The IndyCar Series is the highest class of North American open-wheel car racing, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies since 1920 after two initial attempts in 1905 and 1916. The series is self-sanctioned by its parent company, IndyCar, LLC., which began in 1996 as the Indy Racing League (IRL) and was created by then Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George. The series' premier event is the Indianapolis 500, which was first held in 1911.

A red flag is shown when there has been a crash or the track conditions are poor enough to warrant the race being stopped. The flags are displayed by the marshals at various points around the circuit. An EM Marshalling System was introduced in 2022; it involves a display of flag signals in the driver's cockpit, which alerts them to the session's stoppage. Following a red flag being shown, the exit of the pit lane is closed immediately and all cars must slow down and proceed to the pit lane without overtaking, lining up at the pit exit. If 50% of the race distance has not been completed and the race cannot be resumed, no points are awarded.

Between 1996 and 2002, when the IndyCar Series was known as the Indy Racing League, six red flags were shown in six races, two of which were not resumed. Since the name change to the IndyCar Series in 2003, red flags have been shown 49 times in 40 races, with the latest one being at the first race of the 2026 Snap-on IndyCar Weekend. A total of seven IndyCar Series races were not resumed, five because of weather conditions and two due to crashes involving drivers. Two races—VisionAire 500K (1999, Indy Racing League) and IZOD IndyCar World Championship (2011, IndyCar Series)—were abandoned after being red-flagged due to accidents that resulted in fatalities. The 2023 Indianapolis 500 was red-flagged three times, more than any other race in IndyCar Series history.

Red-flagged races +KeyY Yes — Indicates the race was resumedS Shortened — Indicates the race was resumed but the scheduled distance was not completedN No — Indicates the race was not resumed

The "Lap" column identifies the lap on which the red flag was shown. The "R" column indicates whether or not the race was resumed.

