The 2025 Indy 500 was off to a shaky start, as the grid of 33 IndyCar racers was held in place for nearly an hour past the scheduled start of 12:45 pm ET. A light round of rain showers over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway kept race control from giving the all-clear to start the race, but once it did, the mayhem started before the green flag was waved. In the end, it was Alex Palou who drove a masterful race and claimed the coveted milk.
Following the delayed start due to the weather conditions, cars were allowed additional reconnaissance laps behind the pace car. Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin lost control of his No. 3 Chevy going into Turn 1 while weaving to keep his tires warm. The combination of cold track temps and cold tires proved a bit much for some drivers. Once the green flag fell, it was Marco Andretti who bit it going into Turn 1, claiming the cars next to him pushed him high and ultimately into the wall.
Rookie and polesitter Robert Shwartzman quickly dropped into second and third place, as hard-charger Pato O’Ward and two-time winner Takuma Sato lost no time fighting for the lead.
The excitement didn’t last long, as the race was yellow-flagged on lap 18 due to a light sprinkle across the 2.5-mile oval, forcing officials to temporarily reduce the pace. The action resumed on lap 30, just as Scott Dixon dived into the pits to deal with a rear brake caliper malfunction. There was a solid period of action, the longest since the race had started, which allowed drivers and teams to experiment with the new hybrid system’s deployment at race pace.
Former race winner Alexander Rossi came into the pits on lap 76, but he found himself quickly engulfed in fire when something ignited the fuel being fed to his car. His pit crew quickly fought to extinguish it, though one of the mechanics appeared to be on fire even after the car wasn’t. Emergency crews quickly arrived to treat him, and although it was not confirmed at the time, it appears he did not suffer any major injuries. That unfortunate event marked the end of Rossi’s race.
The next 10 laps or so were a crash fest with several cars crashing coming into or out of the pits, including polestitter Shwartzman. As the saying goes, “yellows breed yellows,” and that was exactly the case through lap 100. After making a ballsy move into Turn 2 on lap 110, two-time winner Josef Newgarden popped in and out of the pits twice due to unknown troubles, which ultimately forced him to retire on lap 142.
With 40 laps to go, it was veteran and former winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, local Conor Daly, and youngster David Malukas who piloted their Chevys in the top three. However, lurking in fourth place was IndyCar champ and current series star Alex Palou.
The last round of pit stops began on lap 168, when Santino Ferrucci briefly moved into the lead. Palou’s crew put on a hell of a pit stop, which allowed him to leapfrog a few cars during the stop rotation. Hunter-Reay stalled during his stop, which took him out of contention.
With just 25 laps to go, things got heated between Palou and O’Ward, as they emerged as real contenders for the win, despite Ferrucci leading at the time. Five laps later, Marcus Ericsson positioned his Honda in second place and threw his name into the hat for a second Indy 500 win.
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