Josef Newgarden - Indianapolis 500 Practice - By_ Chris Owens

IndyCar News: Newgarden continues Penske domination at Indy

Whether running with qualifying or race setups, there is one indisputable fact this Month of May: Team Penske’s Chevy engines are more powerful than all the others.

Reigning Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Josef Newgarden led the two-hour practice Monday for the 108th edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” as teams shifted from the all-out speed of PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying last weekend to stable setups for the race Sunday, May 26. Newgarden, who qualified third Sunday, turned a best lap of 226.238 mph in the No. 2 Shell Powering Progress Team Penske Chevrolet.

Final lap – both Newgarden and Ericsson cross into the pitlane while both the 3rd and 4th place cars stay on the racetrack. In F1 Newgarden and Ericsson would be disqualified, but, hey, this in IndyCar and Newgarden’s boss owns the team, the Series, the Speedway and the Indy 500.

“The car feels good,” Newgarden said. “I’ve been happy with it since we showed up. I’m excited to go racing. The team has done a great job.

“We’re going to see how things shake up. You’ve just got to be ready for everything. We’re going to make a plan, like qualifying, and we might change the plan. You never know with the Indy 500. We’re ready for Sunday.”

The next and final on-track session is Miller Lite Carb Day practice from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. ET Friday.

Colton Herta, who qualified 13th, climbed to second on the speed charts Monday at 226.222 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian. 2018 “500” winner Will Power, who qualified second, was third in practice at 226.137 in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.

Colton Herta Indianapolis, IN – during the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)

Agustin Canapino, who qualified 22nd, jumped to fourth in the thick traffic of this practice at 225.747 in the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet. Pato O’Ward, who qualified eighth, rounded out the top five at 225.738 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

Team Penske swept the front row in qualifying for just the second time in “500” history Sunday – repeating its feat from 1988 – with Scott McLaughlin winning the NTT P1 Award, Power qualifying second and Newgarden third. McLaughlin was 21st fastest Monday in practice at 224.031 in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet.

Drivers flipped the mental switch from running alone in four-lap qualifying runs Saturday and Sunday on the 2.5-mile oval to darting in and out of tight thickets of traffic Monday in preparation for the race.

All 33 starters combined to turn 2,655 laps, more than any practice this month despite the session lasting only two hours. Rookie Tom Blomqvist was the busiest driver, turning 106 laps – more than half of the race distance – in his No. 66 AutoNation/Arctic Wolf Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing.

Ken Griffey Jr. to drive Pace Car

Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ken Griffey Jr. has been named honorary Pace Car driver for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 26.

The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray 3LZ coupe - the quickest production Corvette in history – will lead the field to the green flag for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Photo Supplied
The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray 3LZ coupe – the quickest production Corvette in history – will lead the field to the green flag for the 108th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 26 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Photo Supplied

Griffey will drive the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray and lead the field of 33 drivers to the start of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“Driving the Pace Car and leading the field to start the Indy 500 is one of the coolest experiences,” Griffey said. “I came to the track a few years ago as a photographer and look forward to seeing the race from a different perspective.”

Known as “Junior” and “The Kid,” Griffey played 22 years as an outfielder in the Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, with a short stint with the Chicago White Sox.

The first overall pick in the 1987 draft and a 13-time All-Star, Griffey is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history. His 630 home runs rank as the seventh-most in MLB history. Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won 10 Gold Glove Awards in center field. He is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run (eight, with Don Mattingly and Dale Long).

One of only 31 players in baseball history to have appeared in major league games in four different calendar decades, Griffey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016. He received 99.32 percent of the vote, breaking pitcher Tom Seaver’s record of 98.84 percent, which had stood for 24 years. He also was inducted into both the Mariners Hall of Fame and the Reds Hall of Fame.

“Every baseball fan knows Ken Griffey Jr.,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “Two legends will come together as Griffey hops into the Corvette E-Ray to lead the field at the Racing Capital of the World.”

Corvette has paced “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” more times than any car. The 2024 race marks the 35th time for Chevrolet to pace dating back to 1948 and the 21st time overall and since 1978 for America’s favorite sports car.

