2021 Indianapolis 500 (CFJ)

The 2021 Indianapolis 500 annual automobile race (branded as the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge, for sponsorship reasons) is scheduled to be a 500-mile (800 km, 200 lap) race in the 2021 IndyCar Series. It is scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 30, 2021, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana; it is the premier event of the IndyCar Series. On April 21, 2021, the track management announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event would be held with a limit of 135,000 spectators, approximately 40% capacity. The previous year's race was postponed from May 24 to August 23, then ultimately held without spectators, as was the GMR Grand Prix (which was moved to July 4).

The month of May activities formally began on May 15 with the GMR Grand Prix on the combined road course. Practice for the Indianapolis 500 began on May 18, and time trials were held May 22–23. Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice, is scheduled for May 28.

Scott Dixon, the winner in 2008, won the pole position. Two-time winner Takuma Sato (2017, 2020) is the defending champion.

Race background
The Pagoda, the control tower which houses officials, broadcasting, and hospitality suites, is an icon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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. This will be the third year under the current deal.

Rule changes

 * The temperature requirement rule has been changed to "45-45". That requires both the ambient temperature to be 45 °F (7 °C) or higher, and the track surface temperature to be 45 °F (7 °C) or higher before cars are allowed out on the circuit. Previously the rule was "50-50".
 * The Last Chance qualifying session has been expanded to 75 minutes in order to allow multiple qualifying attempts for each participant. In 2019 participants were permitted only one attempt. This change was supposed to be implemented for 2020, however, only 33 cars were entered and the 2020 Last Chance qualifying session was cancelled.
 * Each entry is allowed 34 total sets of tires (Firestone), for practice, time trials, and for the race. Entries taking part in the Rookie Orientation Program receive an additional three sets for use during that session. Entries taking part in a Refresher Test receive two additional sets for use during that session. From 2015 to 2019, teams were permitted 36 total sets. In 2020, teams were also allowed 34 sets, however, there was one fewer day of practice in 2020 compared to 2021.

Event changes

 * Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the second year in a row, the annual Pit Stop Challenge will not be held. In addition, the Carb Day concert and Snake Pit concerts have been cancelled.
 * As public address announcer Bob Jenkins is reducing his schedule while battling brain cancer, Allen Bestwick will join the public address system at the Speedway.

2021 IndyCar Series
Main article: 2021 IndyCar Series

The 2021 Indianapolis 500 will be the sixth race of the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series season. Five different drivers won the first five races of the season, including three first-time winners. Álex Palou won the season opener at Birmingham, his first career IndyCar Series win. The following week, Colton Herta won at St. Petersburg. A doubleheader weekend at Texas saw Scott Dixon and first-time victor Pato O'Ward as race winners. The GMR Grand Prix kicked off the month of May at Indianapolis on May 15, won by Rinus VeeKay, the third first-time winner of the season. Scott Dixon enters Indianapolis 500 as the series points leader. For the first time since 2013, Team Penske failed to win a race prior to the Indy 500.

Race schedules
The 2021 IndyCar Series schedule was announced on October 1, 2020. The Indianapolis 500 returned to its traditional Memorial Day weekend date after being delayed to August 23 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race is scheduled for Sunday, May 30, expected to be the 54th time the race has been held on May 30. From 1911 to 1970, the race was scheduled for May 30 regardless of the day of the week, as Memorial Day at the time was a fixed-date holiday. During that period, if May 30 fell on a Sunday, the race was scheduled for Monday, May 31. Since 1974, the race has traditionally been scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

Practice, time trials, and other ancillary events are scheduled for the two weeks leading up to the race. The Freedom 100, however, will not be held as the 2021 Indy Lights season only includes a race on the road course during GMR Grand Prix weekend.

