Following a four-hour rain delay, the IndyCar blue ribband event boiled down to a dramatic showdown between Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward, with the Mexican taking the lead into Turn 1 on the 200th and final lap.
But Team Penske's Newgarden wasn't finished and reclaimed the head with a daring outside move at Turn 3 before crossing the line to become the first back-to-back 500 winner since Helio Castroneves in 2002.
In a race that saw a high rate of attrition, with Marcus Ericsson (2022), Will Power (2018) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014) among the previous winners embroiled in incidents, NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Larson finished 18th on his IndyCar race debut.
Rain in Charlotte, where NASCAR was staging a 600-mile Cup race, thwarted his efforts to join the exclusive list of drivers that have contested both in the same day.
IndyCar reporter Joey Barnes joins host Steph Wentworth on the podcast to discuss Newgarden's achievement, how O'Ward's Arrow McLaren machine used strategy and aggression to get back into contention, and whether Larson or Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen should win Rookie of the Year honours.
