| CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway ovalSpeedway, IndianaMedia DayMay 21, 2026 Row 8 – Josef Newgarden & Ryan Hunter-Reay THE MODERATOR: Starting 24th, it wasn’t that long ago he was competing on his first oval, now Sunday will be his fourth Indy 500, driver of the No. 18 BMAX.IO Honda for Dale Coyne Racing, it’s Romain Grosjean.Starting 23rd, two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion, two-time Indy 500 champion as well, a race winner earlier this season on his first oval of the season, 2026, at Phoenix Raceway, driver of the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet, it’s Josef Newgarden.Starting 22nd, 2014 Indy 500 winner, 2012 INDYCAR Series champion, making his 18th start in the Indy 500, driver of the No. 31 PrizePicks Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, it’s Ryan Hunter-Reay. THE MODERATOR: You felt pretty good about Monday, didn’t you?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: I did until I saw his speed. You were rapid, yeah, on Monday.I was happy with the car. That was kind of our first real solid race running day. We just had some issues on the other days, had some electrical issues, hybrid failure, this, that, and the other. We had a front wing issue. Yeah, it went straight forward, and the car was good. We worked on it through the day, yeah. There we are. THE MODERATOR: Fastest Monday, does that — just hanging out.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I just love you, Dave. It’s so nice to see you, especially in the couch setup. It’s relaxed.RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Very relaxed. No laces even, we’re so relaxed. THE MODERATOR: Anyway, fastest Monday, will it translate into a great race day for you, Josef?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Hard to say. It’s always hard to say. I think we’re in a similar position that we’ve been in the last couple of years here. We’ve got a great team as always. We’ve got a good car underneath us.I’m in good spirits, and I feel really positive about what we’re doing and what we have, but that only gets you so much and so far. Race day is its own thing.That’s when the car’s got to be its best is on that day. So we’ll see what the weather does. But we’ve been pretty flexible as far as having a good range on the car, different weather conditions. We just — like I said, we’ve got to get it right on Sunday. That’s the day that’s going to count.We’ll see. None of us know what’s going to happen, but we’ve got to be prepared to ebb and flow with the race as it transpires and give ourselves an opportunity. I think that’s what the Indianapolis 500 is always about. It’s about giving yourself a chance. THE MODERATOR: With that, open it up for questions.Q. For both Josef and Ryan, you were in a similar position last year, Josef, you were even further back, but what is the key to making that move, and what is your confidence level you can do that again?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: I miss starting up higher, just making the day a little easier.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: The preference is to start up front, but you saw with Ryan, I think Ryan’s a master of this too. He just knows — he knows how to put a great race together.At the end of the day, it’s what matters here. You can kind of pound the drum on that all day, but until you really understand it, it’s just about — you don’t even have to have the fastest car on the day necessarily. You’ve got to be pretty good. You can’t be bad.You can just have a good, decent car, have a good team underneath you, and make the right moves at the right time, which is really what these guys did. They gave themselves an opportunity to win the race, and that’s 90 percent of the battle is doing that, is getting yourself in position and then trying to close the deal.That’s the last little bit is closing the deal, but you’ve got to be in the fight first. Q. Is that something we’re understanding, like how to get yourself in position and get in the fight, as you said, does that just come with experience here?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, it just comes with experience, I think. He’s one of the best at doing it as well. Like you have to know when to go, you have to know when to pull back a bit.You can start the race and feel like you’re doomed, the car’s not right, whatever, you’ve got some understeer, and you don’t like it. Well, as you go through those stops, you tune it. You’ve always got to keep yourself in a positive state and always charging hard.Yeah, you get used to it through years of doing it here for sure. Q. Josef, you talked about having the car ready on race day is the most important thing, but with the limitations you’ve had, everyone has had going into that — and no one knows better having crossed the bricks first twice — what the challenges are going to bring. How hard is it to have that confidence if you don’t have time to get the car where you want and need it?