By Curt Cavin | Published: Jun 1, 2021
Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge was magical in so many respects. From the traditional 6 a.m. wakeup call, which for the first time included fireworks, Indianapolis Motor Speedway had one of its best days, with fans arriving on Memorial Day weekend for the first time in two years and the weather nearly idyllic.
The 105th Running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” did its part, too. The 33 drivers executed a flawless start, settling some four-wide disputes before the first turn. The fastest “500” on record – 190.690 mph was safe, had only two incidents and saw a thrilling late-race shootout between a legend and two youngsters.
Scott Dixon Fastest in Indy 500 Wednesday Practice
The fastest drivers were surprised so many teams worked in qualifying trim. Icon SportswireGetty Images
Scott Dixon was fastest in Wednesday Indianapolis 500 practice but issued no boisterous claims over what it meant or didn’t mean regarding the rest of the month.
The six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion posted a 226.829 mph lap in his No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to pace the six-hour session. Wednesday brought warmer temperatures than opening day and the resulting handling challenges, leaving Dixon wanting more moving forward. I felt like I was little more comfortable yesterday, said Dixon, who was eighth fastest Tuesday at 224.988. Obviously, track conditions are different. The wind direction, especially (Turns) 2 to 4, swaps pretty big. The track temp was up today.
3 May, 2021
Pato O’Ward felt calm while he enjoyed the ride in the closing laps in Texas, getting his first IndyCar Series victory at the track closest to the Mexican-born driver’s hometown Sunday.
“It’s really cool to do it in a place that’s very close to my heart, is very close to home,” said O’Ward, whose win came four days before his 22nd birthday. “It’s a great place to do it. A lot of my family was here, so it’s really cool to share this moment with them.”
O’Ward passed Josef Newgarden with 23 laps to go Sunday and stayed in front the rest of the way in the No. 5 for Arrow McLaren SP. The organization will now follow through with a promise to let O’Ward test a Formula One car at the end of this year.