Marcus Ericsson

Jimmie Johnson's late crash set up a dramatic finish, with Pato O'Ward and Tony Kanaan battling Ericsson down the stretch.

Dixon wound up leading 95 of 200 laps Sunday to grab the record, but he failed to win for the fourth straight time after starting the race in pole position. I wouldn’t want to be the leader of the restart,” Kanaan told NBC from his car as he awaited the shootout. The most disappointed about the outcome may have been Dixon, who came into it 75 laps behind Al Unser’s total of 644 for most led all-time in Indy 500 history. Johnson, Ericsson’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate and the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion running in his first Indy 500, briefly took the lead for a lap with 13 to go, but a crash into the fence on Turn 2 ended his race with six laps left. Scott Dixon, who has led more Indianapolis 500 laps than any other driver, was cruising toward his second career victory in the 106th running of the race Sunday afternoon when he drew a speeding penalty on pit row. I had to do everything there at the end to keep [O’Ward and Kanaan] behind.”

Ericsson had been leading Pato O'Ward and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Tony Kanaan by a two-second-plus margin when Jimmie Johnson had crashed with six laps to ...

He had $709,934 in career Indy 500 earnings. But Ericsson met the challenge. Marcus Ericsson in Indy 500

Marcus Ericsson overcame a fear or racing on ovals, winning the Greatest Spectacle of Racing and leaving the likes of Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves ...

"As I sat there under the red flag running through all of the scenarios and thinking about the guys who would be attacking on the restart, I thought about a conversation I had with [three-time Indy 500 winner and mentor] Dario Franchitti," Ericsson recalled. Ericsson, that leader whom Rossi could see but not catch, wasn't yet into the "much more desperate to win it again" stage of his new life as an Indy 500 champion after he finished his traditional victory lap ride atop a pace car adorned with a wreath and milk mustache. "Our goal as racing drivers is to win, no matter what it takes," Ericsson added before heading into the Indianapolis evening to celebrate with his family. All you can do is hope you are that close again, but now you have to wait a year to see if that happens." The 31-year-old Swedish racer, who came to IndyCar from Formula One in 2019 with an admitted fear of racing on ovals. But there is only one of the 365 days on an IndyCar racer's calendar that is a potential gateway to immortality. He looked off into the distance as he talked, replaying the final laps of the race in his mind and sounding like man in a dentist's chair with no Novocain: "When the leader is right there, where you can see him, and you know that the checkered flag is coming out soon, but you can't catch them. "This is the one place where if you win it once, it only makes you that much more desperate to win it again," explained Alexander Rossi, the 2016 Indy 500 champion, who finished fifth on Sunday. In seven career starts, he has finished seventh or better five times, including a runner-up effort in 2019. They don't commission an artist to sculpt your face from silver to be placed on a 6-foot-tall art deco trophy alongside the likenesses of A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti when you win the Music City Grand Prix or the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300. "And I also wanted to take my mind off me not being able to close the deal today." "I wanted to say thank you," the 47-year-old racer explained. INDIANAPOLIS -- Richard Petty once said, "I can't recall so much about the 200 races that I won, but I can tell you every single little detail about the 1,000 races that I lost.

After a last minute red flag and two-lap shootout to the finish, Marcus Ericsson holds on to win his first Indianapolis 500.

After being the top car all day, it was here that Dixon got struck with a pit road speeding penalty after locking up on his way into pit lane, forcing the surefire winner to serve a drive-through penalty and crushing his hopes in the heartbreaking fashion. Once again soon after a pit stop cycle, the caution was thrown for Scott McLaughlin. The only driver not to wreck in turn two during the race, McLaughlin lost control at the apex of turn three and mashed the outside wall. Daly was the first to hit pit lane at the end of the stint on lap 105, and once again just after he made his stop another caution flag flew on lap 106. He took the lead with 17 laps to go, and built huge gap through lap traffic as the Arrow McLaren SP cars struggled to pass in the dirty air. This caution came at the worst possible time for Palou, as he was unable to make it to pit lane before the caution flew and pit road was closed. Dixon caught the worst case of deja vu he’ll ever have here, as like Palou earlier he wasn’t able to make it to the pits and was very close on fuel. Dixon led the field back to green on lap 78, and traded the lead with Daly for a few laps before taking the lead for good and continuing his dominant run in the early parts of the race. Rinus Veekay pit on lap 33, and though he blended back out in third he was much closer to the leading two than before, even managing to pass Dixon for second on lap 35. Only one lap later, the caution flag flew for the second time as rookie Callum Ilott also fell victim to turn two, losing control of the car in a nearly identical fashion to Veekay. Having made his stop before the caution, Daly jumped up to second on the restart. The young Mexican had one last massive push on Ericsson, daring to make his move on the outside of turn one, but it wasn’t enough to get the move done. The race was red-flagged one lap later to give a final shootout to the end, and after a brief caution period Ericsson led O’Ward, Tony Kanaan, Felix Rosenqvist, and Alexander Rossi to green.

With his fist up in the air, IndyCar driver Marcus Ericsson crossed the finish line and won his first-ever Indianapolis 500 race.

Callum Ilott talks about crash at Indy 500 Indianapolis 500 fans celebrate after Marcus Ericsson wins over Pato O'Ward Indianapolis 500 fans celebrate after Marcus Ericsson wins

Ericsson took control of the race late — largely because of teammate Scott Dixon's speeding penalty — and had it under control for Chip Ganassi Racing until a ...

But he finished second, falling just short as the Mexican tried to give his country a banner celebration on the biggest day in motorsports; Sergio Perez opened Sunday with a win in the Monaco Grand Prix. Ganassi had not won the 500 in 10 years and sent five legitimate contenders to Indy to end the drought. Ericsson was winless in five seasons in F1 before he packed up for the United States and a move to North American open-wheel racing. The penalty took him out of contention for the win. Ericsson is the second Swede to win the Indy 500 in 106 runnings, joining 1999 winner Kenny Brack. “You can never take anything for granted, and there were laps to go,” Ericsson said.

Marcus Ericsson survived a two-lap shootout with Pato O'Ward to win a dramatic Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

Ericsson is the second Swede to win the Indy 500 in 106 editions, joining 1999 winner Kenny Brack. As dictated by Indy 500 tradition, he poured his post-race jug of milk all over his face, then handed the bottle to Ganassi so the boss could take his own swig. Then a crash back in traffic brought out the caution and Ericsson coasted to the victory podium under yellow.

Ericsson took control of Sunday's race late and had it under control for Chip Ganassi Racing until a crash by teammate Jimmie Johnson with four laps remaining ...

Ganassi had not won the 500 in 10 years and sent five legitimate contenders to Indy to end the drought. The stoppage gave Pato O’Ward and the rest of the challengers almost 12 minutes on pit road to strategize how to catch Ericsson for the win. Ericsson is the second Swede to win the Indy 500 in 106 runnings, joining 1999 winner Kenny Brack.

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Marcus Ericsson won the 106th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. Ericsson, who started in fifth position, was leading the pack when a ...

Dixon now, however, holds the record for total laps led at the Indianapolis 500 with 665. Palou received his for going into the pits while they were closed to drivers. Though Dixon led at the 200, 300 and 400-mile marks, he received a penalty for speeding in the pits late in the race. Ericsson, 31, hails from Kumla, Sweden. Before he came to the NTT IndyCar Series, he competed in Formula 1 from 2014 to 2018. Ericsson won under caution. Chip Ganassi Racing driver Marcus Ericsson won the 106th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.