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it can be tough. If you don’t have a good cadence to the month and you’ve never had — or you haven’t had many good sessions, it’s hard to feel confident about what’s going on. That’s kind of 360. You want to instill confidence in the mechanics and what they’re doing and you want them to be in good spirits. You want the driver certainly to feel confident in the car underneath them.For us, I think we’re in a good spot. It’s hard to speak for everybody. I will say I think everyone looks pretty good this year, more so than I’ve ever seen. I see a lot of good cars in the pack. It seems like there could be a lot of confident people out there on Sunday. Q. Josef, with where your teammates are starting, did the team tell you if there was anything they found on the car after qualifying that was wrong with the run?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m not sure, just that’s what she had. That’s what she had on Sunday. It’s a different story going into the race now. I feel really good about where we’re at.I wish we could have been — you know, it’s got nothing to do with the race. I just hate losing out the points. That’s the toughest thing to me is it’s 12 points up for grabs that we just let wash away. Other than that, I think the race car is in a good spot. Q. Ryan, the team dynamic, you with Pato and Christian and Nolan, what has that been like over the course of the last several days here on track?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: It’s been a lot of fun working with them. I’ve worked with the team and embedded with the team since the beginning of the season, even preseason testing, so I’ve been at every race. I have a really good relationship with them. I have a really good relationship with the engineers as well.Our whole mentality coming into this month was to work together as a team, and we’ve done that. So it’s crazy how quickly that week can go by, though, because you’ve got Tuesday, Wednesday, you’re kind of doing the race running stuff. Thursday already time to start prepping for fast Friday, going to qual sims and all that.Yeah, it’s been great. Had a great time with them personally as well, just getting to know them as people and drivers and looking forward to working with them in the future. THE MODERATOR: To that point, Tony Kanaan was that conversation after the race last year to start the process. An opportunity to work with TK again. Has it been as much fun as you thought?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Absolutely. TK was a good friend, and ended up coming around, now he’s my boss. Just got to get him on the right day. It’s all good. He’s great. In the short amount of time he’s been there, the team has gone through a lot of transitional phases. It was Schmidt, and then it was Arrow McLaren partnership and then the acquisition.It’s gone through many phases, and he’s done a great job with it. I look forward to seeing where this project, this team, this group is going in the future. Q. Ryan, last year you had to go to the backup car in your race, and now you’ve got Pato and Alex, just from a (audio interruption)?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Well, I started the race in a pit stop practice car. So it wasn’t really a backup. It literally had an electric motor in it 48 hours prior. It’s wild because you have to kind of — if he gets Carb Day, that’s all right. He’s going to know what he has. You just get on with it, right?Like Josef said, you have a well-balanced car. If your car is good in traffic, it doesn’t need to be the fastest thing out there. You get a good driver behind the wheel of a car that’s in the window, and you’re going to be all right.Yeah, I went into turn 1, lap 1 of the race without having driven a lap in it. Hopefully they won’t be in that scenario, same with Romain. Q. One for Josef as well if I may. Just the challenge of going back to back here, you know what that’s like. Alex is going into this week chasing that. How big of an achievement is that, and how much did it take out of you to win it twice in a row?