Josef Newgarden paced the final '500' practice on Miller Lite Carb Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 22, 2026, putting his car atop the timing sheets on the last full run before the Indianapolis 500.
The session closed out the on-track portion of a weekend that mixed promotion with preparation: Monday practice photos from the 110th Running were posted along with galleries and video, the 2026 Front Row Photo Shoot was referenced, and the track ran special events including the 2026 Oscar Mayer #Wienie500 live from Miller Lite #CarbDay at IMS.
Newgarden's Friday pace matters because Carb Day is the final rehearsal before Sunday’s race; the Miller Lite Carb Day session is the last chance for teams and drivers to tune cars under race-like conditions. That reality sharpened the spotlight on the leaders of the session and the contrast in setups that teams will carry into the field.
Off the track, organizers leaned into the weekend's pageantry. Tamika Catchings framed the gathering as a civic moment: "It's more than just some decorations you see around town. It's more than just another month on the calendar. And it's more than just another race. It. Is. US. United We Race!"
The promotional and historical threads running through the weekend were plain: the Speedway highlighted a 117-year-old blueprint that depicts a 5-mile racetrack that almost became the famed racetrack, and it continued to push sponsor and fan-facing programs that have become as much part of the weekend as practice laps.
Tension arrives in two directions. First, the parade of publicity sits beside the hard-line business of setting up the car; a fast showing on Carb Day does not guarantee race-day fortune. Second, the spectacle creates odd juxtapositions — Jimmie Johnson will drive Pierce in the two-seat race car to lead the field to the green flag Sunday even as the two-time winner of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" starts 23rd in the race Sunday, an unusual split between ceremonial duties and competitive starting position.
Teams and sponsors were also on display: e.l.f. will sponsor Katherine Legge and the No. 11 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet throughout race weekend, a visible commitment that keeps sponsor liveries and marketing campaigns active even as crews finalize setups for the 500.
For drivers and crews, the immediate question is straightforward and urgent — can the work done on Carb Day translate into cleaner traffic, fewer pit-stop gambles and a better finish when the green flag drops? Newgarden's role in that debate is simple: he finished Friday as the driver other teams will measure themselves against.
In the end, Newgarden's Carb Day pace sets the tone. The session closed a promotional week that mixed vintage plans and modern spectacle, and left the field headed into a Sunday that will begin with Johnson in the two-seat car leading the grid yet see him start 23rd. If Carb Day is any guide, Josef Newgarden is a driver to watch when the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge goes green.
