Chronicles of IndyCar Racing from Japan #169 by DNF

The Indy 500 Must Embrace This Man

***Originally written in Japanese on May 23, 2024, this essay traces one chapter of IndyCar’s story translated into English with the help of AI. While some nuances may differ from the original, the translation preserves the spirit of the text. Learn more about this long-term archive on the [About](https://medium.com/@DNFIndyCarJapan/about-the-author-about-this-archive-5ac3fc805745) page or follow [@IndyCarEssay*s](https://x.com/IndyCarEssays)** on X.

Date: May 11, 2024 Race: Sonsio Grand Prix Series Round: Round 4 of the 2024 IndyCar Series Venue: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

The scandal involving the unauthorized use of Push-to-Pass at St. Petersburg by Team Penske escalated to a situation where Roger Penske, the team founder and head of the Penske Group, had to step in. “I recognize the magnitude of what occurred and the impact it continues to have on the sport to which I’ve dedicated so many decades. Everyone at Team Penske along with our fans and business partners should know that I apologize for the errors that were made and I deeply regret them,” he said in a statement, and at the same time, he suspended four individuals — Tim Cindric (Team CEO and Josef Newgarden’s strategist), Ron Ruzewski (Team Managing Director and Will Power’s strategist), Luke Mason (Newgarden’s race engineer), and Robbie Atkinson (Power’s data engineer) — from their duties for the two races in May, including the Indianapolis 500. As the head of a corporate body with a conflict of interest, operating both the competition organization and a racing team belonging to it within the same group, perhaps this was a form of showing a certain degree of closure for the fraud that shook the fairness of the competition to its foundation. However, thinking about its meaning is complex. Since this punishment is inherently internal, it has no relation to the judgment IndyCar will make in the future. Also, from the perspective of being internal, Roger probably decided the punishment based on symbolic responsibility, but as an action of a team owner who has already left the field, it also looks like excessive intervention. Although it is his property and he can do as he pleases, the statement was thoroughly centered on “I,” and if anything, there might even be a feeling that it was an exposure of the power structure rather than the function of internal control. In any case, it carries no significance beyond a mere gesture of “closure,” and naturally, this cannot be the final curtain.

Newgarden’s depression continues. The pole-to-win at St. Pete, which was supposed to foreshadow a bright 2024, was deleted due to fraud, and he seems to be tormented by anguish since then. Both the 16th place at Alabama and this road race, which is a prelude to the Indy 500, hid the figure of his true self that grasps the essence of the race and accelerates — which was seen just two months ago — and he was just sinking down amidst the overlapping laps. The 4th place in qualifying did not become a ray of hope, but rather seemed to emphasize the disappointment in the final race. It seemed he managed to survive the confusion immediately after the start by dropping only one position somehow, but before long the formation settled, and as the development shifted to a pure speed race typical of the large-scale Indianapolis, he exposed a lack of pace. Within about 10 laps, he fell nearly 10 seconds behind the leading group and couldn’t recover, and after the tire change, it followed a path of deterioration, and his name, slower by one or two seconds per lap than the top runners, disappeared into the inconspicuous list on the leaderboard in the blink of an eye. In the end, one wouldn’t even know where he was.

Checking the record, it seems it was 17th place, even worse than Alabama. If we turn our eyes to the drivers of the same Penske, Will Power, who is said not to have performed illegal operations at St. Pete, achieved a 2nd place podium this time, and Scott McLaughlin, who used Push-to-Pass in the prohibited section but claimed the duration was short and pressing the button was accidental, also entered 6th place, although there was luck due to the chance of a full-course caution (he won two weeks ago to begin with). Although the circumstances are slightly different for each, thinking that his teammates have already recovered makes Newgarden’s malfunction stand out even more, and my heart aches. Can we still believe it is nothing more than an accidental slump? Does the absence of Cindric and Mason become a reason? Or are we witnessing the process of losing something important as a driver? I inadvertently recall the tragic expression he left at the press conference in Alabama. Or perhaps about Simon Pagenaud, who once held two titles with the same team but quietly left. He too lost his performance in a very short period. It is something I don’t want to think about.

