The 2018 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil for sponsorship reasons) was an Verizon IndyCar Series event held on Sunday, May 27, 2018, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the premier event of the 2018 IndyCar Series. The race was won by Australian Will Power of Team Penske. Car owner Roger Penske collected his record extending 17th Indianapolis 500 victory. Chevrolet swept nine of the top eleven spots during qualifying, and finished 1st–2nd, Chevy's first Indy victory since 2015, and tenth overall. However, despite entering the month as prohibitive favorites to dominate the race, Chevy managed to place only two other cars in the top ten. The month of May activities formally began on May 12 with the fifth running of the IndyCar Grand Prix on the combined road course. Practice for the Indianapolis 500 began on Tuesday May 15, and time trials were held May 19–20. Carb Day—the traditional final day of practice, as well as the annual Pit Stop Challenge and Indy Lights Freedom 100, were held Friday May 25.

Much of the race was led by Will Power and Ed Carpenter, a race that was considered generally less-competitive that the previous few years, attributed largely to a newly introduced aero kit package. Late in the race, pit strategy and a timely caution flag factored in. On a restart on lap 194, Oriol Servià, Stefan Wilson, and Jack Harvey were all attempting to stretch their fuel to the finish, gambling on a late caution, and a possible surprise victory. However, with four laps to go, both Wilson and Harvey were forced to pit for fuel, as was Servià a lap later. Will Power took the lead and cruised to victory, having led 59 laps. Polesitter Ed Carpenter led 65 laps and finished second, his best-career Indy finish. 2016 winner Alexander Rossi had an outstanding charge from 32nd to 4th, leading one lap during the race. Power became the first driver to win both the IndyCar Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500, as well as the first driver to sweep both races in the same year. Later in the year, Team Penske also won the NASCAR Brickyard 400, becoming the second team in history to sweep both the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year.

Ed Carpenter won the pole position, his third career Indy pole. James Hinchcliffe, the 2016 pole winner, however, shockingly failed to qualify. While making his second attempt, a loose tire pressure sensor caused a vibration, which sent Hinchcliffe back to the pits. Before he could change tires and get back out on the track, the closing gun went off and he was left waiting in line.

Race background

IR18 car The 2017 race was the third and final year contested with the Chevrolet and Honda aero kits outfitted to the Dallara DW12 chassis. Beginning in 2018, all DW12 Safety Cell chassis were fitted with a universal bodywork kit. Digital renderings for the common bodywork kit, referred to as the 'IR18' car, were released in early May 2017. The car was officially unveiled in late July, and the universal aero kit became known as the UAK18 bodywork. The bodywork is inspired by CART's 1990s and 2000s livery. For the first time since 1996, the cars in the Indy 500 had a roll hoop without an airbox.

Rule changes The practice session on the Monday after the IndyCar Grand Prix was eliminated. The track and garage area were both closed on Sunday May 13 in honor of Mother's Day. The teams used Monday May 14 to convert the cars from road course to oval configuration. The first day of on-track practice for the Indy 500 was scheduled for Tuesday May 15. In order to make up for some of the lost practice time, the start time for practice days was moved up to 11:00. Previously, practice opened daily at 12 noon. The track still closes at 18:00 daily. The minimum car weight was increased by – to for superspeedways due to safety features added with the new universal aero kits. Championship points earned during Indy 500 qualifying were revamped. The top nine qualifiers received points. The pole position winner received 9 points, down to 1 point for the ninth qualifier (9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1). Previously, all 33 starters had received points on a higher scale. The points earned for the race finishing positions were unchanged.

Track improvements The pit boxes were resurfaced with new concrete. The previous pit boxes had been used since the 1994 reconstruction of pit lane for NASCAR, INDYCAR, SVRA, and SCCA events in both directions.

2018 IndyCar Series

The 102nd Indianapolis 500 was the sixth race of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season, and 23rd sanctioned as part of the Indy Racing League/IndyCar Series. There were four different winners in the first five races of the season. For the second year in a row, Sébastien Bourdais won the season opener at St. Petersburg. Once again, Bourdais won in surprising fashion, taking the lead after the leaders collided on a late-race restart. It was also Bourdais' first victory since suffering injuries in a crash during qualifying for the 2017 Indy 500. Josef Newgarden won at Phoenix, Alexander Rossi won at Long Beach, and Newgarden won again at Birmingham. To begin the month of May, Will Power won the IndyCar Grand Prix, his third win in the event.

Offseason changes included Chip Ganassi Racing, which dropped down to two cars only (Scott Dixon and Ed Jones). Team Penske also dropped down from four full-time cars to three. Hélio Castroneves switched to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and raced at Indianapolis only. Two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya, however, was left out of a ride for the 2018 race.

Entry list

See 2018 IndyCar Series § Teams and drivers for further information.