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You know, I just — I don’t know. I feel a little different about it now. The answer that I would give you is when we won the first one in ’23, I was kind of at peace with the fact that we might never win this race. It just kind of comes back to what we were talking about.You can be excellent on the day, you can be the best driver, you can be the best team, and that does not guarantee a victory. It’s just there’s so much that has to go right to win this race. You know that, when you win it one time, you’re really appreciative. That’s how I was. It was unexpected to win it and certainly very unexpected to win it twice.I don’t think anything really changes when you win the race and then you’re trying to go back to back. You’re going through the same process. You’re putting in the same sort of effort. You just hope that you can get the cards two times in a row, and the likelihood of it is pretty low. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen.We have a lot of future ahead of this race, so we’ll see what the future brings for the results. But it is, it’s hard to have everything go your way on the day at this race. That’s what makes it so incredible to win it. There’s a lot that has to go right. Q. Josef and Ryan, you both have so much experience around this place. You’ve both driven through the traffic around this place. I know you’re on opposing teams, but is there a sense of sort of you know the guy that you’re near, if you’re working through the pack together, would you do it together to get towards the front and then gloves off on that last stint?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, Josef and I have been racing each other for a very long time, so we’ve got a lot of respect for one another and in how we conduct ourselves on the racetrack. If I could throw a jab or a hook on the back of your car, I would definitely do that, if that’s available. I don’t think it is.Yeah, we’ll get through it as we need to. Like I said before, experience certainly does help in that regard here at Indy.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it’s tough. The nice thing is you have to have a good kind of book in place. What I mean is you kind of compile your notes on everybody in the field, and you sort of at least get a couple passes by hopefully most cars during practice, and you sort of know what you’re working with.It’s nice when you’re racing people that you feel like you can race a certain way and you can trust. It’s almost impossible to help each other work through the field. We’re going to run our own races. It’s just nice to be next to some people that you trust is probably the only thing about it.Certainly when it comes down to the end, it’s every man for himself. We’re all trying to win this race. It would be fun if it’s Ryan and me and we can have a shootout, but we’re both going to be going for it. That’s the way it is. You’re going to try and win the race as best you can.THE MODERATOR: It’s going to be fascinating to watch you on race day come from row 8. Good luck. Have a great day tomorrow and see you on Sunday. |
| Indianapolis 500 Monday Practice Results |
| CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway ovalSpeedway, IndianaMedia DayMay 21, 2026 Row 8 – Josef Newgarden & Ryan Hunter-Reay THE MODERATOR: Starting 24th, it wasn’t that long ago he was competing on his first oval, now Sunday will be his fourth Indy 500, driver of the No. 18 BMAX.IO Honda for Dale Coyne Racing, it’s Romain Grosjean.Starting 23rd, two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion, two-time Indy 500 champion as well, a race winner earlier this season on his first oval of the season, 2026, at Phoenix Raceway, driver of the No. 2 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet, it’s Josef Newgarden.Starting 22nd, 2014 Indy 500 winner, 2012 INDYCAR Series champion, making his 18th start in the Indy 500, driver of the No. 31 PrizePicks Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, it’s Ryan Hunter-Reay. THE MODERATOR: You felt pretty good about Monday, didn’t you?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: I did until I saw his speed. You were rapid, yeah, on Monday.I was happy with the car. That was kind of our first real solid race running day. We just had some issues on the other days, had some electrical issues, hybrid failure, this, that, and the other. We had a front wing issue. Yeah, it went straight forward, and the car was good. We worked on it through the day, yeah. There we are. THE MODERATOR: Fastest Monday, does that — just hanging out.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I just love you, Dave. It’s so nice to see you, especially in the couch setup. It’s relaxed.RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Very relaxed. No laces even, we’re so relaxed. THE MODERATOR: Anyway, fastest Monday, will it translate into a great race day for you, Josef?