think I had a pretty decent start today and we were at the top," Shwartzman said. "Then we had our first pit stop where we had some issue and we were at the back. I tried to battle my way to the front, and I think we were in P13. "When it was yellow, [my brakes] felt really strange. Already, when I was in — going slow coming in the pit lane —I locked both front tires, which is not usually the case. I wasn't sure if it was the brakes or if the tires were cold. "I did not push. I tried to be very slow, but as soon as I touched my brakes, both fronts locked, and I just went straight into the guys. It was very scary when I braked. I was just a passenger. There were no brakes. "We don't know what happened with the car. We'll have to have a look and see if there is any mechanical problem or if it was just cold tire. It was really sad because we did such great work in qualifying, but as we know this the Indy 500 and in the race, anything can happen. I saw already a lot of strong drivers are out of the race or behind." Ryan Hunter-Reay led 48 laps in the race and the 2014 Indy 500 winner was beginning to look like a potential winner on Sunday. He was driving a different Chevrolet for Dreyer & Reinbold/Cusick Racing than he had driven all month because in Friday's final practice session on Carb Day, his primary car caught fire from a fuel leak in the fuel system. When Hunter-Reay jumped out of the flaming car, it looked like a wienie roast before the actual Wienie 500. The backup car may have been even better than the primary. He was leading the second-most laps in the race, just three behind the laps-leader Takuma Sato. Just before his final pit stop, he ran out of fuel but made it into the pits. Because the car was out of fuel, an air pocket formed inside the fuel system, creating vapor lock. Dreyer & Reinbold team owner Dennis Reinbold said that the team couldn't get the vapor lock cleared and one of the best cars in the race finished 24th and 29 laps down. "I'm just heartbroken," Hunter-Reay told me. "We had a chance to win this race today. And with a car that hadn't run a competitive lap before the race started. The DRR/Cusick crew did an amazing job to get the backup car ready for the race. "And then to lead for 48 laps and be in position to win the 500 is pretty remarkable. It felt like the engine was starting to run out of fuel when I came through Turn 4 for the pit stop. The final pit stop was good, and we were in the position we wanted with 31 laps remaining. "But it felt like we were out of fuel and the engine stalled. I tried everything to keep it running. But I really don't know what to say. "The crew got me in the right spot today with strategy. And the car came together well as we made adjustments during the race. It felt very good the second half of the race. I think we would have come out of the pits with two back markers between myself and (Alex) Palou, and in the proper position to win the race. It's just a heartbreaking scenario today. It's going to take a while to get over this one." Every Indianapolis 500 is a different and unique story, but Sunday's 109th Indy 500 was an unwelcome blast from the past. The 1992 Indianapolis 500 was held on a cold day with numerous crashes that left some of the greatest names in the field out of the race, some badly injured. The 2025 Indianapolis 500 got off to a sloppy start. But fortunately, shades of 1992 did not repeat before the end of the race. However, Nolan Siegel's crash on the final lap, as eventual winner Alex Palou and Marcus Ericsson were battling for the win, meant the race would end under the checkered and yellow flags. The 109th Indianapolis 500 had its moments where it was beginning to look like 1992 all over again. Thankfully, it wasn't. Bruce Martin is a veteran motorsports writer and contributor to Follow him on X at @BruceMartin_500 . BEST OF FOX SPORTS' INDY 500 COVERAGE: Ranking Indy 500 drivers from 33 to 1: Can anyone unseat Josef Newgarden? Got milk? 33 potential Indy 500 winners pick preferred dairy option Pato O'Ward pens letter to Indy 500: 'Had my heart broken here … but it also fuels me' No oval experience, no problem: Rookie Robert Shwartzman captures Indy 500 pole Rash of Crash: Inside a wild weekend of wrecks during Indy 500 prep From 'magical' to 'legendary': Drivers describe the Indy 500 in one word 2025 Indy 500 liveries: See the designs of all 34 cars on the track at The Brickyard Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Fox Sports
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Josef Newgarden laments what could have been in Indy 500 three-peat bid
Bruce Martin Special to INDIANAPOLIS — There's a reason why no driver in history has won three straight Indy 500s. Because it's hard. Even with perhaps the fastest car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Sunday's 109th Indianapolis 500, Team Penske's Josef Newgarden was starting in the back row. It came after INDYCAR Series officials heavily penalized Team Penske for modifying the rear attenuator. Newgarden knew he would have to put on the race of his life to win his third-straight Indy 500. Newgarden had a lot working against him, even with the fastest car. The winning driver has never won the Indianapolis 500 from 28th or lower. Newgarden was starting 32nd. Newgarden laid back at the start of the race on the first green-flag lap because he saw the potential of a crash at the back of the pack. Sure enough, Marco Andretti and Jack Harvey were involved in a crash in Turn 1 that knocked Andretti out of the race. Harvey was able to continue but Newgarden was nowhere near the calamity when it occurred. Once the race finally settled down, Newgarden proved he had one of the fastest cars on the track. The No. 2 Shell Chevrolet raced its way through the field to as high as sixth place on Lap 128. He had the right strategy to fight for the win over the final 32 laps. Newgarden made his scheduled pit stop on Lap 133 and had an issue. He returned to the track but came back down pit road on Lap 134 and never returned to action. "It looks like some fuel pressure issues, so I'm not sure," Newgarden said after he climbed out of the car. "It's some kind of anomaly or something we've never seen before. "It's just unfortunate for the whole group. It's a team sport, which that very much shows it. You guys were definitely right on pace for what you had to do today to have a shot to make history." Newgarden reflected on what could have been on Sunday. "It's tough to not have a shot here at the end," he said. "It's a team sport. It takes everything to win here. "I'm still immensely grateful to run at Indianapolis. As tough as it is to take, I still feel grateful to be out here today. I just wish we had a chance to fight for it." Newgarden began his day loudly booed by many fans during driver introductions over the latest controversy surrounding the team. Although he seemed to use that for motivation earlier in the week, he remained determined to give it a shot at becoming the first driver to win three-straight Indy 500s. It's a record that will remain unachieved, for now. Bruce Martin is a veteran motorsports writer and contributor to Follow him on X at @BruceMartin_500 . recommended Get more from NTT INDYCAR SERIES Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
