Will Power wins 2018 Indy 500

Will Power has won the 2018 Indianapolis 500 after a brilliant drive! Read about it as it happened.

Will Power has won the 2018 Indianapolis 500, taking the lead with just four laps to go. There were three cars ahead of him on much older tires trying to stretch it out for the win, but all of them wound up having to pit at the last moment, and Power took the victory, three second ahead of Ed Carpenter, the pole-sitter for the race.

Power started the race from third. Scott Dixon, who started ninth, finished third. Power finished the race on 29-lap-old tires. He made some good passes on Carpenter earlier in the race, but nearly lost it all due to late cautions that gave Stefan Wilson, Oriol Servia and Jack Harvey hope that they could win it on much older tires. But they had to pit late, especially when it became clear that Power had enough left in his car to push hard for the final laps.

Alexander Rossi started the race from the 32nd position, but made some brilliant outside passes right on the restarts of several cautions, and by Lap 155, he had climbed his way all the way up to third, with another restart and potential for more passing just ahead. He ended up finishing the race in fourth position.

Danica Patrick dropped down to 12th from seventh pretty quickly at the start of the race. She was complaining about understeer in the conditions, and after the first round of pit stops, retained 12th position. She announced prior to the race that it would be her last Indy 500, and her last race as a full-time driver overall.

Unfortunately, it ended earlier than she hoped. Patrick crashed out on Lap 68 when she simply lost the back-end of her car around the bottom of a turn, and it spun out and into the wall. She got out of the car on her own, but it was an extremely disappointing end for her race and driving career. She was running 17th at the time of her accident.

“I mean, today was really disappointing for what we were hoping for and what you want for your last race,” she said. “But I’m grateful for all of it. Wish I could have finished stronger.”

Prior to that, defending champion Takuma Sato was involved in a crash with James Davison, and both drivers were the first ones out. Sato hit the back of Davison, who was going much slower than race pace and did not move out of the way. Ed Jones was next, in a single car crash very similar to Patrick’s.

On Lap 139, Sebastien Bourdais spun out late in a turn — so it’s not just exclusive to the lower crashes — and went into the wall, ending his race. The same thing happened to three-time winner Helio Castroneves right on the restart. He goes into the pit road wall, and his race is over. He was running in fifth at the time.

Tony Kanaan took the lead from Carpenter at the third caution restart, but he suffered a puncture and had to pit again not long after, taking him out of the top group. By Lap 155, he was in 14th position, and he even made it back into the top 10. Unfortunately, he lost control of the car being aggressive with 12 laps to go, and went into the wall.

Below, you can see our live blog from Sunday’s action, and the full finishing order.

3:23 p.m. FINAL: Carpenter is up to second, Dixon third and Rossi fourth. Power is the leader and seems to have plenty left in the car to finish this one out. With one lap to go, Carpenter is 2.7 second back. Power wins it!

3:20 p.m.: We’re going green with seven laps to go. Wilson immediately gets past Servia around the outside. Power had to let off slightly, but he made it past Servia, as did Harvey. It’s Wilson, Harvey and Power with six laps to go. Carpenter is in fifth. Both Wilson and Harvey have to pit! Power takes the lead with four laps to go!

3:15 p.m.: Servia’s team thinks they have it. With 10 laps to go, the pits open. Power’s team has told him he has plenty of time and power on the restart. It seems like all of Servia, Wilson and Harvey are all staying out on tires 34, 34 and 33 laps old, respectively. Nine laps to go.

3:10 p.m.: Servia leadsw with 14 lap to go, but he needs a caution to manage a win, it seems. Harvey in third may be able to go to the end. Power makes it past Dixon for fourth, and Carpenter is running sixth. We do get the caution! It’s Kanaan, into a wall and out of the race! 12 laps to go and we have another caution.

3:05 p.m.: The leaders are pitting. In comes Power, and he has a very fast 6.6-second stop. Rossi and Carpenter both pit as well, coming out behind Power, with Kimball ahead of them on 15-lap-old tires. Dixon is running in fifth and may not stop again, while everyone ahead of him definitely needs to. 20 laps to go. Servia, Wilson, Harvey, Dixon, De Melo, Power, Carpenter, Rossi, Hunter-Reay and Pagenaud are the top 10.

2:57 p.m.: Hildebrand is up to 10th after starting 27th — he got a bit lost in the shuffle while I was marveling at Rossi’s passes. Munoz moves up to to eighth, and Kanaan up to seventh. Andretti pits, as does Newgarden. We’re getting down to it, folks.