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Hard to say. It’s always hard to say. I think we’re in a similar position that we’ve been in the last couple of years here. We’ve got a great team as always. We’ve got a good car underneath us.I’m in good spirits, and I feel really positive about what we’re doing and what we have, but that only gets you so much and so far. Race day is its own thing.That’s when the car’s got to be its best is on that day. So we’ll see what the weather does. But we’ve been pretty flexible as far as having a good range on the car, different weather conditions. We just — like I said, we’ve got to get it right on Sunday. That’s the day that’s going to count.We’ll see. None of us know what’s going to happen, but we’ve got to be prepared to ebb and flow with the race as it transpires and give ourselves an opportunity. I think that’s what the Indianapolis 500 is always about. It’s about giving yourself a chance. THE MODERATOR: With that, open it up for questions.Q. For both Josef and Ryan, you were in a similar position last year, Josef, you were even further back, but what is the key to making that move, and what is your confidence level you can do that again?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: I miss starting up higher, just making the day a little easier.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: The preference is to start up front, but you saw with Ryan, I think Ryan’s a master of this too. He just knows — he knows how to put a great race together.At the end of the day, it’s what matters here. You can kind of pound the drum on that all day, but until you really understand it, it’s just about — you don’t even have to have the fastest car on the day necessarily. You’ve got to be pretty good. You can’t be bad.You can just have a good, decent car, have a good team underneath you, and make the right moves at the right time, which is really what these guys did. They gave themselves an opportunity to win the race, and that’s 90 percent of the battle is doing that, is getting yourself in position and then trying to close the deal.That’s the last little bit is closing the deal, but you’ve got to be in the fight first. Q. Is that something we’re understanding, like how to get yourself in position and get in the fight, as you said, does that just come with experience here?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, it just comes with experience, I think. He’s one of the best at doing it as well. Like you have to know when to go, you have to know when to pull back a bit.You can start the race and feel like you’re doomed, the car’s not right, whatever, you’ve got some understeer, and you don’t like it. Well, as you go through those stops, you tune it. You’ve always got to keep yourself in a positive state and always charging hard.Yeah, you get used to it through years of doing it here for sure. Q. Josef, you talked about having the car ready on race day is the most important thing, but with the limitations you’ve had, everyone has had going into that — and no one knows better having crossed the bricks first twice — what the challenges are going to bring. How hard is it to have that confidence if you don’t have time to get the car where you want and need it?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it can be tough. If you don’t have a good cadence to the month and you’ve never had — or you haven’t had many good sessions, it’s hard to feel confident about what’s going on. That’s kind of 360. You want to instill confidence in the mechanics and what they’re doing and you want them to be in good spirits. You want the driver certainly to feel confident in the car underneath them.For us, I think we’re in a good spot. It’s hard to speak for everybody. I will say I think everyone looks pretty good this year, more so than I’ve ever seen. I see a lot of good cars in the pack. It seems like there could be a lot of confident people out there on Sunday. Q. Josef, with where your teammates are starting, did the team tell you if there was anything they found on the car after qualifying that was wrong with the run?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m not sure, just that’s what she had. That’s what she had on Sunday. It’s a different story going into the race now. I feel really good about where we’re at.I wish we could have been — you know, it’s got nothing to do with the race. I just hate losing out the points. That’s the toughest thing to me is it’s 12 points up for grabs that we just let wash away. Other than that, I think the race car is in a good spot. Q. Ryan, the team dynamic, you with Pato and Christian and Nolan, what has that been like over the course of the last several days here on track?