Everything That Has Happened Between INDYCAR’s Two Most Recent Cautions

The NTT Indycar series in the recent past has become synonymous with yellow flag caution periods, therefore it came as a surprise to see only one during the opening race of the year. 

Green flag running continued beyond the season opener, and the drivers kept on their best behaviour. A lack of crashes and lucky escapes between Lap 1 carnage in St. Peterseburg and David Malukas’ car failure in Indianapolis gave us the longest run of green flag laps ever in the history of Indycar, registering at 408 laps. 

So, for the first time since 1986 three or more races have run without interruption. Just like 1986, newspapers have been rammed with ground breaking headlines. Let’s take a look at everything that happened in the last two and a half months during Indycar’s spell of consistent green flag running. 

March 4th : Tariffs, Tariffs, Tariffs 

Just two days after the season opener in St. Petersburg, President Donald Trump officially implemented record breaking tariffs on trade with neighbours Canada and Mexico, as well as China. 

The 25 per cent tariffs placed on Canada and Mexico, and the 20 per cent tariff placed on China had significant impacts on the New York Stock Exchange, as well other stock markets across the world, causing panic in economists world wide. 

Trump, later that day, then delivered the longest speech ever by a president in the history of the U.S congress, crossing the chequered flag at 99 minutes. Included in this, he vowed to take ownership of Greenland “one way or another.” 

As of now, there’s more hope of Will Buxton winning the Indianapolis 500.

March 7th : Jokic Makes History 

Denver Nuggets and Serbian superstar Nikola Jokic made history as the first NBA player to ever achieve a triple double with a stat line of 30 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists, during a resounding victory over the Phoenix Suns. The ‘Joker’ had already set an extremely high standard this season, but this was levels above. He achieved this just ahead of the NBA playoffs, where at the time of publication, the Nuggets face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

March 31st : Le Pen Convicted

France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen was found guilty by a French court for embezzlement of EU funds, and banned her from running for office for five years. It was a significant knock back for the supposed front runner of France’s next presidential election. 

A Paris court also handed Le Pen a four-year prison sentence with two years suspended, to be served under house arrest, and a €100,000 fine.

April 23rd : Drivers Take To The Brickyard For The First Time in 2025

The first open test of 2025 took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 23rd to start preparations for the greatest spectacle in racing. It started dramatically, with all internal communications at the circuit being cut, but action eventually got underway.

Across the two days, the dominant force of American single seater racing in 2025, Alex Palou, set the pace, with crashes for Scott McLaughlin, Kyle Larson and Takuma Sato amongst the drama.

May 1st : All About Indy Racing Published First Article

Yes. In between two Indycar caution periods the website you are reading this on was built, a team of writers was formed, our behind-the-scenes systems were created, we started coming up with ideas, we had some fun, we published our first content, published more content, and are now working on how to improve this fabulous platform. 

Admittedly, we probably would have more published if we had more breaks during races, but every cloud has its silver lining.

May 5th : Skype Closes Down

Internet video calling software Skype officially closed down on May 5th as Microsoft pulls the plug, marking an end to the foundation of video calling software. 

The pioneering software was founded in 2003 and started a revolution of webinars, conference calling and allowed families and friends spread across the world to see each other for the first time in a long time. It really was a feat of computer science genius at the time. 

In the INDYCAR world, Skype played host to many great interviews and podcasts before most media companies graduated to newer forms of software.

May 8th : Pope Leo XIV Becomes America’s First Pope 

On Easter Monday, April 21st, one week after the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Vatican announced the death of Pope Francis. He passed peacefully after a battle with a short illness. 

The Catholic Church went into mourning, and once the funeral process had been completed, 133 cardinals from across the world gathered to enter the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel and vote for their next leader. 

On Thursday May 8th, Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the 267th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV. He is the first ever pope to be from the United States of America. 

May 10th : Malukas Brings Out Caution During IndyGP 

The Great Caution Drought Of 2025 was over. As A.J Foyt Racing driver David Malukas pulled onto the grass late in the Sonsio Grand Prix, the pace car returned to the Indiana asphalt to neutralise action for the first time since March 2nd. The greatest run of green flag laps ever, had ended. 

I definitely wouldn’t be surprised to now see a record amount of cautions for the rest of the season. 

written by Evan Dalton / Media Credit: Penske Entertainment