The GMR Grand Prix returned to the month of May, again serving as the opening weekend of track activity. The Road to Indy held doubleheader races on both Friday and Saturday, while IndyCar held practice and qualifying on Friday, and their race on Saturday. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IndyCar event was moved to July 4 (as part of the NASCAR weekend), the Road to Indy events were moved to September, and a second IndyCar road course event (Harvest GP) was held in October as part of the Intercontinental GT weekend. The 2020 GMR Grand Prix was held without spectators, while the October Harvest GP races were held with a maximum of 10,000 spectators.

For 2021, the NASCAR weekend will be moved exclusively to the road course in August. An Xfinity/IndyCar doubleheader will be held on August 14 with a yet-to-be named IndyCar road course race and the Pennzoil 150. Source: 2021 Indianapolis 500 Event Schedule

Entry list
Further information: 2021 IndyCar Series § Contracted teams and drivers

The entry list for the 2021 Indianapolis 500 was released on May 12, 2021. Thirty-five entries appeared on the list, including nine former race winners and three rookies. With thirty-five entries, bumping is set to return for the first time since 2019. An expected 36th for driver Cody Ware to drive for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing was withdrawn shortly before the entry list was released due to lack of sponsorship. All entries will utilize the Dallara DW12 chassis, with Firestone tires. The nine former Indy 500 winners making the field would be the most since there were ten in 1992. Three-time Indy 500 winner Hélio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009) has the most previous starts in the field with 20. Defending winner Takuma Sato won the race in 2017 and 2020.


 * W  Former Indianapolis 500 Winner
 * R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Qualifying — Saturday, May 22[edit]

 * Weather: 83 °F (28 °C), Overcast early, partly cloudy late
 * Summary: Time trials on Saturday determined the top thirty qualifiers which would be locked into the starting field. The nine fastest cars advanced to the Fast Nine Shootout scheduled for Sunday to determine the pole position. The slowest five cars moved on to participate in the Last Chance Qualifier to determine the final row of the grid and which two entries would not qualify. Scott Dixon, the first driver to take the course, was the fastest driver, turning a four-lap average at 231.828 mph, with a best single lap speed of 232.574 mph. Colton Herta was second at 231.648 mph, while Dixon's teammate Tony Kanaan was third at 231.639 mph.


 * On his second qualifying attempt, Álex Palou suffered a crash in turn 2 after losing control and sliding into the wall at corner exit. However, Palou had not withdrawn his previous time to make this attempt, and his initial time was still fast enough to make the Fast Nine session the next day.


 * One of the most major stories of the day was the lack of speed from 2018 winner Will Power. Power was bumped from the field after his initial run and was unable to bump his way back in on subsequent runs, relegating him to the Last Chance Qualifier session. Sage Karam, Simona de Silvestro, Charlie Kimball, and R. C. Enerson were also forced into the Last Chance Qualifier.


 * Honda powered cars were once again dominant in qualifications, taking 11 of the top 15 positions and 7 of the Fast Nine slots.

Bump Day/Pole Day — Sunday, May 23[edit]

 * Weather: 83 °F (28 °C), Sunny early, mostly cloudy late

Last Chance Qualifying[edit]
Last Chance Qualifying began at 1:15 p.m. Unlike previous years, entries were no longer limited to one attempt. Instead, Last Chance Qualifying was made a 75 minute session, with all entries having one guaranteed attempt. Entries were then allowed to make additional attempts, but were required to withdraw their previous time to do so.

Sage Karam was the fastest of those in the Last Chance Qualifying, turning a four-lap average at 229.156 mph. Despite brushing the wall in turn 2 on his final lap, Will Power was second fastest. Simona de Silvestro was third fastest, giving her the final starting position for the race. Charlie Kimball and R. C. Enerson were 4th and 5th fastest respectively despite multiple attempts by each, meaning that both failed to qualify.

Fast Nine Qualifying[edit]
Scott Dixon won his fourth Indianapolis 500 pole position with a four-lap average of 231.685 mph and a fastest single lap of 232.757 mph. It was the first time Dixon had qualified on pole for any IndyCar Series race since the 2017 running of the race. Colton Herta qualified second at 231.655 mph, only 0.0197 seconds slower than Dixon. Rinus VeeKay improved from his fifth-placed result in Saturday qualifying to take the final spot on the front row, running at 231.511 mph. VeeKay was also the highest qualified Chevrolet-powered entry in the field.