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: It’s been a lot of fun working with them. I’ve worked with the team and embedded with the team since the beginning of the season, even preseason testing, so I’ve been at every race. I have a really good relationship with them. I have a really good relationship with the engineers as well.Our whole mentality coming into this month was to work together as a team, and we’ve done that. So it’s crazy how quickly that week can go by, though, because you’ve got Tuesday, Wednesday, you’re kind of doing the race running stuff. Thursday already time to start prepping for fast Friday, going to qual sims and all that.Yeah, it’s been great. Had a great time with them personally as well, just getting to know them as people and drivers and looking forward to working with them in the future. THE MODERATOR: To that point, Tony Kanaan was that conversation after the race last year to start the process. An opportunity to work with TK again. Has it been as much fun as you thought?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Absolutely. TK was a good friend, and ended up coming around, now he’s my boss. Just got to get him on the right day. It’s all good. He’s great. In the short amount of time he’s been there, the team has gone through a lot of transitional phases. It was Schmidt, and then it was Arrow McLaren partnership and then the acquisition.It’s gone through many phases, and he’s done a great job with it. I look forward to seeing where this project, this team, this group is going in the future. Q. Ryan, last year you had to go to the backup car in your race, and now you’ve got Pato and Alex, just from a (audio interruption)?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Well, I started the race in a pit stop practice car. So it wasn’t really a backup. It literally had an electric motor in it 48 hours prior. It’s wild because you have to kind of — if he gets Carb Day, that’s all right. He’s going to know what he has. You just get on with it, right?Like Josef said, you have a well-balanced car. If your car is good in traffic, it doesn’t need to be the fastest thing out there. You get a good driver behind the wheel of a car that’s in the window, and you’re going to be all right.Yeah, I went into turn 1, lap 1 of the race without having driven a lap in it. Hopefully they won’t be in that scenario, same with Romain. Q. One for Josef as well if I may. Just the challenge of going back to back here, you know what that’s like. Alex is going into this week chasing that. How big of an achievement is that, and how much did it take out of you to win it twice in a row?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You know, I just — I don’t know. I feel a little different about it now. The answer that I would give you is when we won the first one in ’23, I was kind of at peace with the fact that we might never win this race. It just kind of comes back to what we were talking about.You can be excellent on the day, you can be the best driver, you can be the best team, and that does not guarantee a victory. It’s just there’s so much that has to go right to win this race. You know that, when you win it one time, you’re really appreciative. That’s how I was. It was unexpected to win it and certainly very unexpected to win it twice.I don’t think anything really changes when you win the race and then you’re trying to go back to back. You’re going through the same process. You’re putting in the same sort of effort. You just hope that you can get the cards two times in a row, and the likelihood of it is pretty low. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen.We have a lot of future ahead of this race, so we’ll see what the future brings for the results. But it is, it’s hard to have everything go your way on the day at this race. That’s what makes it so incredible to win it. There’s a lot that has to go right. Q. Josef and Ryan, you both have so much experience around this place. You’ve both driven through the traffic around this place. I know you’re on opposing teams, but is there a sense of sort of you know the guy that you’re near, if you’re working through the pack together, would you do it together to get towards the front and then gloves off on that last stint?RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, Josef and I have been racing each other for a very long time, so we’ve got a lot of respect for one another and in how we conduct ourselves on the racetrack. If I could throw a jab or a hook on the back of your car, I would definitely do that, if that’s available. I don’t think it is.Yeah, we’ll get through it as we need to. Like I said before, experience certainly does help in that regard here at Indy.