AP Photo/Michael Conroy
Helio Castroneves etched his name in history after winning the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The driver earned his fourth career victory in the historic race after beating Alex Palou across the finish line Sunday. The win was Castroneves’ first at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2009, but it ties him for the most Indy 500 victories in the history of the sport with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears.
The No. 6 car pulled ahead of Palou in the final few laps and earned the win by 0.4928 seconds.
Pole-winner Scott Dixon finished in 17th place.
Indianapolis 500 Results
1. Helio Castroneves
2. Alex Palou
3. Simon Pagenaud
4. Pato O’Ward
5. Ed Carpenter
6. Santino Ferrucci
7. Sage Karam
8. Rinus VeeKay
9. Juan Pablo Montoya
10. Tony Kanaan
Full results available at IndyCar.com.
There were 33 entries in the 200-lap race, but there were arguably four real contenders over the final 50 laps.
Alex Palou, Helio Castroneves, Pato O’Ward and Simon Pagenaud paced themselves well with their pit stops before battling for positioning over the final dozen laps.
The big move came with two laps to go as Castroneves blew right past Palou for the lead.
The 46-year-old held on for the victory before a raucous celebration:
It was a memorable finish to an outstanding race from the veteran driver.
Scott Dixon looked like an early favorite starting on the pole, but his lead didn’t last long as Colton Herta and then Rinus VeeKay quickly moved to the front. It might have been part of the plan for Dixon, but his strategy backfired about 30 laps into the race when some drama on pit road led to a shakeup in the standings.
Stefan Wilson’s day ended prematurely with the accident, while Dixon and Alexander Rossi fell a lap behind. Wilson was still the only driver out of the race at the halfway point, the fewest in Indy 500 history, per SpeedFreaks.
At the front of the race, VeeKay and Conor Daly each led the pack for extended stretches until deciding to pit. A variety of names continued to cycle to the front as the race continued, but no one could take control.
The biggest movement came on the 119th lap when Graham Rahal lost a wheel and eventually hit the wall.
Rahal had been conserving fuel but lost his chance to win with the crash.
Takuma Sato and Felix Rosenqvist eventually moved in front, although they each needed to refuel before top contenders Palou, Castroneves, O’Ward and Pagenaud.
It eventually came down to Palou and Castroneves, and the more experienced driver came out in front.
The season continues with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix races on June 12 and 13, giving Castroneves plenty of time to celebrate his latest victory.
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