But setting aside personal sentimentality, Indianapolis was a wonderful development. Newgarden was not involved there at all, but on this day, scenes reminiscent of the intersection of victory and defeat vividly appeared, and the maneuvering there actually determined the height of the podium steps; that kind of battle was certainly fought. As written, in a race where neither fuel consumption nor tire degradation needed to be considered and only pure speed was required, what swapped the upper order was the exchange centered on the first two pit stops. Especially around the second time, a group of lapped cars entangled everyone, and a troublesome phase arrived where the full demonstration of speed was hindered. Difficulties struck where competing for a difference of less than a second could lead to losing two seconds with a slight miscalculation, and in the confusion where the irritation of the lead battle was conveyed, Alex Palou found the highest speed in a slight gap and built a path to victory.

Although he secured pole position, Palou’s race did not proceed easily. As soon as he started, Christian Lundgaard in the same first row slipped behind him and was given drafting, and at the entry to Turn 1, he was beaten by only half a car length from the outside. To counter the opponent attempting to cover his front, Palou braked deeply, but the tires that had not warmed up immediately after the start of full-throttle running could not endure and locked up, raising a small white smoke, and without obtaining the targeted braking, he advanced beyond the white line to the edge of the curb. Immediately, Lundgaard began to accelerate ahead while skillfully crossing lines, and swapping left and right, he lined up sideways again at the switchback Turn 2, and further controlled Turn 3 to come out ahead.

As for start tires, Palou was on soft alternates, while Lundgaard against him was on hard primaries. Because he lost in a paper-thin offense and defense despite being in an advantageous position, difficulties would have arisen in Palou’s race. In the rear, confusion occurred with several cars flying out of Turn 1, but it did not result in an accident where a full-course caution would be issued, and since there were only a few skirmishes after that and no situation that would move the race occurred, Palou was forced to spend his time under Lundgaard all along. Originally, he would have wanted to freely manipulate the pace as a leader and finish the first stint by creating a difference of a few seconds, but the plan went completely awry. Thus, even an extra bill came around. They coincidentally made a pit stop on the same 19th lap, and although the work skill seemed slightly superior on Palou’s side, it did not lead to a reversal. Then, at the merge of the pit exit, Power, who had finished his pit stop two laps earlier, closed in, and dived into the inside during braking for the right-angle Turn 7 at the end of the backstretch. Palou, who had just put on primary tires contrary to the first stint, did not have the grip for defense and retreated to 3rd place. It was a development that could not have happened without the failure at the start.

Small debts eventually swell into large burdens. It is not uncommon in racing. Because the tire situation was reversed, Palou began to lag gradually behind the two preceding him. This too, originally, he could have sat in front, sealed the opponent, and survived while protecting the rank, but it did not happen. A little over 10 laps passed since the pit stop, and by the time it reached the 30th lap, he was separated by 3.4 seconds from Lundgaard and 2 seconds from Power. On the 36th lap, 3.7 seconds and 2.4 seconds respectively. It’s not decisive, but it’s not an easy difference. At least, it was not a situation where a reversal by undercut or overcut involved in pit stops could be discussed.

However, it was just after that that the only luck of the day visited Palou, who seemed to see victory drifting away little by little. It was merely the result of a small event similar to the debt Palou held, but it brought a major shift to the race. On the 37th lap, Lundgaard’s lap time, which had shown a stable transition from 72.1 seconds to 72.2 seconds until then, slightly worsened to 72.46 seconds. Felix Rosenqvist, a lap down who had just come out of the pit, disturbed the leader’s pace a little. Furthermore, on the next 38th lap, Kyle Kirkwood appeared right in front of Rosenqvist, and a lump of two cars was created. It is just that a lap-down car happened to appear there, that’s all. But in IndyCar, persistent blue flags like in F1 are not waved. Lundgaard, struggling to overtake the moving wall in front of him, dropped his time to the 73-second range, and Palou closed the gap to 2 seconds and returned to the field of battle again.