2:52 p.m.: Power got the jump on Carpenter on the restart. Rossi gets awfully close to passing Carpenter, but he can’t make the move. Also on the restart, Kanaan makes up multiple positions and gets to ninth. Rossi was ahead of Carpenter for about a half a second, but Carpenter got the place back. Power is ahead, and looking fine. Rossi and Pagenaud just set personal best laps.

2:41 p.m.: Rossi is taking the high side again on the restart, and he moves past both Hunter-Reay and Pagenaud! He’s now third, while Power holds on ahead of Carpenter. And we have another crash. This one is Sage Karam, and he’s out of the race. A tire flew across the track and, once again, it was the back-end of the car swinging out.

2:36 p.m.: We’re into the final 50 laps, awaiting another restart, with Power leading Carpenter, Pagenaud, Hunter-Reay and, surprisingly, Rossi all the way up from 32nd.

2:31 p.m.: This next restart should be very, very interesting... Carpenter has been faster than Power on the restarts, and this could be his shot to get the lead back. We get the restart aaaand ... an immediate caution. Oh no, it’s Castroneves, running in fifth position. He crashed at the entrance of pit road. Castroneves was hoping for his fourth win at the Indy 500. Upon replay, it looks, again, like he simply lost the rear-end of his car around a turn, and it sent him into the wall of the pit lane coming across the track.

“Please Roger, can I come back?” Castroneves said on the broadcast. So this may not be his final Indy 500.

2:22 p.m.: We have another caution and this time it’s one of the front-runners, Sebastien Bourdais, who crashed. He lost it at the apex of a turn and spun into the wall, ending his race at Lap 141. Munoz pits, and Power moves back into first, ahead of Carpenter and Pagenaud.

2:16 p.m.: Hunter-Reay is making gains on Pagenaud, the only Honda to push one of the top three Chevyrolets. Carpenter pits, with Power, Pagenaud, Hunter-Reay and Castroneves the top four. We get some more pit stops, and Power essentially still has the lead though he’s running in fourth. Rahal, Wickens and Munoz are on 30-lap-old tires

2:06 p.m.: Kyle Kaiser pulls into the pits and his race is over due to a mechanical issue., it seems. Power has the lead with 90 laps to go, and he’s maintaining a fairly consistent 1.3-second lead over Carpenter.

1:56 p.m.: Veach came in for a pit stop, and there was a fire on top of the car after refueling. They sent him out with flames on the top of it, and the wind, thankfully, extinguished it. There was fire on the ground in the pits as well, but they got it put out quickly. Kanaan is in 22nd after his surprise pit stop. De Melo goes into the pits, and Power is back in the lead, with Carpenter behind, then Pagenaud, Hunter-Reay and Castroneves.

1:51 p.m.: There are some big gaps forming in the top 15 or so cars after the latest restart. Kanaan pits on Lap 90, but the next six stay out for at least another lap. Carpenter comes in two laps later. Carpenter rejoins just behind Kanaan. Power is the race leader, but has yet to pit. The rest of the front-runners seem to be coming in now. Dixon seems to be having some trouble with his water bottle.

Oh wow, Kanaan has to come in for another pit stop! He has a puncture in his right rear, and this is huge for him. Huge in all the wrong ways, of course. Carpenter is running 11th, though there are still a slew of cars that need to stop. Carpenter is behind Power among those who have stopped recently.

1:36 p.m.: Another caution restart, and Kanaan makes it past Carpenter once again. This time, he’s made it stick, at least longer than last time. We’re a couple laps later and he’s still leading Carpenter, from Power, Pagenaud, Castroneves, Hunter-Reay, Pigot, Andretti and Dixon.

1:24 p.m.: We have another crash ... oh no, it’s Patrick! She spins, and her day is done in what she announced as her final race. What a terrible way for it to end, but she appears to be OK. It was a very similar crash to Jones’ — a slight movement at the bottom of the turn, and she just lost the back-end. Rough way for it to end, and we have caution again.

1:21 p.m.: Chilton pits under the caution, his fourth pit — he’s having some issues with his car. We go green on Lap 63, and Kanaan makes it past Carpenter for the lead! Rossi moves up a spot. Castroneves and Power get clear of De Melo. Carpenter, a couple turns later, passes Kanaan back for the lead. Newgarden, Pagenaud, Power, Castroneves, De Melo, Hunter-Reay, Pigot and Andretti are the top after Carpenter and Kanaan.

