2024 Indianapolis 500

The 2024 Indianapolis 500, branded as the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons, was a 500-mile race in the 2024 IndyCar Series, that was held on Sunday, May 26, 2024, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States. The month of May activities formally began on Saturday, May 11 with the Sonsio Grand Prix on the combined road course. Practice on the oval began on Tuesday May 14. Time trials were held on May 18–19, and Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice, along with the Pit Stop Challenge, took place on May 24. It was the final Indy 500 to air on NBC because less than a month later, Fox would gain the rights to the NTT IndyCar Series from NBC.
Josef Newgarden of Team Penske entered the race as the defending winner. His teammate Scott McLaughlin won the pole position with a four-lap average speed of, the fastest pole position speed in Indy history. McLaughlin, Newgarden, and their teammate Will Power took all three spots on the front row, the first for a single team since Penske did so in 1988.
A heavy thunderstorm swept through the area on the morning of the race. The race was delayed by four hours, but was run to completion without further interruption. Josef Newgarden won the race after passing Pato O'Ward in turn three on the final lap for his second-consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory. It was the fourth Indianapolis 500 to end in a last-lap pass after 2006, 2011, and 2023. Newgarden became the first driver to win the race two years in a row since Hélio Castroneves won in 2001–2002. It was the record-extending 20th Indy victory for Team Penske and car owner Roger Penske, and second victory for the team since Penske bought the track in late 2019.
For the first time since 2014, a driver attempted "Double Duty": Kyle Larson attempted to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte on the same day. But rain delayed the start of the race at Indy, and the race at Charlotte was ended early due to rain, foiling Larson's attempt. Larson led 4 laps during the race, finished 18th, and was named rookie of the year. Later in the season, Larson won the Brickyard 400, in becoming the 7th driver to race in the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year.

Race background

The Indianapolis 500, commonly called the Indy 500, is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a paved oval. It is a points-paying race of the NTT IndyCar Series. The event is contested by "Indy cars", a formula of professional-level, single-seat, open cockpit, open-wheel, purpose-built race cars. The race is the most prestigious event of the IndyCar calendar, and one of the oldest and most important automobile races in the world.

Rule changes

Plans to debut a brand new 2.4-L displacement hybrid engine formula for 2024 were scrapped in late 2022. An amended plan was proposed to modify the existing 2.2L twin-turbocharged V6 engines with an energy recovery system. This innovative hybrid assist system was scheduled to debut at St. Petersburg on March 10. However, on December 7, 2023, IndyCar announced that its introduction would be delayed until after the Indianapolis 500.
Car weight will be reduced by approximately due to the integration of new lightweight parts and components, and all cars will be required to use new, stronger rear suspension uprights for all oval events. The new suspension parts were introduced in response to an incident during the 2023 race in which a wheel assembly broke free from Kyle Kirkwood's car and was launched over the catch fencing.
Cars are allowed 9° of inclination on the rear wing, up from 5° previously, and Gurney flaps have been deleted from the trailing edge of the underwing flaps. Trimmed sidewalls at the exit of diffusers have been banned; full-width sidewalls are now required. Lastly, inner bargeboards have been banned while outer bargeboards are still permitted.
Drivers will be prohibited from going below the white line in "breaking the draft" moves that extends from the exit of turn four to the pit attenuator on the mainstretch. The move, commonly seen at NASCAR, and in the past, INDYCAR races most notably at Pocono Raceway, occurs at Indianapolis in both series where drivers deliberately veer on straights in order to defend from other cars drafting and making slingshot passes. In the 2022 and 2023 races, drivers have increasingly been overtly aggressive in breaking the draft, using the apron at the exit of Turn 2 and Turn 4, perilously close to the pit attenuator in blocking. This practice is now prohibited.
Each entry was permitted 37 sets of tires for the entirety of the event. The total was increased from 34 to 37 after the second day of the Open Test was rained out.
Track improvements
1,700 feet of catchfence has been installed along the inside of turn three.
800 feet of new SAFER barrier has been installed along the inside of turn four
85 feet of new SAFER barrier has been installed along the inside of the north short chute, replacing old Armco-style guardrail.
All existing SAFER barriers have been upgraded with new foam.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum closed in November 2023 for substantial renovations. It is scheduled to reopen in 2025 after an $89 million renovation and modernization project.
Sponsorship

On May 25, 2022, it was announced that online financial services company Gainbridge reached a multiyear agreement to extend their presenting sponsorship of the Indianapolis 500. The extension was for an undisclosed length. This will be the second year under the current deal. Gainbridge originally signed a four-year deal which was in place from 2019 to 2022.

