The 2019 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) was an IndyCar Series event held on Sunday, May 26, 2019, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The premier event of the 2019 IndyCar Series, the event ran 500 miles (200 laps). Simon Pagenaud won the race from the pole position, earning Team Penske's record-extending 18th Indy 500 victory. Pagenaud led 116 laps, taking the lead for the final time with just over one lap to go from 2016 winner Alexander Rossi. He became the first French-born winner since Gaston Chevrolet in 1920, and the first pole-sitter to win the race since 2009.
The month of May activities formally began on May 11 with the IndyCar Grand Prix on the combined road course. Practice for the Indianapolis 500 began on Tuesday, May 14, and time trials were held May 18–19. Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice, as well as the annual Pit Stop Challenge and Indy Lights Freedom 100, were held May 24. Simon Pagenaud became the second driver in a row to sweep both the IndyCar Grand Prix and the Indy 500 in the same year. Pagenaud also won the pole position, the record-extending 18th Indy 500 pole for Team Penske.
Will Power, the winner in 2018, entered the race as the defending champion. During the Last Row Shootout on May 19, former Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, attempting his second Indy 500, was bumped from the field, and failed to qualify.
This would be the final Indianapolis 500 held under the ownership of the Hulman/George family. On November 3, 2019, it was announced that Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of the Penske Corporation, owned by Roger Penske, had purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the IndyCar Series, and IMS Productions. The sale was finalized in January 2020.
Race background
Rule changes Cars were permitted one of two optional Gurney flaps atop the rear wing to increase downforce. A inch tall flap, either wide or wide, can be affixed to generate 50–100 pounds of downforce. Marathon Petroleum replaced Sunoco as the official fuel provider beginning in 2019, using the Speedway brand. All cars were fitted with the Advanced Frontal Protection (AFP) device for cockpit protection. The AFP is a vertical, titanium device measuring by , resembling a fin, mounted to the leading edge of the cockpit.
Track changes A recycled polyethylene (RPE) binding agent was applied to the oval track surface; six drivers participated in an aero and tire test at the track in October 2018 following the application.
Qualifying changes A revised qualifying procedure was announced, modifying the Two-day format used from 2014 to 2018. Qualifying continued to be held over two days (Saturday, May 18 & Sunday, May 19), but bumping was moved back to Sunday. Both the familiar Fast Nine Shootout and a new Last Row Shootout wes held Sunday. Cars continued to use the traditional four-lap qualifying attempts.
On Saturday, the procedure was as follows: Qualifying opened at 11:00 a.m. running until 5:50 p.m. All cars entered are guaranteed at least one attempt. Additional attempts were allowed, time/weather permitting. Positions 1–9 will advance to the Fast Nine Shootout. Positions 10–30 are locked-in, and will not re-qualify. Positions 31 and lower are entered into the Last Row Shootout.
On Sunday, time trials will conclude as follows: At 12:15 p.m. the Last Row Shootout will be held. Entries that finished 31st and lower on Saturday will have one attempt to qualify. Times from Saturday will be erased. Starting positions 31–33 will be filled. All other cars from 34th and lower will fail to qualify. At 1:15 p.m., the Fast Nine Shootout will determine starting positions 1–9, including the pole position. Times from Saturday will be erased, and cars will have one attempt to re-qualify. Championship points (9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1) will be awarded based on the results of the Fast Nine Shootout. After qualifying is concluded, a 2-hour, 45-minute practice session will be held. Furthermore, the Monday post-qualifying practice session will be trimmed from 3 hours down to 2 hours.
2019 IndyCar Series
Five different drivers won the first five races of the 2019 IndyCar Series season. Josef Newgarden won the season-opening race at St. Petersburg. Series rookie Colton Herta won the inaugural race at Circuit of the Americas, in doing so became the youngest driver ever to win an Indy car race. Takuma Sato then won the race at Birmingham, and Alexander Rossi won at Long Beach. The month of May opened with Simon Pagenaud winning the IndyCar Grand Prix, his first win since 2017 and third win in the event. Entering the Indianapolis 500, Josef Newgarden led the championship points standings.
For the first time since 2015, no oval races were held prior to Indianapolis.
Sponsorship On January 31, 2019, it was announced that the online financial services company Gainbridge would become the new presenting sponsor of the 500 under a four-year deal.
Pre-race ceremonies Kelly Clarkson performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" for the second year in a row. Tony George recites the starting command for the final time before Roger Penske purchases the Speedway from the Hulman-George family in November 2019.
