Indy 500: Joseph Newgarden uses last-lap pass to win weather-delayed race for second year in a row

CNN
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Joseph Newgarden used a last-lap pass to win Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 for the second year in a row after a race that started four hours late due to extreme weather.

“I’m very proud of the team. They crushed it. I mean, crushed. … They came in here with the fastest cars. We worked our tails off,” Newgarden told race broadcaster NBC.

Indy 500, the most prestigious and one Most awaited events In the motorsport calendar, the start was four hours late after a lightning strike on Sunday afternoon Extreme weather Organizers were forced to suspend pre-race festivities, evacuate fans from the grandstands and wait for the rain to clear and the track to dry.

The race was originally scheduled to start at 12:45 PM, but was pushed to 4:45 PM.

Once it started, it was a crowd pleaser as there were passes at the front and back of the field. 16 different leaders and 87 lead changes were a race-record. Newgarden and Pado O’Ward battled for victory in the closing laps, with Newgarden passing the Arrow McLaren driver on the last trip around the 2.5-mile circuit.

It’s Newgarden Sixth driver to win back-to-back races in Indianapolis and the first since Helio Castroneves in 2002.

The win gave team owner Roger Penske 20 wins in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

The Indy 500 continues to share a date with the famous Monaco Grand Prix, known as the “crown jewel” of the Formula One calendar. Earlier Sunday, the hometown hero Charles Leclerc won the race First time on the streets of Monte Carlo.

NASCAR Cup points leader Kyle Larson is attempting to run the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day — a feat made more difficult by weather delays.

Larson raced at Indy and led a few laps, but finished 18th as an Indianapolis 500 rookie.

He finished fifth as a driver for Arrow McLaren.

After driving in the Indy 500 and doing postrace media, Larson will head to Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina in an attempt to complete two major motorsport races in one day. 600’s place for the start. The green flag for the NASCAR race came at 6 p.m. ET.

Larson is trying to become the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Fifth driver to start both races. John Andretti first accomplished this in 1994, with Robbie Gordon and Tony Stewart taking the double five times and twice respectively. It was recently attempted by Kurt Busch in 2014.

“The Double” is considered one of the toughest challenges in motorsport due to the mental and physical toll of driving 1,100 miles in one day, navigating the differences between open-wheel and stock cars, and the grueling travel schedule.

“I don’t want to be known as the greatest NASCAR driver of all time or the greatest sprint car driver of all time, I want to be known as someone who can get into different types of cars and be good at what they do,” Larson told NASCAR 2021.

Castroneves, one of four drivers to win the Indy 500 four times, was looking for history when he lined up at the Brickyard for the 24th time on Sunday.

A win for the Brazilian on Sunday would see him stand alone as the only man to win the race five times. At 49, Castroneves is aiming to become the oldest ‘500 winner and doesn’t plan on hitting the brakes anytime soon.

Despite high hopes, he finished 20th on Sunday.

“(Racing at 50) was always a goal of mine, but I didn’t want to ‘do’ it” he told the Indy Star. “I feel like we’re still very competitive, not just winning, but driving the people here crazy, and that’s what I want to do.

“Right now, I want to keep going because that’s what I know best. I’m sure it will change, but I don’t think it will in the near future.