It was another all-time classic race in Indiana as the 108th running of the Indy 500 led to a final lap showdown between arguably the two best oval drivers in the world, as Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward left it all on the line, with Newgarden taking victory and becoming the first man to go back-to-back at the 500 since Helio Castroneves in 2002! 

Joey Barnes joins Steph Wentworth on the Autosport to discuss the wonderful fight for the win between Newgarden and O’Ward and breakdown how O’Ward used strategy and aggression to get back through the field, and the conflicting emotions between the two drivers. 

Also on the show, a deep dive into the race’s high-level of attrition, with just 21 cars out of 33 finishing on the lead lap, and how the four-hour rain delay and the possibility of a race that had less than the alloted 200 laps caused the drivers to be even more aggressive than usual.  

There’s also a chat about Kyle Larson who finished 18th in his first ever Indy 500 as he attempted the famous double with NASCAR’s Coke 600, how the rain delays both in Indiana and North Carolina scuppered his chances, and whether he or Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen should win Rookie of the Year honours.  

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