Entry list
The official entry list was released with 36 car/driver combinations. All chassis are Dallara IR12 using the Universal Aero Kit, with Firestone tires. On November 10, it was announced that Fernando Alonso would return for his second Indianapolis 500 attempt, driving for McLaren, however he failed to qualify for the race. For 2019, the team used Chevrolet Engines. Alonso used car No. 66, the number that was carried by Mark Donohue who won the 1972 race driving a McLaren chassis for Penske Racing. On April 9, Alonso took part in a private test at Texas Motor Speedway, to re-acclimate himself to Indy cars, and to adapt to the UAK18 aero kit. 2018 Indy 500 and IndyCar Rookie of the Year Robert Wickens suffered a violent crash on August 19, 2018, at the ABC Supply Pocono 500, which would cause him to require extensive rehabilitation to regain use of his legs. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports announced that Wickens' IndyCar career is on hiatus until "he wants to and is able to return." For legal purposes regarding INDYCAR's Leader's Circle financial bonus, Marcus Ericsson replaced Wickens in the car, which was renumbered from No. 6 to No. 7. Marco Andretti drove a "throwback" paint scheme celebrating the 50th anniversary of Mario Andretti's 1969 victory. The livery was unveiled on NBC's Today. Colton Herta was the first driver entered in Indy history to be born in the 2000s.
Driver Team Engine2 Josef NewgardenTeam PenskeChevrolet3 Hélio Castroneves Team PenskeChevrolet4 Matheus LeistA. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet5 James HinchcliffeArrow Schmidt Peterson MotorsportsHonda7 Marcus Ericsson Arrow Schmidt Peterson MotorsportsHonda9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi RacingHonda10 Felix Rosenqvist Chip Ganassi RacingHonda12 Will Power Team PenskeChevrolet14 Tony Kanaan A. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet15 Graham RahalRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda18 Sébastien BourdaisDale Coyne Racing with Vasser-SullivanHonda19 Santino Ferrucci Dale Coyne RacingHonda20 Ed CarpenterEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet21 Spencer Pigot Ed Carpenter RacingChevrolet22 Simon Pagenaud Team PenskeChevrolet23 Charlie KimballCarlinChevrolet24 Sage Karam Dreyer & Reinbold RacingChevrolet25 Conor DalyAndretti AutosportHonda26 Zach VeachAndretti AutosportHonda27 Alexander Rossi Andretti AutosportHonda28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti AutosportHonda30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda31 Patricio O'Ward CarlinChevrolet32 Kyle KaiserJuncos RacingChevrolet33 James DavisonDale Coyne Racing with Byrd/Hollinger/BelardiHonda39 Pippa MannClauson-Marshall RacingChevrolet42 Jordan King Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda48 J. R. HildebrandDreyer & Reinbold RacingChevrolet59 Max ChiltonCarlinChevrolet60 Jack HarveyMeyer Shank Racing with Arrow Schmidt PetersonHonda63 Ed JonesEd Carpenter Racing Scuderia CorsaChevrolet66 Fernando AlonsoMcLaren RacingChevrolet77 Oriol ServiàMotoGator Team Stange Racing with Arrow Schmidt PetersonHonda81 Ben Hanley DragonSpeedChevrolet88 Colton Herta Harding Steinbrenner RacingHonda98 Marco AndrettiAndretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-AgajanianHondaOFFICIAL REPORT Former Indianapolis 500 winner Indianapolis 500 Rookie
Schedule
An open test on the oval was scheduled for and held April 24, 2019 followed by a private manufacturer's test on the combined road course on April 29.
+ Race schedules – April/May 2019SunMonTueWedThuFriSat28 29Private test(road course)30 1 2 3 4Mini-Marathon 5 6 7 8 9Road to IndyPractice 10Grand PrixQualifying 11IndyCarGrand Prix12Mother'sDay13Car conversionday14Practice15Practice16Practice17Practice <br/ > Fast Friday18Time Trials Q119Bump Day Q2 Pole Day Q220NTT/Lights Practice21 22 23Indy Lights Qualifying24Carb Day Freedom 10025Legends DayParade26Indianapolis50027MemorialDay28 29 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
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Testing August 2018 On August 6, 2018, a private test was conducted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval by Firestone. Two teams, one each representing Chevrolet and Honda, participated. Team Penske with driver Will Power tested for Chevy, and Chip Ganassi Racing with driver Scott Dixon tested for Honda. The test was focused on further development to the UAK18 universal aero kits which debuted in 2018. After some criticism during the 2018 race, improvements were made to the front wing endplate and underwing panels to address stability issues. Speeds were not announced, and no incidents were reported.
+ Private testing – Participants Driver Team Engine Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet
October 2018 A series-conducted test was scheduled for October 17, 2018, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Six teams tested with six cars, further developing aerodynamic specifications for the UAK18 universal aero kit as well as Firestone tires. In addition, the drivers were able to experience for the first time the performance of the Speedway's pavement, which was recently upgraded with an application of the asphalt binding agent Recycled Polyethylene (RPE).
No speeds were announced, and no incidents were reported. Following the test, the participants expressed that the track had more grip, and the new tire was more consistent than the compound used in 2018.
+ Testing – Participants Driver Team Engine Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet Alexander RossiAndretti AutosportHonda Ed CarpenterEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet Tony KanaanA. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet Graham RahalRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda
Oval test – Friday April 19 Three Indy 500 rookies took part in an oval acclimation test at Texas Motor Speedway on April 19. Ben Hanley, Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson took part in the test, which was conducted by IndyCar officials. The test provided the drivers with high-speed oval experience prior to the start of the Rookie Orientation Program. Conditions were reported as windy, and no incidents were reported.
Open test and Rookie Orientation – Wednesday April 24 Weather: , rain, winds up to 15 mph