INDIANAPOLIS — Marcus Ericsson won the 106th Indy 500, outdueling Pato O’Ward in a thrilling finish Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Swedish driver led the final 11 laps, but it wasn’t easy as the race was red-flagged with five laps remaining for a crash involving Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Jimmie Johnson.
After a restart with two laps remaining, Ericsson got a good jump and then fended off a charge by O’Ward, who had Arrow McLaren SP teammate Felix Rosenqvist directly behind and Tony Kanaan on the outside.
MARCUS ERICSSON WINS THE INDY 500!#Indy500 pic.twitter.com/C2mqkMbEPA
— #Indy500 on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 29, 2022
It was the first victory of the 2022 season for Ericsson and the third of his career.
The race ended under yellow for a wreck involving Sage Karam.
Ericsson’s No. 8 Dallara-Honda won by 1.7829 seconds over O’Ward, with Kanaan, Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi rounding out the top five.
It was the first Indy 500 win in 10 years for Chip Ganassi Racing, which entered the race with the fastest cars but still had a few of its contenders falter.
For the fourth consecutive time, Scott Dixon was unable to win from the pole position, and this might have been the most gutting defeat yet after leading a race-high 95 of 200 laps.
The No. 9 Dallara-Honda seemed in control until the final green-flag pit stop when Dixon was caught for speeding after entering in the lead. The six-time IndyCar Series champion was eliminated from contention after serving a drive-through penalty for going too fast in the pit lane on entry.
“Are you serious?” an incredulous Dixon asked his team on the radio.
Scott Dixon locks up on his way into the pits and gets a pit lane speeding violation. #indy500
📺: NBC and @peacockTV pic.twitter.com/gBpP6XiG1Y
— #Indy500 on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 29, 2022
On Lap 133, Dixon had become the all-time Indy 500 leader in laps led, breaking the previous mark of 644 laps held by late four-time winner Al Unser.
It seemed as if Dixon, whose lone Indy 500 win came from the pole in 2008, had gotten the breaks until his critical mistake, notably when the pits opened on Lap 108 under yellow with his car nearly out of fuel.
Teammate Alex Palou had been much less fortunate when the yellow came out for a Turn 2 crash involving Callum Ilott. Palou was trying to make his stop and already committed to pit lane just as it was closed by IndyCar.
With his No. 10 Dallara-Honda out of fuel, the defending series champion was forced to make another stop for emergency service while the pits were still closed, and he was forced to start at the rear of the field outside the top 25.
The race turned into a shootout over the last 40 laps after the final caution for Scott McLaughlin slamming into the Turn 3 and 4 SAFER barriers. The No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet snapped loose on the exit of Turn 3 and made contact with the right front. After skidding through the grass, McLaughlin had a head-on hit in the next corner but was able to walk from the car.
“Bruised ego,” McLaughlin told NBC Sports’ Kevin Lee. “We had a fast race car. Running really strong. I just got caught by a gust of wind. Just caught me, snapped around. Really gutted for everyone.”
The caution flew for the first time on Lap 39 for Rinus VeeKay, who lost control of his No. 21 Dallara-Chevrolet exiting Turn 2 while running second. The Dutchman, who had joined two-time Indy 500 winner and fellow countryman Arie Luyendyk as among the fastest drivers in Brickyard qualifying, was able to walk from the wreck, but his Ed Carpenter Racing entry was destroyed.
In his third Indy 500, VeeKay had qualified third and started on the front row for the second consecutive year.
“First of all, I have to say sorry to all the fans and the team and everyone who has worked hard,” VeeKay, 21, told NBC Sports’ Marty Snider. “We put the car on the front row. We were in P2, but it was tough out there. The car was a little bit free all race.
“Yeah, I just turned into Turn 2, the car gets loose. Once that happens, you’re a passenger and couldn’t do anything. Yeah, just a bummer, really. I think we had a good shot at a good finish or maybe a win. But yeah, just caught me off guard.”
In his Indy 500 debut, Jimmie Johnson struggled with the handling of his No. 48 Dallara-Honda from the green flag and dropped steadily from a 12th-place starting position.
Fighting an understeer condition as a driver who prefers oversteer, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion got cycled out of the top 20 early in the race.
After leading Lap 189 by running long before his final pit stop, Johnson caught his left-front wheel on the grass below the white line and spun into the Turn 2 SAFER barrier in a front-end collision.
Johnson, who had a contingent of nearly 100 on hand, was able to walk to the safety truck.
Turn 2 was a major trouble spot as the site of crashes by Johnson, VeeKay, Ilott and Romain Grosjean, who found the wall while exiting the corner on Lap 106. It was the first oval crash for the Formula One veteran, who had several close calls the past two weeks on the 2.5-mile track.
“The car spun; I don’t know why,” Grosjean told NBC Sports’ Kevin Lee. “No warning in that corner. No issue. It was actually pretty good in 1 and 2, 3 and 4 was a bit more tricky, but 1 and 2, I was pretty good.
“I’m actually looking forward to go and see the data and try and understand because I wasn’t expecting anything bad on that corner, and obviously, I spun without any warning.”
Romain Grosjean’s #Indy500 comes to an end as the rear end steps out on him exiting turn 2.
He has been seen and cleared from the Emergency Medical Center.
📺: NBC and @peacockTV pic.twitter.com/RoWUj6W4pa
— #Indy500 on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 29, 2022
Ilott left the IMS infield care center with a wrap on his right wrist and hand.
“It was a bit of a hard hit, and I hit again on the inside, but all OK,” Ilott told Lee. “They checked me over. Obviously a little bit of an issue with the right hand, but we’ll see how it is in a couple of days. But big thanks to the safety team, the safety barrier as well, but sorry for the team as well. It wasn’t running too bad up until then.”
