The Greatest Spectacle in Racing lived up to its name in 2025, delivering drama, heartbreak, and a dazzling debut pole-sitter.
For New Zealand’s trio of hopefuls, the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 was a brutal reminder of how quickly dreams can unravel at 230 miles per hour.
While Alex Palou etched his name into motorsport history with a masterful victory, it was a race to forget for Scott McLaughlin, Scott Dixon, and Marcus Armstrong, whose campaigns were each undone by a mix of chaos, cruel luck, and calamity.
Although Armstrong’s fight to the end was applaudable, his determination to see the end of the race is the fight Kiwi race car drivers show. They don’t give up easy.
A Week of Promise Turns to Ruin
Coming into race week, the Kiwi contingent looked strong. Ever the quiet threat at Indianapolis, Dixon was sharp from the outset in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, regularly appearing near the top of the timesheets.
McLaughlin, Team Penske’s hard-charging front-runner and 2024 pole-sitter, was similarly quick, while Armstrong showed promising pace in just his second attempt at the 500 with Meyer Shank Racing.
But fate had other plans.
Armstrong’s week took a horrifying turn during pre-qualifying practice. Caught by 30 mph crosswinds entering Turn 1 at full speed, the 24-year-old lost control and slammed heavily into the outside wall.
He emerged from the wreck visibly winded but waved to the crowd from a stretcher before being cleared medically just 90 minutes later. The real challenge, however, had just begun.
With his primary car written off, Armstrong’s team turned to a road course-spec backup chassis, far from ideal for the demands of the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
The team converted it for oval use in a remarkable overnight effort with just minutes to spare.
Armstrong’s qualifying pace was not enough to secure a top-30 spot, but he fought his way through Last Chance Qualifying to earn 32nd on the grid, later promoted to 30th after Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden and Will Power were demoted for rules infraction incident-related to their attenuators.
McLaughlin’s troubles came next. His initial qualifying run was blistering, posting an average of 233.013 mph despite a costly gearshift error that sent his Chevy into the rev limiter.
He advanced to the Top 12 but crashed heavily in practice, destroying a car he called a “rocketship.” With no time to rebuild, McLaughlin was forced to use Newgarden’s backup car, where he struggled to replicate his earlier speed.
Through it all, Dixon remained calm and consistent. His four-lap qualifying run earned him fourth-fastest overall and a second-row grid spot in the race.
Rain Delays and a Chilling Start
Race day dawned with the roar of a sold-out Indianapolis Motor Speedway crowd and a thick layer of anticipation. Rain delayed the start by 50 minutes, reducing track temperatures to a treacherous 22°C, conditions that would quickly prove costly.
As the field rolled off for the formation lap, disaster struck.
McLaughlin, warming his tyres and weaving to build temperature, suddenly lost control. His Penske machine snapped sideways and slammed hard into the inside barriers on the pace lap, an unthinkable end to a month of preparation.
“The worst day of my life to date,” McLaughlin said, devastated.
“I didn’t even get to see the green flag. I’m just really upset for my team. They built me a fantastic car again. I don’t know what happened.”
It was a gut-wrenching moment for McLaughlin, who had been a genuine contender all month.
As if that weren’t enough, Dixon’s rear brakes caught fire during the warm-up lap. His Ganassi crew cooled them quickly, allowing him to take the start, but the issue foreshadowed deeper mechanical gremlins.
Early Chaos and Missed Opportunities
When the green flag finally dropped, rookie pole-sitter Robert Shwartzman led the field into Turn 1. But before a single lap was completed, the first caution flew; Marco Andretti crashed out, and Marcus Armstrong, caught in the aftermath, brushed through unscathed and could stay in the race.
The race settled briefly before rain brought out a second caution on Lap 19. Both Dixon and Armstrong pitted. It was here that Dixon’s early brake fire reared its head again; the damage had been done, and his crew began lengthy repairs to the callipers and lines. He rejoined three laps down, his race already on life support.
Armstrong encountered his own setback during the race, receiving a penalty for a Safety Car restart violation that dropped him a lap behind the leaders.
“I’m sorry to the team for getting a questionable penalty on the restart,” said Armstrong.
“We went a lap down because of that. Otherwise, we were kind of in the game. It was a trying week, after the accident and everything, but I think we handled everything really well.”
Back at the front, Takuma Sato, Pato O’Ward, and Devlin DeFrancesco traded the lead while Dixon remained trapped laps down, praying for a caution that never came.
Armstrong, meanwhile, began climbing through the order. By Lap 60, he had clawed his way to 25th, ahead of NASCAR star Kyle Larson, who was attempting “The Double”, racing both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.
Larson’s day would unravel moments later when a downshift mistake sent him spinning into Kyffin Simpson and Stingray Robb, taking all three out of contention.
As pit cycles unfolded, calamity returned in spectacular fashion. Alexander Rossi pulled into his box with a mechanical issue, but a fuel leak turned the stop into an inferno. Flames erupted as Rossi remained strapped in; one crew member’s hands ignited before the fire was extinguished. Miraculously, no serious injuries were reported.
Then came heartbreak for the rookie pole-sitter. Shwartzman overshot his pit entry, skidded into four of his own crew members, injured one, and retired shortly after due to damage to his Prema Racing car. His magical Indy debut ended in chaos.
By the race’s halfway point, Dixon had briefly regained a lap under caution but lost it again shortly after another pit stop. Armstrong rose as high as 17th but was two laps down by Lap 135, while Dixon was 25th, three laps behind.
Final Stint Fireworks
With 50 laps remaining, the race took on a strategic edge. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Conor Daly, David Malukas, and Marcus Ericsson shuffled through the lead, with Palou biding his time.
Hunter-Reay stalled in his pit box during a crucial stop, while Daly’s tyres faded late, forcing him to surrender track position.
Palou, now in striking distance, passed Malukas with 25 laps to go and set off after Ericsson. Fourteen to go, and he made his move, taking the lead just as lapped traffic entered the fray. Ericsson stayed close, Malukas waited in the wings, and fans were treated to a high-stakes chess match at 220 mph.
Behind them, Armstrong held 21st place, three laps down, having overcome his early contact and a pit-lane chassis swap just to make the grid. Dixon was last of the classified runners in 23rd.
As the white flag waved, disaster struck once more. Nolan Siegel crashed on the final lap, bringing out the yellow flag and freezing the order.
Alex Palou, poised and perfect when it mattered most, crossed the yard of bricks to win his first Indianapolis 500 and etch his name into motorsport history.
Marcus Ericsson finished second, his third consecutive Indy 500 podium, with David Malukas rounding out a well-earned top three. O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist completed the top five.
For the Kiwis, it was a race defined not by results but by resilience:
- Marcus Armstrong – 21st (Promoted to 18th post-race after the disqualification of multiple drivers)
- Scott Dixon – 23rd (Promoted to 20th post-race after the disqualification of multiple drivers)
- Scott McLaughlin – 33rd, DNS due to crash on the pace lap
Brickyard Blues
The 2025 Indy 500 will be remembered for Shwartzman’s stunning pole, a fiery pit lane, and Palou’s crowning moment. But for New Zealand fans, it will sting.
A week that began with so much promise ended in heartache.
For McLaughlin, Dixon, and Armstrong, Indianapolis was cruel. But if there’s one thing Indy teaches each year, it’s that heartbreak never lasts forever.
The Kiwi trio will return stronger and hungrier because legends are forged not just in victory but also in how they rise after the fall.
Header Image: Justin Casterline / Getty Images / AFP
