{"id":58545,"date":"2026-05-23T19:15:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T00:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=58545"},"modified":"2026-05-23T19:15:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T00:15:53","slug":"team-penskes-newgarden-looms-as-bona-fide-favorite-for-victory-in-110th-indianapolis-500","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/23\/team-penskes-newgarden-looms-as-bona-fide-favorite-for-victory-in-110th-indianapolis-500\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Penske\u2019s Newgarden looms as bona fide favorite for victory in 110th Indianapolis 500"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Josef Newgarden – Miller Lite Carb Day – INDYCAR photo<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio<\/em><\/p>\n

Carb Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is for sending messages. And the word from two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden is\u2026he\u2019s sneaky-fast.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Josef Newgarden – Miller Lite Carb Day – Photo by Matt Fraver<\/p><\/div>\n

Newgarden emerged atop the speed chart during Friday\u2019s final practice for the 110th<\/sup> running of the Indianapolis 500 via a top lap of 228.342 mph in the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet. Recall that Newgarden also paced Monday\u2019s rain-shortened post-qualifying practice at 226.198 mph.<\/p>\n

Winner of “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing” in 2023 and 2024, Newgarden led an all-Team Chevy top-four. Newgarden\u2019s hot lap _ which took 39.4145-seconds _ was recorded on the 11th<\/sup> of 55 circuits he turned on the famed 2.5-mile IMS oval.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was OK. It was all right,” said Newgarden, who will start Sunday\u2019s scheduled 200-lap\/500-miler 23rd<\/sup> in the traditional 33-car field. “But today\u2019s Friday and we\u2019ve got to be good on Sunday. I\u2019m just ready to get to Sunday. Team Chevy has done a great job for us this month. I\u2019m excited to go racing.\u201d <\/p>\n

SEE:<\/strong> Practice Results<\/a><\/p>\n

The last time a driver won the Indy 500 from a starting position of 23rd or lower was in 1974. That\u2019s when Johnny Rutherford of Fort Worth, Texas, started 25th<\/sup> as a \u201csecond-day\u201d qualifier and went on to drive the No. 3 McLaren\/Offy to the first of his three 500 victories.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Josef Newgarden – Miller Lite Carb Day – Photo by Doug Mathews<\/p><\/div>\n

A two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, Newgarden was quick to put Friday\u2019s fast lap into perspective during a Month of May that has been unseasonably rainy and cool.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know that we were that \u2018great\u2019 today,\u201d said Newgarden, a 35-year-old resident of Nashville, Tenn. \u201cI put up a fast lap. That’s really all it is. Always there is positivity to that in that when the car can do that lap, that is a good thing. But that’s not the whole story when it comes to our race car.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we’ve been relatively solid all month. But you get these fluctuations every single day with temperature and wind, and you take the car apart, you put it back together, it’s never quite the same thing every time you go out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one day that’s going to matter is in 48 hours. That’s what it boils down to. I think our race car has been in a really good spot for the most part, and even through all the variability that I just spoke about. We’ve just got to make sure it’s right as Sunday comes around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newgarden said he expects the race to develop into an aggressive sprint from the get-go.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re right in the middle of everything (starting 23rd<\/sup>). So you have to go,\u201d Newgarden said. \u201cWe’ve got to be racing and be heads-up. It’s chaotic on this style of racing that we have now at Indy. I feel like people are\u2026everyone is very confident in the way they drive and ambitious. Yeah, you could see it today for sure. It was the first day of the month for sure where everyone was like, \u2018It’s Race Day.\u2019 You’ve got to be heads-up and trying to move forward at all points and never sitting back and hope for the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christian Rasmussen of Denmark was second overall with a best lap of 227.474 mph in the No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet of Ed Carpenter Racing. David Malukas matched his qualifying position by placing third at 226.565 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

Indiana native Conor Daly continued to display consistent speed by clocking in fourth at 226.341 mph in the No. 23 DRR Kingspan ARCO Chevrolet of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. And two-time 500 winner Takuma Sato of Japan completed the top-five at 226.244 mph in the No. 75 Amada Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>It was a cooler day, just like last year, so the field is very fast and we had to choose some different downforce which will be different on Race Day,\u201d said Sato, a 49-year-old native of Tokyo and Indy 500 champ in 2017 and 2020. \u201cHowever, we were able to run quite a lot of miles today and gather the last part of the important data so I don’t think we’re going to change a lot from now on. I think everyone has done a good job today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pole-sitter and reigning Indy 500 champ Alex Palou of Spain was sixth at 225.986 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Palou, the four-time\/reigning series champion, is bidding to become just the seventh driver to win this event in consecutive years.<\/p>\n