Monday Indy 500 Practice Results

Pos No Name Time Behind Gap FL Laps Speed Engine Team
1 2 Josef Newgarden 39.7811 0.000s 0.000s 53 89 226.238 Chevy Team Penske
2 26 Colton Herta 39.7839 0.0028 0.0028 14 96 226.222 Honda Andretti Global w/Curb‑Agajanian
3 12 Will Power 39.7988 0.0177 0.0149 5 89 226.137 Chevy Team Penske
4 78 Agustin Canapino 39.8677 0.0866 0.0689 35 69 225.747 Chevy Juncos Hollinger Racing
5 5 Pato O’Ward 39.8693 0.0882 0.0016 27 70 225.738 Chevy Arrow McLaren
6 33 Christian Rasmussen 39.8727 0.0916 0.0034 55 100 225.718 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
7 9 Scott Dixon 39.9085 0.1274 0.0358 3 66 225.516 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
8 77 Romain Grosjean 39.9100 0.1289 0.0015 51 91 225.507 Chevy Juncos Hollinger Racing
9 7 Alexander Rossi 39.9208 0.1397 0.0108 90 92 225.446 Chevy Arrow McLaren
10 98 Marco Andretti 39.9636 0.1825 0.0428 87 92 225.205 Honda Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb‑Agananian
11 15 Graham Rahal 39.9681 0.1870 0.0045 82 86 225.180 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
12 23 Ryan Hunter‑Reay 39.9911 0.2100 0.0230 73 75 225.050 Chevy DRR‑CUSICK MOTORSPORTS
13 06 Helio Castroneves 39.9994 0.2183 0.0083 62 75 225.003 Honda Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb‑Agajanian
14 24 Conor Daly 40.0139 0.2328 0.0145 10 55 224.922 Chevy DRR‑CUSICK MOTORSPORTS
15 14 Santino Ferrucci 40.0316 0.2505 0.0177 14 95 224.822 Chevy AJ Foyt Enterprises
16 66 Tom Blomqvist 40.0713 0.2902 0.0397 70 106 224.600 Honda Meyer Shank Racing
17 75 Takuma Sato 40.0771 0.2960 0.0058 17 61 224.567 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
18 6 Callum Ilott 40.1036 0.3225 0.0265 13 85 224.419 Chevy Arrow McLaren
19 10 Alex Palou 40.1194 0.3383 0.0158 7 79 224.330 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
20 45 Christian Lundgaard 40.1500 0.3689 0.0306 52 75 224.159 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
21 3 Scott McLaughlin 40.1731 0.3920 0.0231 64 77 224.031 Chevy Team Penske
22 60 Felix Rosenqvist 40.2067 0.4256 0.0336 62 99 223.843 Honda Meyer Shank Racing
23 8 Linus Lundqvist 40.2069 0.4258 0.0002 68 83 223.842 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
24 27 Kyle Kirkwood 40.2111 0.4300 0.0042 10 95 223.819 Honda Andretti Global
25 28 Marcus Ericsson 40.2399 0.4588 0.0288 71 77 223.659 Honda Andretti Global
26 30 Pietro Fittipaldi 40.2732 0.4921 0.0333 87 88 223.474 Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
27 4 Kyffin Simpson 40.2978 0.5167 0.0246 14 57 223.337 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
28 17 Kyle Larson 40.3023 0.5212 0.0045 8 70 223.312 Chevy Arrow McLaren/Rick Hendrick
29 21 Rinus VeeKay 40.3541 0.5730 0.0518 42 81 223.026 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
30 11 Marcus Armstrong 40.3704 0.5893 0.0163 26 89 222.936 Honda Chip Ganassi Racing
31 41 Sting Ray Robb 40.3848 0.6037 0.0144 15 64 222.856 Chevy AJ Foyt Enterprises
32 20 Ed Carpenter 40.4150 0.6339 0.0302 9 71 222.690 Chevy Ed Carpenter Racing
33 51 Katherine Legge 40.5222 0.7411 0.1072 53 58 222.100 Honda Dale Coyne Racing with RWR