+Indy Racing League/IndyCar Series races that have been red-flagged Year Race Lap Winner Incident that prompted red flag Ref. Indy Racing League (1996–2002) 1 1996 True Value 200 124 Y Scott Sharp Rain. 2 Las Vegas 500K 185 Y Richie Hearn Crash of Johnny O'Connell. 3 1997 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World 149 N Eddie Cheever Rain. 4 Indianapolis 500 15 Y Arie Luyendyk Rain. 5 1999 VisionAire 500K 79 N Race abandoned Crash involving John Paul Jr. and Stan Wattles, resulting in the deaths of three spectators. 6 2001 Indianapolis 500 155 Y Hélio Castroneves Rain. IndyCar Series (2003–present) 1 2003 SunTrust Indy Challenge 206 Scott Dixon Rain. 2 Chevy500 195 Gil de Ferran Crash involving Kenny Bräck and Tomas Scheckter, resulting in debris on the track. 3 2004 Indianapolis 500 28 S Buddy Rice Rain. 4 2005 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 27 Y Dan Wheldon Crash involving Alex Barron and Ryan Briscoe, resulting in a damage barrier. 5 2007 Indianapolis 500 112 S Rain. 6 2008 Firestone Indy200 170 N Scott Dixon Rain. 7 2010 São Paulo Indy 300 35 S Will Power Rain. 8 2011 São Paulo Indy 300 9 S Will Power Rain. 9 14 S Rain. 10 MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 220 N Crash involving Danica Patrick, Will Power, Takuma Sato, and rain. 11 IZOD IndyCar World Championship 12 N Race abandoned Crashes involving 15 drivers, resulting in the death of Dan Wheldon. 12 2012 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix 45 S Scott Dixon Crashes involving James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato, and a damaged track. 13 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships 242 Y Ed Carpenter Crash of Tony Kanaan. 14 2014 Indianapolis 500 192 Y Ryan Hunter-Reay Crash of Townsend Bell, resulting in a damaged barrier and debris on the track. 15 Iowa Corn Indy 300 39 Y Ryan Hunter-Reay Rain. 16 2015 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix (race 1) 47 N Carlos Muñoz Thunderstorm. 17 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix (race 2) 65 S Crash involving Hélio Castroneves and Will Power. 18 MAVTV 500 245 Y Graham Rahal Crash involving Will Power and Takuma Sato. 19 2016 Firestone 600 71 Y Graham Rahal Rain. 20 2017 Indianapolis 500 55 Y Takuma Sato Crash involving Scott Dixon and Jay Howard, resulting in a damaged barrier and debris on the track. 21 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (race 2) 67 Y Graham Rahal James Hinchcliffe and Spencer Pigot stopped on the track. 22 Rainguard Water Sealers 600 154 Y Will Power Crashes involving Mikhail Aleshin, Ed Carpenter, J. R. Hildebrand, James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ed Jones, Tony Kanaan, Carlos Muñoz and Tristan Vautier. 23 2018 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama 19 S Josef Newgarden Rain. 24 23 S Rain. 25 ABC Supply 500 8 Y Alexander Rossi Crash involving Pietro Fittipaldi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe, Takuma Sato and Robert Wickens, resulting in a damaged barrier and severe injuries to Wickens. 26 2019 Indianapolis 500 180 Y Simon Pagenaud Crashes involving Sébastien Bourdais, Charlie Kimball, Graham Rahal, Felix Rosenqvist and Zach Veach resulting in debris on the track. 27 ABC Supply 500 3 S Will Power Crash involving James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Felix Rosenqvist, Alexander Rossi and Takuma Sato, resulting in a damaged barrier. 28 128 N Thunderstorm. 29 2021 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix (race 1) 27 Y Marcus Ericsson Crash of Felix Rosenqvist, resulting in a damaged barrier. 30 65 Y Crash of Romain Grosjean. 31 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix 20 Y Marcus Ericsson Crashes involving Santino Ferrucci, Jimmie Johnson, Simon Pagenaud, Álex Palou, Will Power, Takuma Sato, Rinus VeeKay and Cody Ware, resulting in a blocked track. 32 76 Y Crash of Colton Herta, resulting in a damaged barrier. 33 2022 Indianapolis 500 196 Y Marcus Ericsson Crash of Jimmie Johnson. 34 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix 77 Y Scott Dixon Crash of Romain Grosjean. 35 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 217 Y Josef Newgarden Thunderstorm. 36 2023 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg 1 Y Marcus Ericsson Crashes involving Hélio Castroneves Devlin DeFrancesco, Simon Pagenaud and Benjamin Pedersen. 37 Indianapolis 500 186 Y Josef Newgarden Crash involving Felix Rosenqvist and Kyle Kirkwood. 38 194 Y Crashes involving Agustín Canapino, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O'Ward and Simon Pagenaud. 39 198 Y Crashes involving Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, Christian Lundgaard, Benjamin Pedersen and Graham Rahal. 40 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix 75 Y Kyle Kirkwood Crash involving Agustín Canapino, Benjamin Pedersen and Felix Rosenqvist. 412024 Honda Indy Toronto 73 Y Colton Herta Crash involving Marcus Ericsson, Santino Ferrucci, Pietro Fittipaldi, Pato O'Ward, Nolan Siegel and Toby Sowery. 42 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 252 Y Josef Newgarden Crashes involving Romain Grosjean, Jack Harvey, Will Power and Alexander Rossi. 43 2025 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix 87 Y Kyle Kirkwood Crash involving Louis Foster and Felix Rosenqvist, resulting in a damaged barrier. 44 Sukup IndyCar Race Weekend (race 1) 258 Y Pato O'Ward Crash of Nolan Siegel, resulting in a damaged barrier. 45 2026 Indianapolis 500 105 Y Felix Rosenqvist Rain. 46 193 Y Crash of Caio Collet, resulting in a damaged barrier and debris on the track. 47 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 137 Y Josef Newgarden Rain. 48 200 Y Rain. 49Snap-on IndyCar Weekend (race 1) 90 Y Pato O'Ward Rain.

Statistics

By year

Year Year 1996 2 1996 2 1997 2 1997 2 1998 0 1998 0 1999 1 1999 1 2000 0 2000 0 2001 1 2001 1 2002 0 2002 0 2003 2 2003 2 2004 1 2004 1 2005 1 2005 1 2006 0 2006 0 2007 1 2007 1 2008 1 2008 1 2009 0 2009 0 2010 1 2010 1 2011 4 2011 3* 2012 2 2012 2 2013 0 2013 0 2014 2 2014 2 2015 3 2015 3* 2016 1 2016 1 2017 3 2017 3* 2018 3 2018 2 2019 3 2019 2 2020 0 2020 0 2021 4 2021 2 2022 3 2022 3* 2023 5* 2023 3* 2024 2 2024 2 2025 2 2025 2 2026 5* 2026 3*

By decade

Decade 5 7 22* 21 5 7 19* 15

References

Notes

References

External links https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/indy-500/2024/05/14/indy-500-race-flags-guide-what-different-colors-mean-ims/73581288007/ https://doctorindy.com/2025/03/12/history-of-indy-500-flags/ https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/indy500/history/rain-delays https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z968Y6LyiZY