Josef Newgarden spun in Turn 4 and hit the outside wall on a restart at Lap 126 of the 2026 Indianapolis 500, ending a charge that had seen him gain as many as 20 spots and climb into the top six.
The crash came amid a chaotic afternoon at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway where sprinkles in Turn 4 forced an on-track caution, the race went under a red flag for rain at 2:23 p.m., and officials briefly stopped the field even as spotty showers lingered southwest of the oval.
Alex Palou began from pole and was attempting a second consecutive Indianapolis 500 victory, but the early rhythms of the race were defined by frequent lead changes: Conor Daly took the lead on Lap 34, Scott Dixon slipped by Palou for the advantage on Lap 69, and by Lap 135 Scott McLaughlin was leading with Palou and Daly close behind.
The numbers underscored the afternoon’s weighty moments. Thirty-three drivers started the race; Helio Castroneves turned Lap 112 to complete 4,910 career race laps and move past A.J. Foyt on the all-time list; Dixon entered the day with a race-record 677 laps led and added to that total before the stoppage; and Newgarden, who entered the day as the 2023 and 2024 winner and had started 23rd, had climbed to sixth before his spin.
The running itself produced odd juxtapositions. Sprinkles in Turn 4 prompted a caution while cars remained on track, then the rain briefly cleared and officials prepared to resume. Alexander Rossi, for the second straight year, left a smoking car on pit lane — this time in Kyle Kirkwood’s stall — and was helped out and over the wall, hopping on his left foot before leaving pit lane on crutches to a cheering crowd. Will Power pulled off entering Turn 1 and spun. Conor Daly reported an issue with his left side rearview mirror as he battled through the front of the field.
That sequence — keep racing through light showers, restart, and then a serious incident — is the afternoon’s friction. Newgarden’s rebound to sixth suggested momentum that vanished in a single corner; the same weather that allowed racing to continue produced conditions that triggered the caution and then the full red flag. The race was declared official while spotty rain sat to the southwest of the track, even as teams prepared for a restart once the shower window closed.
Katherine Legge, attempting the Indy 500‑NASCAR Double, crashed early and fell out of contention. On the other side of the ledger, Castroneves’ 112 laps on the day were a quiet but historic milestone, moving him past Foyt’s long-standing benchmark of career race laps at Indianapolis.
When the green comes back there are clear storylines: Palou, the pole-sitter, is trying to complete back-to-back wins; Newgarden’s charge ended in a violent way after an impressive climb through the field; and a rain-interrupted afternoon has left the competitive order unsettled. The central question as crews ready the track is whether Palou can shrug off the stoppage and the attrition around him to secure that second straight victory — or whether the restart will hand the advantage to one of the charge-making contenders who have already proven they can move through traffic in this scrambled Newgarden Indy 500.