Winner of three of the series\u2019 first six races this season, Palou said he has embraced the attention and obligations and pressure associated with returning to IMS as defending Indy 500 champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike, we always have that pressure to win,\u201d said Palou, a 29-year-old native of Spain. \u201cThat’s why they pay us _ they pay us to win. Not to win once and that’s it. They pay us to do it continuously.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I know I’m hungrier than ever just because I know what comes with it, once you win the Indy 500 and what it means. I don’t feel more or less pressure. Not because I won once, it’s not like now I need another one. It’s more the opposite, it’s more like I want to go back-to-back. I know we have everything. We have a really, really fast car. Hopefully we can have a good race and get there to the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dennis Hauger of Norway was the fastest of four rookies during the two-hour session, 10th at 225.187 mph in the No. 19 Only Bulls Honda of Dale Coyne Racing.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Alexander Rossi returned to action in a backup No. 20 Java House Chevrolet fielded by Ed Carpenter Racing. Recall that Rossi, winner of the landmark 100th<\/sup> Indy 500 in 2016 as a series rookie, suffered injuries to a finger on his left hand and right ankle that required outpatient minor surgery and stabilization after a grinding crash in Turn 2 during practice Monday.<\/p>\n

Rossi, who is starting a career-best second at IMS, was 31st overall at 222.291 mph after completing 48 laps. \u201cI feel amazing,\u201d said Rossi, a 34-year-old native of Nevada City, Calif. \u201cI just want to talk about the INDYCAR doctors and everyone at IU Health and what they\u2019ve accomplished in order to get us back to this process of getting in the car today, is pretty exceptional.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took a huge amount of things to go correctly and a great group of people that I\u2019m incredibly thankful for. The No. 20 car crew, for what they did to bring a car back to the Speedway that feels just as good as the car we qualified. We had a very specific plan today to get through, just to make sure that everything we thought would happen would happen, and it all did. We\u2019re in a really good spot for Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll three ECR Chevys seem incredibly strong. It\u2019s a testament to the organization and the resolve that everyone has.\u201d As noted, Rasmussen was second on the chart while team-owner\/oval track specialist Ed Carpenter was 24th at 223.571 mph after 63 laps in the No. 33 SlimFast Special Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci led the two-car fulltime series entries from Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing in 17th<\/sup> at 224.415 mph after 51 laps in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet. Ferrucci will start the race sixth on the grid. Rookie teammate Caio Collet of Brazil was 21st<\/sup> at 224.126 mph in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet after 56 laps.<\/p>\n

Four-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves, a 51-year-old native of Brazil, was 19th<\/sup> at 224.202 mph after logging 70 laps in the No. 06 Cleveland Cliffs Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian.<\/p>\n

Pato O\u2019Ward \u201cpeppered-out\u201d his backup No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet over the course of 58 laps with a top speed of 224.202 mph. O\u2019Ward\u2019s primary car was swept up and severely damaged in Rossi\u2019s crash in Turn 2 on Monday. Team Principal and 2013 Indy 500 champion Tony Kanaan opted to switch to the Dallara chassis in which O\u2019Ward won two races during the 2025 season. O\u2019Ward is a two-time Indy 500 runnerup who finished third at the Speedway last May.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy that we got our running in today,\u201d said O\u2019Ward, a 27-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. \u201cThe rain stayed away, at least for practice. We\u2019re getting the car better and better each time we\u2019re out and I think we\u2019ve got it in the right window where we can keep working on it throughout the race. It\u2019s a long, long day. We\u2019ve just got to make it better.\u201d<\/p>\n

All 33 drivers combined to turn 2,169 laps in the two-hour session, which featured just one caution period for a loose right-rear wheel that forced Sweden\u2019s Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 champ, to slow on-course in the No. 28 Phoenix Investors Honda of Andretti Global.<\/p>\n

Six-time series champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon of New Zealand was the busiest driver, turning 96 laps in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. \u201cDixie\u201d was 14th<\/sup> on the chart at 224.917 mph.<\/p>\n

Next on-track action will take place Sunday _ on Race Day _ for the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. Live coverage will start at 10 a.m. (EDT, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls). Academy Award-winning actor Brendan Fraser is expected to wave the green flag for the flying start at 12:45 p.m.<\/p>\n

The shocking death of NASCAR champion Kyle Busch<\/strong> on Thursday at age 41 has resonated as an emotional topic among the INDYCAR community at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

