The NTT IndyCar Series held the 110th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon from the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. Defending winner Alex Palou started the race on the pole, with Alexander Rossi starting second, and David Malukas starting third.
There was a record 70 lead changes among 14 drivers, which broke the record of 68 set in 2013. In the first 18 laps, the lead would change between Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi. When lap 18 hit, IndyCar honored NASCAR driver Kyle Busch, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 41.
On the same lap, the caution came out when Katherine Legge and Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact. It was one of seven cautions throughout the race for a total of 51 laps. In addition, Josef Newgarden, Ed Carpenter, and Caio Collet were also involved in crashes, while Helio Castroneves, Christian Rasmussen, Will Power, and Alexander Rossi had mechanical issues. For the second year in a row, Rossi’s car caught on fire.
As the race progressed, weather was approaching, and many teams were using different strategies to get their guys up front. After Newgarden’s crash, the race went to a red flag with Scott Dixon leading. His team were praying for rain, but it did not come. When the race resumed, he went to pit road, leading a total of 32 laps, and Alex Palou retook the lead. Palou led a race-high 59 laps.
Late in the 500, the race came down to David Malukas, Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O’Ward, Scott McLaughlin, and Marcus Armstrong. Palou was quite a way back and was unable to get close to those drivers. On lap 197, Mick Schumacher brushed the wall that led to the final caution of the day, setting up a one-lap shootout.
David Malukas was leading when the race restarted. Heading into Turn 2, Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong were side-by-side for second place, while Malukas got some distance. Rosenqvist would get second quickly. As they headed to Turns 3 and 4, Rosenqvist closed in. Heading to the finish line, Malukas protected, but Rosenqvist made the move and slightly touched Malukas to win the Indy 500 by 0.0233 seconds, which was the closest finish in the Indy 500’s history.
Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, and Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five. Rinus VeeKay, Alex Palou, Santino Ferrucci, Romain Grosjean, and Takuma Sato completed the top ten. Grosjean was the most improved driver, starting in 24th place and finishing in ninth place. Click here to see the full results.
The NTT IndyCar Series heads to the streets of Detroit, Michigan, next Sunday for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at 12:30 pm on Fox.