2024 IndyCar Series

The 2024 Indianapolis 500 was the fifth points-paying race of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season. Five different drivers won the first five point-paying races. Josef Newgarden initially won the season opener at St. Petersburg, but on April 24 he was disqualified for violating push-to-pass parameters. Pato O'Ward was declared the winner. Álex Palou won the non-points event at the Thermal Club, Scott Dixon won at Long Beach and Scott McLaughlin won at Alabama. Álex Palou won the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and led the championship points standings going into the Indy 500.
After an internal investigation in the aftermath of the aforementioned push-to-pass violations, Team Penske suspended four team members for both the Sonsio Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. The four members were: team president Tim Cindric, managing director Ron Ruzewski, Luke Mason, and Senior Data Engineer Robbie Atkinson.

Race schedules

The 2024 IndyCar Series schedule was announced on September 25, 2023, with the Indianapolis 500 scheduled for Sunday, May 26, 2024. Practice, time trials, and other ancillary events are scheduled for the two weeks leading up to the race. The Speedway hosted an eclipse-viewing event on April 8 in conjunction with Purdue University, followed by the annual Open Test held on April 10–11. The test days included additional rookie orientation sessions and refresher tests as needed. The Sonsio Grand Prix, including the Indy NXT and other USF Pro races, served as the opening weekend of track activity on May 10–11.
Source:

Entry list

All entries utilized a spec Dallara IR18 chassis with universal aero kit and 2020-adopted aeroscreen. Honda and Chevrolet are the current engine providers. Firestone was the exclusive tire supplier. There were 34 confirmed entries for the race, including eight former winners and seven race rookies. A tentative 35th entry by Abel Motorsports was withdrawn on May 3.
Four-time race winner Hélio Castroneves entered for the 24th time, the most of any active driver. 2019 winner Simon Pagenaud did not participate, as he was still recovering from injuries suffered in a crash at Mid-Ohio in July 2023. 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson entered with a view to becoming the fifth driver to complete "Double Duty", racing the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. Former winner Tony Kanaan retired after the 2023 race, but was named a potential replacement in the No. 17 should a conflict arise which would preclude Larson's participation in the 500.
Callum Ilott substituted for the injured David Malukas in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren entry during the April Open test. Ilott later replaced Malukas entirely for the 500 after Malukas was released from the McLaren team in late April.
The official entry list was released on May 13.

Driver

Team

Engine

Color box|gold|W|border=silver

Testing and Rookie Orientation

Rookie rules for the Indianapolis 500 include the mandate that a driver pass a supervised high-speed oval test before he/she is allowed to participate in the official Rookie Orientation Program at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Approved venues for the initial high-speed oval track test include Texas Motor Speedway, Homestead–Miami Speedway, and a few other select venues.
The Rookie Orientation Program at Indianapolis consists of three phases. For phase 1, each driver was required to complete ten laps between, while demonstrating satisfactory car control, proper racing line, and safe interaction with other cars on the circuit. The laps do not have to be consecutive. Phase 2 was fifteen laps between, and phase 3 was fifteen laps over. Veteran drivers that have not competed in an IndyCar oval race since the previous year's Indy 500 are required to take a refresher test. The refresher test consists of phase 2 and phase 3 of the aforementioned rookie test.

Rookie Orientation – October 2023

The Rookie Orientation Program was held October 11–12, 2023. Four drivers were scheduled to participate: Marcus Armstrong, Linus Lundqvist, Tom Blomqvist and 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson. Armstrong, Lundqvist, and Blomqvist had each participated the previous month in high-speed oval rookie test at Texas, which gave them eligibility to participate. Rookie Kyffin Simpson was ineligible to participate, having yet to complete the Texas test. The officials ruled that Larson exempt from the Texas test due to his extensive experience on high-speed ovals in NASCAR competition.
Armstrong, Lundqvist, and Blomqvist each passed all three phases of the rookie test on Wednesday. The three drivers completed a total of 285 laps without major incident. Lundqvist reportedly suffered some mechanical problems, but was able to return to the track and finish his test. Larson, who is preparing to do "Double Duty", arrived and completed his test on Thursday. Larson took his first ever laps in an Indy car, logging a total of 72 laps without incident.