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A late penalty in the pit area by Scott Dixon opened things up for Marcus Ericsson to take the checkered flag at the 2022 Indianapolis 500 in a thrilling finish Sunday.
Ericsson and Pato O’Ward were in a virtual deadlock in the two-lap showdown when the final lap began. They were separated by .013 seconds when the white flag came out. Ericsson was able to create a little bit of breathing room coming around the first turn to hold on for the win.
Each of the top four finishers all started inside the top 10, including Ericsson from the No. 5 spot in the second row. O’Ward, Tony Kanaan and Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top four.
2022 Indianapolis 500 Results
1. Marcus Ericsson
2. Pato O’Ward
3. Tony Kanaan
4. Felix Rosenqvist
5. Alexander Rossi
6. Conor Daly
7. Helio Castroneves
8. Simon Pagenaud
9. Alex Palou
10. Santino Ferrucci
11. Juan Pablo Montoya
12. J.R. Hildebrand
13. Josef Newgarden
14. Graham Rahal
15. Will Power
16. David Malukas
17. Kyle Kirkwood
18. Ed Carpenter
19. Devlin DeFrancesco
20. Christian Lundgaard
21. Scott Dixon
22. Marco Andretti
23. Sage Karam
24. Jack Harvey
25. Takuma Sato
26. Dalton Kellett
27. Stefan Wilson
28. Jimmie Johnson
29. Scott McLaughlin
30. Colton Herta
31. Romain Grosjean
32. Callum Ilott
33. Rinus VeeKay
Dixon and O’Ward were in a close battle for the top spot throughout most of the race. Dixon appeared to be in control when he made a pit stop with 25 laps remaining, but he was called for a speeding violation when his car locked up that cost him a lap.
#Indy500 on NBC @IndyCaronNBC
Scott Dixon locks up on his way into the pits and gets a pit lane speeding violation. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/indy500?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#indy500</a><br><br>????: NBC and <a href=”https://twitter.com/peacockTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@peacockTV</a> <a href=”https://t.co/gBpP6XiG1Y”>pic.twitter.com/gBpP6XiG1Y</a>
NTT INDYCAR SERIES @IndyCar
“Are you serious?!”<br><br>Just like that, another <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Indy500?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Indy500</a> win slips away for <a href=”https://twitter.com/scottdixon9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@scottdixon9</a> after a pit lane speed violation.<br><br>WATCH LIVE: <a href=”https://twitter.com/nbc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@NBC</a> and <a href=”https://twitter.com/peacockTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@PeacockTV</a><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDYCAR?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#INDYCAR</a> // <a href=”https://twitter.com/IMS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@IMS</a> // <a href=”https://twitter.com/CGRTeams?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CGRTeams</a> <a href=”https://t.co/uwvxXOfW5q”>pic.twitter.com/uwvxXOfW5q</a>
After Dixon was penalized, Helio Castroneves, last year’s champion, briefly moved into the No. 2 spot. He was eventually passed and slowed down on the final stretch to come in seventh place.
The drama increased in the homestretch of the race, as a red flag with four laps left paused the action before a restart. Jimmie Johnson, who briefly took the lead with 12 laps to go in his first career Indianapolis 500, crashed into the wall hard, leading to the flag.
Ericsson was in the lead when the race resumed. He had a significant advantage over the rest of the field before Johnson crashed. The brief pause and restart gave hope to the drivers directly behind the Swedish star.
The win marked Ericsson’s first at the Indy 500 and third of his IndyCar career. He has four top-10 finishes in six races this year.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Ericsson said after his victory. “I was praying so hard there wasn’t going to be another yellow.”
This also marks the first Indianapolis 500 win for Chip Ganassi Racing since 2012 (Dario Franchitti).
Zach Sturniolo @zachstur
Ericsson was the least spoken-of Chip Ganassi Racing driver entering the 500.<br><br>— Scott Dixon eyeing an elusive second 500 win.<br>— Tony Kanaan’s eternal speed at Indy.<br>— Alex Palou the series’ defending champion.<br>— Jimmie Johnson making his race debut.<br><br>Marcus Ericsson wins it all.
Dixon’s costly penalty kept him from winning this event for the first time in 14 years. He wound up in 21st place overall, his fourth-worst finish at the Indianapolis 500. The Iceman has finished outside the top 15 after starting on the pole each of the past two years.
After Sunday’s race, Ericsson now holds the top spot in the IndyCar Series standings. He has 226 points overall, 13 more than Pato O’Ward (213). Alex Palou (212) and Will Power (202) are the only other drivers with at least 200 points.
The next race is the Grand Prix of Belle Isle on June 5 in Detroit.
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