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it’s tough. The nice thing is you have to have a good kind of book in place. What I mean is you kind of compile your notes on everybody in the field, and you sort of at least get a couple passes by hopefully most cars during practice, and you sort of know what you’re working with.It’s nice when you’re racing people that you feel like you can race a certain way and you can trust. It’s almost impossible to help each other work through the field. We’re going to run our own races. It’s just nice to be next to some people that you trust is probably the only thing about it.Certainly when it comes down to the end, it’s every man for himself. We’re all trying to win this race. It would be fun if it’s Ryan and me and we can have a shootout, but we’re both going to be going for it. That’s the way it is. You’re going to try and win the race as best you can.THE MODERATOR: It’s going to be fascinating to watch you on race day come from row 8. Good luck. Have a great day tomorrow and see you on Sunday. |
| Indianapolis 500 Monday Practice Results |
| Chevrolet History at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval General Motors Wins – 18 Chevrolet Wins – 13 2024 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2023 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2019 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2018 – Will Power – Team Penske2015 – Juan Montoya – Team Penske2013 – Tony Kanaan – KV Racing Technology-SH Racing2002 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske1993 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Team Penske1992 – Al Unser, Jr. – Galles/Kraco1991 – Rick Mears – Team Penske1990 – Arie Luyendyk – Doug Shierson Racing1989 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Patrick Racing1988 – Rick Mears – Team Penske Oldsmobile Wins – 5 2001 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske2000 – Juan Montoya – Chip Ganassi Racing1999 – Kenny Brack – A.J. Foyt Racing1998 – Eddie Cheever, Jr. – Team Cheever1997 – Arie Luyendyk – Treadway Racing General Motors Poles – 20 Chevrolet Poles – 14 2025 – Robert Shwartzman – PREMA Racing2024 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske2019 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2018 – Ed Carpenter – Ed Carpenter Racing2015 – Scott Dixon – Chip Ganassi Racing2014 – Ed Carpenter – Ed Carpenter Racing2013 – Ed Carpenter – Ed Carpenter Racing2012 – Ryan Briscoe – Team Penske2002 – Bruno Junqueira – Chip Ganassi Racing1991 – Rick Mears – Team Penske1990 – Emerson Fittipaldi – Team Penske1989 – Rick Mears – Team Penske1988 – Rick Mears – Team Penske1987 – Mario Andretti – Newman Haas Racing Oldsmobile Poles – 5 2001 – Scott Sharp – Kelley Racing2000 – Greg Ray – Team Menard1999 – Arie Luyendyk – Treadway Racing1998 – Billy Boat – A.J. Foyt Racing1997 – Arie Luyendyk – Treadway Racing Buick Poles – 1 1992 – Roberto Guerrero – King Motorsports General Motors Podiums – 54 Chevrolet Podiums – 38 Chevrolet Driver Podiums – Emerson Fittipaldi (4), Helio Castroneves (3), Josef Newgarden (3), Pato O’Ward (3), Tony Kanaan (2), Arie Luyendyk (2), Rick Mears (2), Simon Pagenaud (2), Will Power (2), Al Unser Jr. (2), Michael Andretti (1), Ed Carpenter (1), Santino Ferrucci (1),Felipe Giaffone (1), Scott Goodyear (1), Ryan Hunter-Reay (1), Charlie Kimball (1), David Malukas (1), Juan Montoya (1), Carlos Munoz (1), Bob Rahal (1), Paul Tracy (1), Al Unser (1) Chevrolet Team Podiums – Team Penske (15), Arrow McLaren (3), A.J. Foyt Racing (2), Andretti Global (2), ECR (2), Galles Racing (2), KV Racing Technology (2), Patrick Racing (2), Chip Ganassi Racing (1), Doug Shierson Racing (1), Granatelli Racing (1), Kraco Enterprises (1), Mo Nunn Racing (1), Newman Haas Racing (1), Team Green (1), Walker Racing (1) Oldsmobile – 15 Oldsmobile Driver Podiums – Buddy Lazier (2), Jeff Ward (2), Michael Andretti (1), Billy Boat (1), Kenny Brack (1), Helio Castroneves (1), Eddie Cheever, Jr. (1), Gil de Ferran (1), Scott Goodyear (1), Steve Knapp (1), Arie Luyendyk (1), Juan Montoya (1), Eliseo Salazar (1) Oldsmobile Team Podiums – A.J. Foyt (3), Hemelgarn Racing (2), Team Cheever (2), Team Penske (2), Treadway Racing (2), Chip Ganassi Racing (1), ISM Racing (1), Team Green (1), Pagan Racing (1) Buick – 1 Buick Driver Podiums – Al Unser (1) Buick Team Podiums – Team Menard (1) General Motors Laps Led – 3709 Chevrolet Laps Led – 2699 Chevrolet Driver Laps Led – Emerson Fittipaldi (348), Mario Andretti (193), Simon Pagenaud (169), Ed Carpenter (144), Will Power (140), Tony Kanaan (133), Michael Andretti (132), Rick Mears (119), Helio Castroneves (98), Pato O’Ward (96), Danny Sullivan (95), Marco Andretti (90), Scott Dixon (87), Conor Daly (82), Josef Newgarden (69), Rinus VeeKay (65), Scott McLaughlin (64), Al Unser Jr. (52), Felix Rosenqvist (47), Arie Luyendyk (37), Bob Rahal (36), Bruno Junqueira (32), Alexander Rossi (30), Al Unser (27), Juan Montoya (26), A.J. Allmendinger (23), Sting Ray Robb (23), Ryan