The entry list was released on May 1 with 35 cars entered. Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato switched from Andretti Autosport to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato previously drove for Rahal in 2012. Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Hélio Castroneves of Team Penske would switch to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for 2018 onward, but would race for Penske at the IndyCar Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500. Stefan Wilson would join Andretti Autosport for the Indy 500. Danica Patrick would compete in her first Indianapolis 500 since 2011 and her final professional race as a full-time competitor, driving a GoDaddy-sponsored entry for Ed Carpenter Racing. Patrick drove at the Daytona 500 in February, her final start in NASCAR. A rumored 36th entry for 1996 winner Buddy Lazier (Lazier Partners Racing) did not materialize. Pietro Fittipaldi was initially assigned to the #19 Dale Coyne Racing entry. However, on May 4 he crashed during a qualifying session at the WEC 6 Hours of Spa, and fractured both legs. Fittipaldi was withdrawn from the entry, and replaced by Zachary Claman DeMelo.

Driver Team Engine1 Josef NewgardenTeam PenskeChevrolet3 Hélio Castroneves Team PenskeChevrolet4 Matheus Leist A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet5 James HinchcliffeSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsHonda6 Robert Wickens Schmidt Peterson MotorsportsHonda7 Jay HowardSchmidt Peterson Motorsports with AFS RacingHonda9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi RacingHonda10 Ed JonesChip Ganassi RacingHonda12 Will Power Team PenskeChevrolet13 Danica PatrickEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet14 Tony Kanaan A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet15 Graham RahalRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda17 Conor DalyDale Coyne Racing dba Thom Burns RacingHonda18 Sébastien BourdaisDale Coyne Racing with Vasser-SullivanHonda19 Zachary Claman DeMelo Dale Coyne RacingHonda20 Ed CarpenterEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet21 Spencer PigotEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet22 Simon PagenaudTeam PenskeChevrolet23 Charlie KimballCarlinChevrolet24 Sage KaramDreyer & Reinbold RacingChevrolet25 Stefan WilsonAndretti AutosportHonda26 Zach VeachAndretti AutosportHonda27 Alexander Rossi Andretti AutosportHonda28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti AutosportHonda29 Carlos MuñozAndretti AutosportHonda30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda32 Kyle Kaiser Juncos RacingChevrolet33 James DavisonA. J. Foyt Enterprises with Byrd-Hollinger-BelardiChevrolet59 Max Chilton CarlinChevrolet60 Jack HarveyMeyer Shank Racing with Schmidt PetersonHonda63 Pippa MannDale Coyne RacingHonda64 Oriol ServiàScuderia Corsa with RLLHonda66 J. R. HildebrandDreyer & Reinbold RacingChevrolet88 Gabby ChavesHarding RacingChevrolet98 Marco AndrettiAndretti Herta Autosport with Curb-AgajanianHondaOFFICIAL REPORT Former Indianapolis 500 winner Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Schedule

Four days of testing were scheduled at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway prior to the official opening of the track. On March 23, manufacturer testing was conducted on the road course for Honda. Testing on the oval was scheduled for March 27–29, but was postponed due to inclement weather in the forecast. A full-field, league-sponsored open test was held on the oval April 30, followed by the Rookie Orientation Program and Refresher tests on May 1. On May 2, track activity continued with a private manufacturers test involving both Honda and Chevrolet.

+ Race schedules — April/May 2018SunMonTueWedThuFriSat29 30Open Test12ManufacturerTest3 4 5Mini-Marathon 6 7 8 9 10Road to IndyPractice 11Grand PrixQualifying 12IndyCarGrand Prix13Mother'sDay14Car conversionday15Practice16Practice17Practice18Practice <br/ > Fast Friday19Time Trials20Time Trials21Practice22 23 24Indy Lights Qualifying25Carb Day Freedom 10026Legends DayParade27Indianapolis50028MemorialDay29 30 31 Color Notes Green Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where trackactivity was significantly limited due to rain

Sources: 2018 Indianapolis 500 Event Schedule

Testing and rookie orientation

Testing — July 2017 On July 25, 2017, the first official test for the universal bodywork kit was conducted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. Two teams, one each representing Chevrolet and Honda, attended. Team Penske with driver Juan Pablo Montoya tested for Chevy, and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with driver Oriol Servià tested for Honda. The tests were considered successful, and no incidents were reported.

+ Private testing — Participants Driver Team Engine Oriol Servià Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 219 mph Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Chevrolet 218 mph

Testing — October 2017 Following the conclusion of the 2017 IndyCar Series season, each manufacturer was allocated five days of aero kit testing through December 17. The league stipulated one test for each manufacturer, leaving four dates to the manufacturer's discretion. Honda elected to use one of their four dates at Indianapolis on October 26. James Hinchcliffe (Schmidt Peterson) and Scott Dixon (Ganassi) each completed more than 130 laps without incident. Cool temperatures delayed the start of the test until the afternoon, and testing concluded at 6 p.m. Speeds were not reported.

+ Manufacturer testing — Participants Driver Team Engine James Hinchcliffe Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Open test — Monday April 30

Weather: , sunny and clear