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2025 Indianapolis 500 Coverage

Breaking Down The Crashes And Chaos At The 2025 Indy 500

Breaking Down The Crashes And Chaos At The 2025 Indy 500

Every incident from Sunday's Indianapolis 500, from Scott McLaughlin's warmup disaster to Ryan Hunter-Reay's heartbreak.

May 26, 2025 by Kyle McFadden
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One of the most chaotic and bizarre Indy 500s in recent memory took place Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was a race where favorites Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden couldn't even finish.

For McLaughlin, he couldn't even turn an official lap when he wrecked his 10th-starting car while making warmup laps. Kyle Larson added to the eventful day when he crashed for the third time in a month at IMS.

The race featured 14 different leaders, with Takuma Sato leading a race-high 51 circuits before throwing his chances away on a poorly executed pit stop.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2014 champ, was 29 mistake-free laps away from his second Indy 500 crown, but a mechanical failure on what would've been the last green-flag pit stop of the day ended his race on lap 171. Here's a breakdown of all incidents on an eventful Sunday at the Indy 500.

The Moment Ryan Hunter-Reay Lost The Indy 500

Ryan Hunter-Reay entered pit road during his last green-flag pit stop as the leader with 29 laps to go. He exited one heartbroken driver — and not exiting pit road, but exiting the race entirely without being able to make another lap beyond lap 171. Hunter-Reay, who couldn't get his car to restart to finish the race, finished 24th.

Fuel Issues End Josef Newgarden's Three-Peat

Josef Newgarden's shot at three Indy 500s in a row ended on lap 135 when fuel pump issues struck his speedy No. 2 Team Penske machine. Newgarden had worked his way up to seventh from 32nd before the his terminal incident.

Kyle Larson's Third Crash At Indy In A Month

Attributing his mishap for being too "overzealous," Kyle Larson was trying to make his way through the field from 18th when he downshifted at the wrong time. It led to his car snapping around on lap 91, which collected Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb.

Robert Shwartzman's Somber, Scary Ending

After leading the opening eight laps, improbable rookie polesitter Robert Shwartzman saw his race end in a scary way on lap 87 when his race car slid through his pit stall and ran into multiple crewmen. Fortunately all crewmen involved were released from the infield care center.

Takuma Sato's Costly Lap-87 Pit Stop

Front-row starting Takuma Sato led a race-high 51 laps, but encountered trouble on lap-87 pit stops during the caution period. Sato, the leader at the time, slid through his pit stall too far and lost so much time he tumbled from first to 17th down the leaderboard. 

He could never quite recover from there as the Japan native finished 11th.

Rinus VeeKey Crashes On Pit Road

Reportedly losing brakes on lap-81 pit stops, Rinus VeeKay couldn't enter pit lane safely.

Alexander Rossi's Race-Ending Fire

A little bit of strategy put Alexander Rossi in the lead for 14 laps on Sunday, but a fire during lap-73 pit stops ended his strong outing.

Colton Herta's Drive-Through Penalty

Running eighth at the time, Colton Herta was on his way toward a nice finish after wrecking in qualifying last weekend until his lap-62 pit road speeding penalty.

Marco Andretti's Indy 500 Ends On Lap Four

Six minutes, 30 seconds. That's long Marco Andretti's Indy 500 lasted when he crashed on lap four.

Scott Dixon's Brake Issues

Starting the race dealing with a small fire around the left-rear brake pads on his race car, Scott Dixon had to pit early and give up his fourth-place starting spot. The issues didn't subside as the six-time IndyCar champ had to change brake calibers before the lap-30 restart, which left him three laps down in 31st. 

Dixon finished 23rd, three laps down.

Devastation For Scott McLaughlin

One of the most stunning gaffes you'll ever see at the Indy 500, one of the race's contenders in Scott McLaughlin loses control of his car while warming up and doesn't continue.