Following the conclusion of qualifications, a two hour practice session was held.

Starting grid
Failed to qualify R Indianapolis 500 rookie

W Indianapolis 500 winner

First half
The race started with Scott Dixon leading the field to the green flag. Colton Herta swept around the outside of Dixon to take the lead into Turn 1. Dixon was also passed by teammate Tony Kanaan. Kanaan took the lead on Lap 2. On Lap 3, Ryan Hunter-Reay hit Alex Palou battling for 6th heading into turn 1, sending both cars hard into the wall. Castroneves hit Hunter-Reay as the latter was sliding across the track, while Rosenqvist went airborne after hitting Palou. Marcus Ericsson spun to the inside trying to avoid. All 5 cars were taken out of the race. The red flag was thrown to clear up debris. The race restarted on Lap 10. When the race resumed, Kanaan held the lead for 3 laps before being passed by Colton Herta. On Lap 19, Max Chilton, running 23rd, lost control of his Carlin and spun, causing minor damage to Simona de Silvestro. Chilton's car was too damaged to continue. When the race resumed once again, Herta continued to lead the field. The leaders began pitting on Lap 30, with the cars that pitted on Lap 19 cycling to the front for a bit, including Alexander Rossi, who took the race lead before Sato passed him on Lap 40. On Lap 48, Sato pitted, handing the lead to Scott Dixon. Dixon would lead for the rest of the first half, even after the second round of pitstops, due to penalties for Rossi and Sato for speeding.

Second half
On Lap 107, the third caution flew for debris. All the leaders pitted, with Colton Herta emerging ahead of Scott Dixon for the lead. Herta would maintain this lead on the restart on Lap 113 until Lap 133, when Dixon took the lead back. On Lap 144, Santino Ferrucci pulled onto pit road due to smoke pouring from his car, which eventually resulted in a fire. It was extinguished, but Ferrucci was out of the race. That same lap, Dixon pitted from the lead, handing the lead to Carpenter, who was off-cycle. The lead would continue to swap a bit between off-cycle drivers until everyone pitted, and Dixon took the lead back. On Lap 167, Sebastien Bourdais spun from 16th, bringing out the fourth caution. The leaders made their final pit stops, with Patricio O'Ward leading the field off pit road.

Finish
O'Ward led until Lap 170, when Dixon took the lead back. Herta would get by O'Ward for 2nd on Lap 178. Dixon built a 2-second lead over Herta by Lap 185, before Dixon started reporting a loss of power. Herta began to close up, with O'Ward, Carpenter and Veekay trailing the 26, locked in a battle for 3rd. With 4 laps to go, Herta pulled to within half a second of Dixon. That same lap, Carpenter and O'Ward were right behind Herta. Rossi passed Veekay for 5th on the next lap. With 2 laps to go, Herta closed up on Dixon. On the backstretch, Herta made his move, but Dixon held his line into Turn 3, resulting in contact. Herta climbed over Dixon's sidepod and left front, sending Herta into the catchfence. His car spun violently and as it landed, was hit by Ed Carpenter who lost control. Juan Pablo Montoya also hit the wall behind trying to avoid the incident. The caution was thrown, giving the win to Patricio O'Ward. Herta and Carpenter both had to be extracted from their cars, but they only suffered minor injuries.

Cautions

 * 1) Lap 3, 5-Car Crash (Hunter-Reay, Palou, Castroneves, Ericsson, Rosenqvist)
 * 2) Lap 19, 2-Car Crash (Chilton, De Silvestro)
 * 3) Lap 107, Debris
 * 4) Lap 163, 1-Car Spin (Bourdais)
 * 5) Lap 199, 4-Car Crash (Dixon, Herta, Carpenter, Montoya)


 * Notes

Race ended under caution.