Taut tension ran through the road race at Indianapolis, which tends to be thought of as boring, and in fact had continued with a development close to a parade until then. It was just the time zone when the second pit stop was scheduled. On the 39th lap, 2nd place Power headed to the pit first and attempted to escape from the formation, but surprisingly, the place where he returned to the course was also right in the middle of the group. Lundgaard’s lap time was slow at 72.71 seconds, and Palou, who recorded 72.08 seconds, was approaching clearly enough to see. On the next 40th lap, when Lundgaard steered into the pit lane with his head still held down, the difference was about to cut below 1 second. The lap of Palou who stayed out was 71.7 seconds. Recording a time equivalent to the alternate, as if it were a lie that he was being separated. Lundgaard came out in front of Power and Marcus Ericsson who was holding Power back, but what he put on newly were primary tires, and heat would not enter immediately.

41st lap. Palou’s driving, which used up the space after Lundgaard retreated, was something that made known again the reason why he is the best champion. Although not shown on the screen, the total sector time to Turn 11 of 54.1667 seconds was even faster than the previous lap, exceeding Lundgaard’s in-lap by more than 0.4 seconds. If you check the numbers, this was the decisive blow. Palou, who also earned 0.3 seconds in the stay time in the pit lane, suppressed Lundgaard at the merge of Turn 2. If he survived Turn 7, which becomes a difficult point on the out-lap, and protected Turn 1 at the end of the long frontstretch, Lundgaard had no means to attack anymore. Leaving more than 40 laps until the checkered flag, the race was, however, settled. Palou, who regained his legitimate place, was fast, and made neither the remaining one pit stop nor the full-course caution introduced only once a problem, winning an overwhelming victory with a gap of more than 6 seconds.

Looking at the final large gap, perhaps the exchanges around the 40th lap involving lapped cars were unrelated to the result, and it might have been a race where Palou would have won no matter what. If you say that they just lined up in order of speed through 85 laps after all, then that would be so. But even so, one cannot help but embrace admiration for the transformation where he suddenly raised the pace by nearly 1 second as soon as the opportunity arrived in the development where irritation was rising, and maximized the possibility of victory. Palou’s 40th and 41st laps teach us what the movement to grasp victory as an inevitability is like, rather than relying on luck without reproducibility or just swinging around the speed of the car. Even if it was pre-established harmony in terms of results, how rare is the driver who shows us such moments.

Come to think of it, in 2023 when he won the champion with overwhelming strength, after passing the early season that looked like a melee, he raised his first victory on this course. May. Indianapolis. Champion. Perfect Palou. It should be said that all preparations are complete. He is surely reaching for the Indy 500 that is waiting just ahead. Looking back, Palou has piled up a number of regrets in the world’s greatest race. Three years ago, he was defeated by a narrow margin by a special existence named Helio Castroneves who received the favor of the Brickyard, two years ago, he was hit by low-probability bad luck where a yellow caution was introduced just a split second before he tried to enter the pit and work was prohibited, and last year again in the pit, he cried at a ridiculous accident where he was hit by Rinus VeeKay who spun at the same time as the start. Although he had more than enough speed to win in any year, he has received terrible treatment in every single one. But, it is about time for the bad luck to end. While I am writing this text, the qualifying for the Indy 500 ended, and indeed Palou seems to lack smoothness compared to usual years at 14th place, 5th row. In contrast, Penske in the midst of the scandal is in excellent form including Newgarden, and monopolized the first row with three people. The power map cannot be read, but still, as a personal sentiment, my heart leans toward Palou. Just as Newgarden was last year, the Indy 500 is not decided by reasonable speed alone, but is a race where the winner is “chosen” to the extent that it seems mystical arbitrariness is working. In that sense, Palou would have the right to be chosen — no, a little different, it is not Palou’s right. Including this road race, if we look at his path so far, isn’t it the Indy 500 that has the responsibility to choose Palou as the winner? If something beyond human intellect and speed were to happen at the Brickyard this year, I cannot help but think that it must be for Palou.

︎From **Round 3 in Alabama → Here at Round 4 → Looking ahead to [Round 5 Indy 500](https://medium.com/@DNFIndyCarJapan/the-greatest-500-miles-the-majestic-2-5-miles-the-beautiful-requital-4d6ce00f426a)**