We're counting down the highest five IndyAutomobile races in 2024

The checkered flag flies for 2024, which has been an exciting season for the IndyAutomobile series. This 12 months saw the crowning of the primary consecutive Indy 500 champion since Helio Castroneves achieved the feat in 2002. Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou also scored a victory of his own – taking home the Astor Cup because the season champion for the second 12 months in a row. North America's leading open-wheel series also tested its latest hybrid units. The Milwaukee Mile returned to the calendar for a double-race weekend, and to shut out the season, the Nashville Mile retired from its downtown location to complete at Superspeedway.

With it being an eventful 12 months, selecting the five best races of the season got here right down to just a few aspects: quality of racing, ending, exceptional performance, overtaking after which just good old intensity. With that in mind, let's dive into it.

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Patricio O'Ward and Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

Photo: Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Images

5. Central Ohio

The hybrid's unprecedented debut generated a number of attention through the Central Ohio race weekend, nevertheless it was the fight for victory that kept everyone's attention on the checkered flag.

But that's not how it began. The green flag waved and the race appeared to be heading towards a sleep feast courtesy of polesitter Alex Palou, who gained a lead of around 8 seconds. However, Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward began to meet up with driver Chip Ganassi, getting closer and closer with each lap until it crescendoed on lap 56 of 80 when Palou stumbled out of the pits, enough for O'Ward to make a pass with outside and took the lead when the 2 met in Turn 1.

However, O'Ward didn’t take the lead and escaped, and Palou continued the chase to regain first place. In the ultimate laps, they each caught as much as the top markers, giving Palou a likelihood to shut out the race. The Mexican absorbed the pressure, crashing out of the ultimate corner and crossing the finish line just 0.4993 seconds ahead of Palou, a character-building victory.

4. Milwaukee 2

Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske Chevrolet

Photo: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

That spot might have been held in any race of the doubleheader weekend during IndyAutomobile's return to the Milwaukee Mile. What overcame the opening race was, simply put, the ferocity from the pace laps to the finish.

Palou's grip on the championship lead appeared to loosen when an electrical problem prevented him from taking the green flag. The Spaniard sat behind the wall for the primary 29 laps before he was capable of get back on target and improve his starting order, while chaos affected other competitors, including Will Power, who spun on a late restart and missed the possibility to maximise his points.

A restart with just 12 laps left led to a furious finish, with Team Penske's Scott McLaughlin heading off a charging Dixon to say his second oval victory, and third of the season, by just 0.4558 seconds. The race saw 13 lead changes amongst seven drivers, with 177 of the 763 passes being positional.

3. Long Beach

Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Photo: Jake Galstad

Finally a weekend where you possibly can see that Dixon wasn't the one who was late together with his payments. One take a look at the stat sheet and detecting six lead changes amongst eight drivers on the historic 2.668-mile temporary road course may underestimate why Long Beach is even on this list. Let me inform you concerning the masterful approach to strategy, fuel conservation and defense as Dixon, a six-time series champion, turned in among the best performances of his profession.

An early warning on lap 15 allowed Dixon to pit two laps later – a call also made by race leader Power. For comparison, others also used a two-stop strategy, but made their first race stops between laps 29–32 in an 85-lap race. However, only Dixon was capable of sustain the longer stint as power faded late to avoid wasting fuel, and he finished sixth.

Dixon fought to defend first place, slowing down within the corners and charging to maintain Herta behind. Dixon needed every ounce of fuel – and a few fumes – to finish the magical 34 laps en path to his 57th victory.

2.Nashville

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, checkered flag

Photo: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Yes, the championship final was a bit anticlimactic. Power's freak seatbelt failure forced the title contender to stop the race just 12 laps into the race, essentially giving Palou a second straight title. But despite all of the weird noise that accompanied the race from the streets of downtown Nashville to the superspeedway, it was still a rattling good show.

It is the unpredictability (and my admitted pessimism) of the long-awaited return to ovals and unique multi-choice tire mixtures that made this tire a pleasing surprise. The 206-lap race was interrupted by only three cautions and lots of passing backwards and forwards across the sector, leading to a complete of 653 passes (237 per position).

At one point it looked like Kirkwood would win, then David Malukas within the Meyer Shank Racing Honda, and eventually O'Ward. In the ultimate laps, O'Ward and Herta battled for the highest spot as they each shared traffic. Ultimately, it was Herta who put the exclamation point on his resurgent season, taking his first oval victory and moving as much as second within the championship standings after Power's unlucky seat belt problem.

#5: Pato O'Ward, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, #2: Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Chevrolet

Photo: Phillip Abbott / Motorsport Images

1. Indianapolis 500

Mother Nature (literally) ruined the day early, but once field 33 cleared the starting grid there was nothing but fireworks. Months of hype surrounding 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who made his Indy 500 debut in a joint effort with Arrow McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports — and even with some learning disabilities, he was as fast as advertised.

If 48 lead changes amongst 16 different players weren't enough, there have been 596 passes competing for position on the pitch. But nothing can prepare anyone for certainly one of the best finishes in a race in over a century, with Josef Newgarden and O'Ward battling it out in the ultimate few laps. With five laps remaining, O'Ward was pushed by a Tennessee resident, but Newgarden returned the favor on the following lap.

Instead of immediately returning fire, O'Ward approached Newgarden and immediately passed the ball with an outdoor pass as they each took the white flag. O'Ward led the pair into Turn 1 after which tried to interrupt up any tow Newgarden could have made coming out of Turn 2, however the Penske pilot elected to carry the road and never reduce speed as he approached O'Ward.

Newgarden managed to catch as much as his rival and made a daring pass on the surface into Turn 3, closing with a bang on the within lane as he was powered by the young Mexican, who then lost all air from his front wing, causing the automotive to be pushed upwards – almost missing the wall .

Newgarden prevailed, becoming the primary to win consecutive “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” since Castroneves in 2001-2002.

Honorable mentions: Toronto and Gateway

The Streets of Toronto track provided Colton Herta with the final word cure to finish a 40-race winless streak that began in 2022. Although he led from pole position for 81 of 85 laps, within the closing stages Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood closed the gap and got here on to guard the team's 1-2 result from the charging Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Scott Dixon. Herta overtook Kirkwood by only 0.3469 seconds, and Dixon was 0.9680 seconds behind.

And Gateway definitely had a bit little bit of all the pieces. There were 21 lead changes amongst 11 drivers and 676 passes that evening. There were also multiple clashes with six cautions making up 49 of the 260 laps. A long-lasting memory that left a nasty taste within the mouth for a lot of got here after Team Penske's Josef Newgarden's controversial restart late within the race, which ultimately led to an enormous crash that involved several drivers, including his Power teammate, who saluted in return with one finger. Newgarden won the race.