What the IndyCar grid took away from the Indy 500

Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor

Casey Shepherd (Motorsports Today, 2026)

A different strategy, one definite outcome for Felix Rosenqvist: an Indianapolis 500 victory. After bouncing from team to team over the last decade, Rosenqvist stands atop the motorsports world with the closest finish in the race's history, 0.233 seconds ahead of runner-up David Malukas. 

For Rosenqvist, it put an exclamation mark on an already dominant Month of May around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After topping the charts on “Fast Friday” in the first and second rounds of qualifying, he qualified fourth in the Fast Six. This speed translated into his second career win in the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing." 

Rosenqvist’s win wasn’t the only storyline to emerge from the Month of May. Many drivers took themselves in and out of championship contention heading into the summer stretch.

David Malukas is Chevrolet's sole championship contender

Malukas has made significant strides in his first year with Team Penske, specifically his growth on ovals. 

A front-row starting spot and a second-place finish to Rosenqvist in the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, combined with a pole position and third-place effort at Phoenix Raceway earlier this season, is evidence that he is one of the best on these circuits.

The same can be said for his talents on the street and road course. At St. Petersburg, Maulkas rebounded from being a lap down early in the race due to an incident to finish 12th, all under green-flag conditions. Add in a runner-up finish at the Sonsio Grand Prix and top-10 efforts in the other road/street-course races this season, and Malukas has made his bid for the championship.

He sits 37 points behind Palou.

Alex Palou's consistency remains a problem for the field

It’s no surprise that Alex Palou remains a consistent threat for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship. The four-time champion has only increased his stranglehold at the top of the standings with his recent surge on ovals, with a seventh-place finish and an Indianapolis 500 pole.

This run on ovals started with a win in the 2025 Indianapolis 500 and at Iowa Speedway last season. Although Palou hasn’t matched his pace from last season, he would have been at the top of the standings earlier this season if it weren’t for the run-in with Christian Rasmussen, driver of the No.21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, at Phoenix Raceway that took him out of contention for the win.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing needs a change in its Indy 500 campaign

It was only a few years ago that Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) was a dominant force in the Indianapolis 500, last winning it with Takuma Sato in 2020. Since that victory, the team has only put two drivers inside the top-10, both of whom are no longer in full-time driver roles with them

Graham Rahal, driver of the No. 15 RLL Chevrolet, has had only two top-10 finishes in the last decade: a 10th-place finish in 2018 and a third-place finish in 2020. This comprises an ongoing streak of sub-14th-place finishes, including a “did not qualify” in 2023. However, he did make the race, subbing in for an injured Stefan Wilson for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

RLL has been bouncing between rookies and aged veterans, with little oval-racing experience. Each year, it's been Takuma Sato, driver of the No. 75 RLR Chevrolet, who’s been the sole driver with pace the last few years. Something needs to change if RLL wants to compete for an Indianapolis 500 victory.