Crash INDYCAR journalist Chad Smith goes through the field to hand out driver ratings for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Josef Newgarden: 10
Finally, the two-time series champion is now an Indy 500 winner.
Marcus Ericsson: 9
Some would argue that Ericsson should be a back-to-back Indy 500 winner, but the last red flag gave Newgarden a shot at him, and it just didn’t work out.
Santino Ferrucci: 9
Ferrucci delivered the best run for AJ Foyt’s team at Indianapolis since their win in 1999.
Alex Palou: 8
The pole sitter had a car capable of winning the race, but the contact with Rinus VeeKay on pit lane set him back and ultimately cost him dearly.
Alexander Rossi: 8
He may not have been the strongest of the four Arrow McLaren cars today, but he was the only one to finish inside the top five.
Scott Dixon: 8
It was a strange and quiet day for the six-time champion, who many thought would finally get his second Indy 500 win.
Takuma Sato: 7
A solid finish for Sato but expectations were high for the two-time Indy 500 winner heading into this event.
Conor Daly: 8
An 8th place finish for the hometown hero, who was once again the best of three cars for Ed Carpenter Racing.
Colton Herta: 6
He recovered to finish 9th but the costly mistake on pit road that earned him a penalty is one that he will be regretting for quite some time.
Rinus VeeKay: 4
Another brilliant qualifying effort, and another bone-headed mistake in the race.
Ryan Hunter-Reay: 8
After being out of the series last year, Hunter-Reay stepped right in and nearly produced a top-ten result for the one-off Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team.
Callum Ilott: 6
With a little strategy and a bit of luck, Ilott was able to secure a solid 12th place result for the Juncos Hollinger Racing team.
Devlin DeFrancesco: 6
Not many people would have predicted a top 15 finish for the Andretti Autosport driver.
Scott McLaughlin: 6
McLaughlin was nowhere to be found, but it still went much better than last year.
Helio Castroneves: 6
In what has been a brutal season for Meyer Shank Racing, their one spot to shine ended up with a dud.
Tony Kanaan: 6
His final Indy 500 did not go as planned, but he finished the race and got the warm embrace he so deserved.
Marco Andretti: 6
He was near the back of the field for most of the race, but still won’t be pleased with a 17th place finish.
Jack Harvey: 6
There was only one way to go for Harvey, who started on the last row.
Christian Lundgaard: 6
Same as his teammate above.
Ed Carpenter: 5
Another costly penalty hurt him late in the race, as another opportunity for the team owner went down the drain.
Benjamin Pedersen: 5
The fastest qualifying rookie in Indy 500 history was unable to maneuver his way through the field today.
Graham Rahal: 8
Considering he started the race two laps down from pit lane, it was a herculean effort for Rahal to improve 11 positions in the race.
Will Power: 5
The former 500 winner was nowhere to be found in this race, which stings even more with his teammate winning.
Pato O’Ward: 6
Patience has always been the Achilles heel for O’Ward, who simply made a bold and unnecessary move at the wrong time.
Simon Pagenaud: 4
His terrible tenure at Meyer Shank Racing continued with a disappointing 25th place finish.
Agustin Canapino: 7
Before the speeding penalty on pit lane, Canapino was showing very well, and had a solid month overall.
Felix Rosenqvist: 7
As one of the cars to beat, Rosenqvist was positioned well until his accident late in the race.
Kyle Kirkwood: 7
He was collected in Rosenqvist’s crash, and was thankfully uninjured when his car went upside down.
David Malukas: 5
He too was involved in a scary incident that could have been much worse.
Romain Grosjean: 4
He showed signs of speed early, but another crash left Grosjean fuming.
Sting Ray Robb: 3
Call it a rookie mistake, and just move on.
RC Enerson: 6
The mechanical issue aside, it was a fantastic month of May for Enerson and the Abel Motorsports group, and they should be very proud of their performance throughout the event.
Katherine Legge: 3
A bad week just kept getting worse, and it finally came to a head with multiple incidents in this race.
Keyword: INDYCAR: Driver Rankings For The 107th Indianapolis 500, Won by Josef Newgarden