Busch was in his 22nd fulltime season in NASCAR\u2019s premier division, in which he won Cup Series titles in 2015 and 2019 and 63 races _ a figure that ranks ninth on the circuit\u2019s all-time list. His numbers across the other two national NASCAR series are record-setting, with 102 victories in what is now called the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series and 69 wins in the Craftsman Truck Series.<\/p>\n

Busch is survived by his parents and wife, Samantha, whom he married on New Year\u2019s Eve in 2010, and two children _ son Brexton, who turned 11 on Monday, and 4-year-old daughter Lennix.<\/p>\n

Team Penske\u2019s Josef Newgarden was asked about the legacy of Busch, whose NASCAR tenure included stints with Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you say? Gosh, I hate to be a person making a public comment about it because it’s an incredibly difficult thing,\u201d Newgarden said after the Carb Day practice at IMS. \u201cHow can you not be in shock over the situation? I didn’t even know about it (Busch\u2019s hospitalization) till (Thursday), and the next news you hear is that he’s not with us anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it just puts into perspective how fragile life is. You just don’t know. Makes me think of his kids, to be honest with you. Gosh, I feel terrible about\u2026I have two sons now. That’s the thing that breaks my heart for sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe racing deal, he’d probably tell you that, too. He was an extreme racer, one of the best you’d ever see on-track and I’m just speaking about his skill-set. I’m sure that the toughest part about it is just what he leaves behind with his kids and what they have to go through.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, incredibly sad for everybody. I didn’t even know Kyle very well. I just, when I look at from afar, how can it not break your heart when you think about his kids?\u201d<\/p>\n

Newgarden reiterated that while he knew of Busch within the motorsports community, they were not close friends. \u201cI always love watching people that have just a huge skill-set and tenacity for a craft,\u201d Newgarden said. \u201cWhen you look at Kyle, Kyle was just one of those unique individuals that was phenomenal at what he did. I just admire that about people, I really do. I’ve always been curious about what makes that work. I don’t think every situation is the same. He had his own unique skill-sets that worked for him, but he was by far one of the best, there’s no doubt.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, just a sad day for motorsport that lost one of the best. But my empathy, my feelings, are toward his family for sure. I hope their community can rally around the kids. That’s what’s going to matter at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _<\/strong> 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 237; 2, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 210; 3, David Malukas, Team Penske, 185; 4, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 182; 5, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 162; 6, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 148; 7, Pato O\u2019Ward, Arrow McLaren, 148; 8, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 141; 9, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 141; 10, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 123;<\/p>\n

11, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 116; 12, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 112; 13, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 110; 14, Will Power, Andretti Global, 107; 15, Dennis Hauger, Dale Coyne Racing, 100; 16, Rinus VeeKay, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 94; 17, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 93; 18, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 90; 19, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 86; 20, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 76;<\/p>\n

21, Caio Collet, A.J. Foyt Racing, 70; 22, Romain Grosjean, Dale Coyne Racing, 69; 23, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 65; 24, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 55; 25, Mick Schumacher, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 54.<\/p>\n

FOX SPORTS\u2019 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST SCHEDULE\/(RACE WINNER)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Note _ All times Eastern<\/em><\/p>\n

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., (Josef Newgarden, Team Penske)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)<\/p>\n

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, (Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren)<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 24 _ 110th<\/sup> Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit, 12:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., 9 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, 12:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., TBA<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, 4 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, Noon<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., TBA<\/p>\n

Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., 2:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., 1 p.m.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 2:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Note _ Dates and times subject to change.<\/em><\/p>\n

2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE\/(RACE-WINNER)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, (Max Taylor, Andretti Global)<\/p>\n

Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Nikita Johnson, Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR)<\/p>\n

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., (Alessandro de Tullio, A.J. Foyt Racing)<\/p>\n

Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1 (Enzo Fittipaldi, HMD Motorsports)<\/p>\n

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2 (Tymek Kucharczyk, HMD Motorsports)<\/p>\n

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Downtown Detroit<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.<\/p>\n

Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2<\/p>\n

Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway<\/p>\n

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.<\/p>\n

Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1<\/p>\n

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio Carb Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is for sending messages. And the word from two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden is\u2026he\u2019s sneaky-fast. Newgarden emerged atop the speed chart during Friday\u2019s final practice for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 via a top lap of 228.342 mph in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":678,"featured_media":58550,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[230,421,125,22,286,672],"class_list":["post-58545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indycar","tag-indianapolis-500","tag-indianapolis-motor-speedway","tag-indy-500","tag-indycar","tag-josef-newgarden","tag-ntt-indycar-series"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/mail-24.jpg?fit=640%2C320","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-feh","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58545"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58551,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58545\/revisions\/58551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}