Counting down the top five best IndyCar races of 2024

The checkered flag is flying on 2024, and it was an exciting season indycar seriesBack-to-back Indy 500 champions crowned for the first time this year Helio Castroneves Achieved this feat in 2002. Chip Ganassi Racing‘S alex palou They also completed their run of consecutive wins by winning the Astor Cup as season champions for the second consecutive year. North American premier open-wheel series Put your new hybrid units through their pacesThe Milwaukee Mile made its return to the calendar on a doubleheader weekend, and to conclude the season, the Nashville race moved away from its downtown venue to finish at the superspeedway.

Because it was such an eventful year, picking the top five races of the season depended on a number of factors: quality of racing, finishing, an exceptional performance, passing, and then some flat-out good old intensity. With that in mind, let’s dive in.

5. Central Ohio

Hybrid debut There was a lot of attention at the Mid-Ohio race weekend, but it was The battle for victory that drew everyone’s attention to the checkered flag,

But things didn’t start out that way. The green flag waved and it looked like the race was headed for a snooze fest courtesy of polesitter Alex Palou, who opened up a lead of around 8. But arrow mclaren‘S Pato O’Ward The Chip Ganassi driver began to reel, getting closer with every lap before a crescendo on lap 56 of 80, when Pallo fell out of the pits, allowing O’Ward to make an outside pass and take the lead. It was necessary when the two met in Turn 1.

However, O’Ward did not take the lead and could not race, and Pallo continued his bid for first place. Both grabbed back to back markers in the final laps, giving Pallo a chance to finish. The Mexican withstood the pressure and slid through the final corner to take a character-building victory by finishing just 0.4993 seconds ahead of Palou across the finish line.

4.Milwaukee 2

The venue could have played host to any of the doubleheader weekend races in IndyCar’s return to the Milwaukee Mile. Simply put, what kept the Nightcap version at the forefront of the early race was, That’s how wild it was from the end of the tempo to the end.,

Pallo’s grip on the championship lead appeared to be slipping when an electrical problem left him unable to take the green flag. The Spaniard sat behind the wall for the opening 29 laps before he was able to return to the track and take the lead in the race. While chaos ensued among other competitors including Will PowerJoe spun on the late restart and missed the maximum points haul.

With Team Penske, a restart with only 12 laps to go set up a fiery finale Scott McLaughlin Holding off a charging Dixon by just 0.4558 seconds to claim his second oval win and third of the season. The race featured 13 lead changes among seven drivers, with 177 passes for position out of a total of 763.

3. Long Beach

Finally, where is the weekend worth noting Dixon was not charged lateA look at the stat sheet to see the six lead turns among eight drivers on the historic 1.668-mile temporary street circuit might explain why Long Beach is also on this list. Allow me to tell you what a masterclass drive of strategy, fuel economy and avoidance was as six-time series champion Dixon produced the best performance of his career.

An early caution on lap 15 allowed Dixon to pit two laps later – a decision also contested by race leader Power. For comparison, others were also on a two-stop strategy, but made their first stop of the race between laps 29–32 of the 85-lap race. The extended race was one that only Dixon could manage, as Power faded late in an attempt to save fuel and finished sixth.

Dixon struggles to defend top spotSlowing down in the corners and charging to keep Herta behind. It took every ounce of fuel and some smoke for Dixon to expertly manage a magical 34-lap stint on the way to claiming his 57th victory.

2. Nashville

Yes The championship finale was a bit unfavorablePower’s freak seatbelt malfunction forced the champion contender to pit only 12 laps into the race – costing Pallo his second consecutive title. However, despite all the bizarre commotion present in the race from the downtown streets of Nashville to the superspeedway, it still managed to be a pretty good show.

It would be the unpredictability (and self-confessed pessimism on my part) of the long-awaited return to ovals and unique multi-option tire combinations that turned it into a pleasant surprise. The 206-lap contest was interrupted by only three cautions, with much back-and-forth throughout the field, resulting in a total of 653 passes (237 for position).

At one point it looked like Kirkwood was going to win David Malukas Meyer at Shank Racing Honda, then at O’Ward. The final laps saw both O’Ward and Herta battle for the top spot, as both became separated by lapped traffic. In the end, Hertha put an exclamation point on his resurgent season, taking his first oval win and moving up to second in the championship standings after Power’s ill-timed seat belt issue.

1.Indianapolis 500

Nature had thrown a spanner in (literally) earlier that day, but once the field of 33 got off the grid there was nothing but fireworks on display. Month-long discussion surrounds 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion kyle larsonmaking my own indy 500 Arrows debut in joint effort with McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports – And Even through some learning issuesIt was as fast as advertised.

If 48 lead changes between 16 different competitors weren’t enough, there were 596 passes for position across the field. However, nothing can prepare anyone for the greatest finish to the race in over a century joseph newgarden and O’Ward competed in the final few laps. O’Ward was pushed by the Tennessee native with five laps to go, only for Newgarden to return the favor on the next lap.

Instead of immediately responding, O’Ward pursued Newgarden and pushed with an outside pass on the front straight and both took the white flag. O’Ward led the pair into Turn 1 and then tried to break any of Newgarden’s tow coming out of Turn 2, but the Penske pilot opted to hold his line and didn’t clear any momentum. ‘Locked in the ward.

Newgarden managed to catch up with his rival and made a daring outside pass at Turn 3, closing the inside lane with speed as the young Mexican overtook him, losing all the air from his front wing. Due to which the car was pushed upwards. – The wall is almost missing.

Newgarden won and became the first player since Castroneves in 2001–02 to go back-to-back in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

Honorable Mention: Toronto and Gateway

The streets of Toronto provided the best solution for Colton Herta will break 40-race winless streak that stretches to 2022Although he led 81 of 85 laps from the pole, in the closing stages Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood closed the gap to Scott Dixon of the charging Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, preserving the team’s 1–2 finish. Herta finished just 0.3469 seconds ahead of Kirkwood, while Dixon was 0.9680 seconds behind.

And Gateway definitely had a little bit of everything. While there were 21 lead changes between 11 drivers and 676 passes on the night. There were also a number of crashes, with six cautions covering 49 of the 260 laps. The lasting memory that left a sour taste for many A controversial charge initiated late by Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden ultimately led to a massive crash that collected multiple drivers.Including his teammate Power, who gave a one finger salute in returnNewgarden won the race.