1:13 p.m.: We go green again, and both Carpenter and Kanaan make it past Claman De Melo, the rookie who has only stopped once. Pagenaud and Newgarden both make up spots on De Melo as well. On Lap 59, Ed Jones spins out, going into the wall on Turn 2. He’s OK, but his car is done. He becomes the third car out, and we have another caution. Jones simply lost it with the tiniest movement at the start of the turn, which sent him spinning into the wall.

1:02 p.m.: The pit lane opens and just about everybody comes in for the stop. Carpenter BARELY escapes the pit lane with the lead, just ahead of Kanaan. He had a slower stop than those behind him, but got out of the last box just in time. Carpenter rejoins in the lead, then Kanaan, Newgarden, Pagenaud, Castroneves, Power, Pigot, Bourdais, Dixon and Andretti.

12:58 p.m.: On Lap 40, the top seven cars are all Chevrolets, then there’s four Hondas. Speeds are starting to improve as the track gets some rubber on it — there was rain on Saturday evening, contributing to the slower speeds at the start here. Rossi is up nine spots to 23rd.

We’ve got our first yellows of the race on Lap 47. James Davison has crashed, and Tukuma Sato, the defending champion, with him. Upon replay, Davison was going very slowly, and Sato comes up fast and hits him from behind. Davison should have been off the line at that point. Bad, bad luck for Sato.

12:50 p.m.: After the first round of pit stops, Carpenter is back in the lead, and Kanaan has jumped several drivers and is now in second! So after the stops it’s Carpenter, Kanaan, Newgarden, Pagenaud, Castroneves, Power, Pigot, Bourdais, Dixon and Andretti for the top 10. The cars are definitely right on the edge with this near-record levels of heat.

12:47 p.m.: Carpenter gets 2.5 seconds clear of Pagenaud in second by Lap 24, and Power is about that far back of Pagenaud. Kanaan, the biggest jumper thus far, is about a second back of Bourdais. Patrick is the first one to pit, on Lap 31. Newgarden makes it past Pagenaud, but a lap later, the leaders are coming in for their pit stops. Carpenter, Pagenaud, Castroneves, Kimball, Newgarden all stop. Spencer Pigot is the race leader, at least for now. Power, Bourdais, Newgarden, Dixon, Andretti all in on Lap 33 pit stops. Carpenter led the first 30 laps before his stop. The heat has to be getting to these tires!

12:36 p.m.: Carpenter’s lead is about a second, and Pagenaud hasn’t tried to push him yet, though it’s early. It’s surprising he didn’t try to get in close and feel things out. Patrick and other drivers are complaining of understeer early on here. Rahal has picked up seven spots, and is running in 23rd as of Lap 18. The heat has the pack running about a second slower than they were running on Carb Day, and large gaps are starting to form. This may be a quieter race after all.

12:30 p.m.: Pagenaud makes it past Power after a lap. Kimball passes the defending champion, Sato, for 16th, and a lap later moves past Wickens. Newgarden and Bourdais have held position, as has Carpenter in first after 10 laps.

12:24 p.m.: Pace laps underway, and what is hopefully a good one is about to get started! Thor is here to wave the green flag, and we’re away! Carpenter is smooth out of the start, no incidents. Kanaan moves up a couple spots. Patrick falls back to 12th after the first lap, Kanaan is all the way up to sixth!

12:10 p.m.: We’ve just had the National Anthem, and drivers will soon start their engines. It’s awfully hot in Indy, and that will be one of the bigger storylines to track throughout the race: how will it affect the leaders?

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The Indianapolis 500 is here, and it should be an exciting one. Ed Carpenter has pole position for the 102nd running of the storied race, which is considered by most to be among the top three most prestigious races in all of motorsports alongside the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

We’re going to have live coverage of the Indy 500, which is set to begin at approximately 12:20 p.m. ET and will be broadcast by ABC. Online streaming of the race can be had via WatchESPN or the ESPN App, or any subscription service that carries ABC.

Carpenter, 37, has never won the Indy 500 despite having won pole multiple times. Helio Castroneves, who will start eighth, is the only active driver with three Indy 500 victories, and he’ll do his best to earn his fourth on Sunday. If he can do it, he’ll join elite company, as only three others have done that in the past.

Sunday’s race also marks the final race of Danica Patrick’s full-time racing career. She announced her plans to retire from full-time racing well in advance of the event, and managed to qualify for ninth on the grid.

We’ll be blogging the entire race and providing highlights as well, so keep an eye here and refresh the page often. The most current update will live at the top of the article.

How to watch the Indianapolis 500

All Times Eastern

Date: Sunday, May 27

Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, In.

Green Flag: 12:20 p.m.

TV: ABC (from 11 a.m.)

Online Streaming: WatchESPN, ESPN App