Briscoe (15), Gil de Ferran (13), Santino Ferrucci (12), Felipe Giaffone (12), James Hinchcliffe (12), Carlos Munoz (12), Alex Barron (10), Charlie Kimball (10), Christian Rasmussen (9), Robert Shwartzman (8), Spencer Pigot (7), JR Hildebrand (6), Callum Ilott (6), Oliver Askew (4), Kevin Cogan (4), Sage Karam (4), Kyle Larson (4), Jack Harvey (3), Scott Sharp (3), Rubens Barrichello (2), David Malukas (2) Chevrolet Team Laps Led – Team Penske (1019), Newman Haas Racing (325), ECR (306), Chip Ganassi Racing (179), Arrow McLaren (168), Patrick Racing (158), Andretti Global (140), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (85), A.J. Foyt Racing (56), Galles Racing (56), KV Racing Technology (43), Doug Shierson Racing (37), Kraco Enterprises (35), Mo Nunn Racing (35), Juncos Hollinger Racing (18), King Motorsports (15), Prema Racing (8), Blair Racing (7), Kelley Racing (4), Team Cheever (3) Oldsmobile Laps Led – 996 Oldsmobile Driver Laps Led: Juan Montoya (167), Arie Luyendyk (129), Greg Ray (116), Kenny Brack (89), Tony Stewart (78), Eddie Cheever, Jr. (76), Helio Castroneves (52), Jeff Ward (52), Robby Gordon (50), John Paul, Jr. (39), Mark Dismore (29), Gil de Ferran (27), Buddy Lazier (27), Michael Andretti (16), Robbie Buhl (16), Billy Boat (13), Jimmy Vasser (5), Buzz Calkins (4), Sam Schmidt (4), Davey Hamilton (3), Scott Goodyear (2), Robbie McGehee (2) Oldsmobile Team Laps Led : Team Menard (207), Chip Ganassi Racing (185), Treadway Racing (137), Team Cheever (125), A.J. Foyt Racing (124), Team Penske (79), Team Pelfrey (39), Kelley Racing (29), Hemelgarn Racing (27), Genoa Racing (18), Team Green (16), Bradley Racing (4), Nienhouse Motorsports (3), Pagan Racing (3) Buick Laps Led – 14 Buick Driver Laps Led: Jim Crawford (8), Al Unser (4), Scott Brayton (1), Stephane Gregoire (1) Buick Team Laps Led: King Motorsports (8), Team Menard (4), Brayton Engineering (1), Formula Project (1) Manufacturer History at the Indianapolis 500 Wins (with competition) 27 – Offenhauser (1976, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1968, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960, 1959, 1958, 1957, 1956, 1955, 1954, 1953, 1952, 1951, 1950, 1949, 1948, 1947, 1941, 1937, 1935)18 – General Motors 13 – Chevrolet (2024, 2023, 2019, 2018, 2015, 2013, 2002, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988)12 – Miller (1938, 1936, 1934, 1933, 1932, 1931, 1930, 1929, 1928, 1926, 1923, 1922)10 – Honda (2025, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2005, 2004)10 – Cosworth (1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978)8 – Ford (1996, 1995, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1967, 1965)5 – Oldsmobile (2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997)3 – Duesenberg (1927, 1925, 19243 – Peugeot (1919, 1918, 1913)2 – Mercedes (1994, 19152 – Maserati (1940, 1939)2 – Frontenac (1921, 1920)1 – Toyota (2003)1 – Foyt (19771 – Sparks (1946)1 – Delage (1914)1 – National (1912)1 – Marmon (1911) Earned Poles (with competition) 23 – General Motors18 – Offenhauser (1976, 1973, 1972, 1971, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960, 1959, 1958, 1957, 1956, 1955, 1954, 1953, 1950, 1946, 1937)14 – Miller (1938, 1935, 1934, 1933, 1932, 1930, 1929, 1928, 1927, 1926, 1925, 1924, 1923, 1922)14 – Chevrolet (2025, 2024, 2019, 2018, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2002, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987)9 – Cosworth (1986, 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1977)9 – Honda (2026, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2017, 2016, 2005, 2004)7 – Ford (1993, 1970, 1969, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1964)5 – Oldsmobile (2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997)4 – Buick (1996, 1995, 1992, 1985)3 – Ballot (1921, 1920, 1919)2 – Foyt (1975, 1974)2 – Novi (1951, 1949)2 – Winfield (1948, 1940)2 – Maserati (1947, 1941)2 – Sparks (1939, 1936)2 – Wisconsin (1912, 1911)1 – Toyota (2003)1 – Mercedes (1994)1 – Pratt & Whitney (1968)1 – Cummins (1952)1 – Studebaker (1931)1 – Peugeot (1916)1 – Stutz (1915)1 – Sunbeam (1914)1 – Mercer (1913) |
“Purple Heart Homes is honored to partner with Peterson Racing and Austin Green for the Charbroil 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway”, stated Jennifer Gipp, Vice President of Philanthropy & Marketing. “There’s no weekend more fitting than Memorial Day weekend to share our mission with race fans across the country. Seeing the No. 87 Chevrolet wrapped in Purple Heart Homes branding is a powerful tribute to the service-connected disabled and aging Veterans we serve every day. We’re grateful to Peterson Racing for this platform to honor those who have sacrificed so much for our nation.”


