Josef Newgarden won his first Indianapolis 500 by passing Marcus Ericsson on a restart with half a lap remaining. This marked the third time in the race's history that a last-lap pass determined the winner. It was also the first Indianapolis 500 since 1973 to have the red flag displayed three times, and the first time in the history of the IndyCar Series under its current title that the race was red-flagged three times. Roger Penske collected his 19th Indianapolis 500 victory as an owner, and his first since purchasing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late 2019. Álex Palou won the pole position for the race, setting a new record for fastest pole speed at 234.217 mph (376.936 km/h).
The month of May activities formally began on Saturday, May 13, with the GMR Grand Prix on the combined road course. Practice on the oval was scheduled for May 16 but was canceled due to rain, with the first practice held on May 17. Time trials took place on May 20–21. Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice, along with the Pit Stop Challenge, took place on May 26.
Championship points for the Indianapolis 500 reverted to standard point values, unlike the double points awarded from 2014 to 2022. New rear attenuators, rear wheel tethers, and new front suspension pieces were introduced and made mandatory. The modified two-day qualifying format from 2022 remained in place with minor schedule changes. 34 entries were confirmed for the race, including nine former winners and four rookies. Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner, announced his retirement after the race. Katherine Legge made her first appearance since 2013, being the first female participant since 2021. With 34 confirmed entries, bumping returned for the first time since 2021.
A full-field open test was scheduled for April 20–21 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, which included rookie orientation and refresher tests. The second day of the open test on April 21 was canceled due to rain. During the May 17 practice, Takuma Sato turned the fastest lap at 229.439 mph (369.246 km/h). On May 18, Marcus Ericsson was fastest at 229.607 mph (369.517 km/h). On Fast Friday, May 19, turbo boost pressures were increased to qualifying levels, with Takuma Sato running the single fastest lap at 234.753 mph (377.798 km/h).
Time trials on Saturday, May 20, locked in positions 13th–30th. Felix Rosenqvist was fastest on Saturday with a four-lap average of 233.947 mph (376.501 km/h). Katherine Legge set an Indianapolis 500 qualifying speed record for female drivers at 231.070 mph (371.871 km/h). On Sunday, May 21, Álex Palou qualified on pole position with a four-lap average of 234.217 mph (376.936 km/h), setting a new record for the fastest pole speed. Rinus VeeKay qualified second, only .006 mph (0.0097 km/h) slower than Palou. The 2023 grid set a new record for the fastest qualifying field in race history, with an average speed of 232.184 mph (373.664 km/h) across the 33 qualifiers. Graham Rahal failed to qualify for the race after Jack Harvey bumped him out in the Last Chance Qualifying session.
Post-qualifying practice on Monday, May 22, saw the first major incident of the month when Katherine Legge collided with Stefan Wilson in turn 1. Wilson suffered a fractured vertebra and was forced to withdraw from the race. Graham Rahal was named as Wilson's replacement. On Carb Day, May 26, Takuma Sato set the fastest lap of the final practice session at 227.855 mph (366.697 km/h). Chip Ganassi Racing won the Pit Stop Challenge with Scott Dixon's car, defeating Team Penske with Will Power's car.
The first caution occurred on lap 91 when Sting Ray Robb crashed in turn 1. During pit stops under this caution, Rinus VeeKay spun and collected Álex Palou. The second caution came on lap 149 when Romain Grosjean crashed in turn 2. On lap 184, Felix Rosenqvist and Kyle Kirkwood were involved in an accident, leading to the first red flag. Kirkwood's dislodged tire landed on a parked car outside the track. The second red flag was deployed after Pato O'Ward, Scott McLaughlin, Simon Pagenaud, and Agustín Canapino were involved in an accident on lap 193. The third red flag came with two laps remaining after a five-car accident involving Christian Lundgaard, Ed Carpenter, Benjamin Pedersen, Graham Rahal, and Marco Andretti. The race restarted for a one-lap shootout, with Josef Newgarden passing Marcus Ericsson on the backstraight to win. Newgarden's victory was the first for an American driver since 2016 and the 19th for Team Penske. Benjamin Pedersen was named Rookie of the Year for 2023.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
Gallery · 4 related images