Josh BerryAge: 35 (Oct. 22, 1990)Hometown: Hendersonville, TennesseeCrew Chief: Miles StanleyIG: @joshberry88X: @joshberry


DILLON, NO. 3 TEAM HEADING HOME WITH CONFIDENCEAustin Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team put together the ultimate rebound at Dover Motor Speedway to lead the Bowtie brigade with a fourth-place finish in last weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race. The result marked Dillon’s second-consecutive top-six finish of the season, giving the North Carolina native a welcomed boost of confidence he will carry into the Charlotte race weekend. While it’s a true hometown race for the veteran driver, “America’s Home for Racing” has made a lasting impression in his NASCAR career. In his fourth full-time Cup Series season, Dillon conquered the sport’s most challenging crown jewel event, the Coca-Cola 600, to earn his first career win in NASCAR’s premier series. The feat made Dillon the 10th, and most recent, driver in history to become a first-time Cup Series winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Dillon’s resume at his home track also features two O’Reilly Series wins, which were earned during a 2015 season sweep.
RACKING UP THE MILES Just two drivers will attempt to log 1,101 miles around Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend, both of which come from the Chevrolet camp. The reigning Coca-Cola 600 winner, Ross Chastain, will look to not only defend his title in the 67th running of the crown jewel event but reunite with JR Motorsports and Niece Motorsports to run his third-straight triple duty weekend. One year ago, Chastain and the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team executed the ultimate rebound, going from backup car and a last-place starting position to becoming first-time crown jewel winners in NASCAR’s premier series. Chastain’s tripleheader weekend will kick off behind the wheel of the No. 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet in Friday’s Truck Series event – a pairing that already owns one trip to victory lane at the track (2022). On Saturday, Chastain will return to the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team for their third outing together of the season. The pair is coming off their best qualifying effort this season, capturing the pole position at Dover Motor Speedway last weekend.
Chastain’s teammate, Connor Zilisch, will also face a full slate of racing at his home track this weekend – pairing back up with JR Motorsports and Spire Motorsports to complete his tripleheader effort. While points weren’t up for grabs last weekend, Zilisch is coming off his season-best result when the 19-year-old turned his first NASCAR All-Star Race appearance into a top-five finish. Despite competing in his rookie Cup Series campaign, Zilisch already has one previous start in the 600-mile crown jewel event, which came one year ago under the Trackhouse Racing banner. Zilisch will make his sixth O’Reilly Series start of the season this weekend, all of which have come alongside veteran crew chief, Rodney Childers, and the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team. The combination has already translated into success this season, earning two trips to victory lane (Bristol and Watkins Glen) and one pole position (Circuit of The Americas). Zilisch has just one Truck Series start under his belt this season (Watkins Glen), but it was an effort that saw the young driver earn a top-five qualifying position and 28 laps led en route to a runner-up finish. 












Media Resources:
NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceMonday, May 18, 2026Indianapolis, Indiana, USARyan Hunter-ReayPress Conference
Event: NASCAR All-Star RaceLocation: Dover Motor Speedway, Dover, DelawareDate: Sunday, May 17, 2026Finish: 18thJosh Berry and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang Dark Horse avoided two multi-car crashes in Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway before finishing 18th in the non-points event.The exhibition race featured two 75-lap segments followed by a 200-lap main event.The opening 75-lap segment began with a nine-car crash on Lap 2 that unfolded just behind Berry and eliminated several top contenders from competition.Berry later fell a lap off the pace midway through the segment but rejoined the lead lap after receiving the free pass when the caution flag flew for Carson Hocevar.That segment ultimately ended with another nine-car incident that erupted in front of Berry, who skillfully navigated through the spinning cars to finish 18th. The result placed him ninth for the start of the second segment following the field inversion.In the second 75-lap segment, Berry again lost a lap before eventually returning to the lead lap via the free pass. He finished the segment in 17th, and his combined results positioned him 19th for the start of the final 200-lap feature.The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang Dark Horse climbed as high as 13th in the closing segment before ultimately taking the checkered flag in 18th place.Berry and the Wood Brothers Racing team now turn their attention to next Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.