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05/24 18:23 CDT Late pass sends Felix Rosenqvist past David Malukas for the
closest Indianapolis 500 win in history
Late pass sends Felix Rosenqvist past David Malukas for the closest
Indianapolis 500 win in history
By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) --- Felix Rosenqvist thought his car was good enough to win
the previous four Indianapolis 500s. On Sunday, the 34-year-old Swede finally
got to celebrate with a sip of milk.
The difference: He was more focused on being a dad and felt less pressure to
reach victory lane.
Rosenqvist responded by making a daring, outside move in the closing yards,
sling-shotting past leader David Malukas and across the yard of bricks by half
a car-length in the closest race in 500 history and cap the most memorable
month of his life.
The 0.023-second victory was his second in 120 career IndyCar starts, his first
on an oval and came exactly 20 days after he welcomed his first child, daughter
Stella.
"After we had our baby, Stella, I was like I've already won the month of May,"
said Roseqvist, whose only other win came in July 2020 at Road America. "But
winning was the cheery on top of an incredible month."
Neither Rosenqvist's wife, Emille, nor his newborn daughter were at the track.
Rosenqvist jumped on top of his Meyer Shank Racing car, pumping his arms in the
air before tasting the milk and then dumping it over his head. And why not
savor it after what he's endured on this iconic 2.5-mile track.
Rosenqvist entered race day with five straight top nine 500 qualifying runs but
no poles. He'd also finished fourth in the race twice over the past four years,
including 2025, while winding up 27th in the other two.
And it looked as if this one might be slipping away, too, when the red flag
came out with seven laps to go and he got passed on the ensuing restart and
again when Malukas appeared to be pulling away while Rosenqvist and teammate
Marcus Armstrong were racing wheel-to-wheel on the final lap.
"I was given two options: either I lift or I crash with Felix," said Armstrong,
who finished fifth. "I chose to lift. I don't know if I could have done
anything different."
With Armstrong out of the way, Rosenqvist pulled up behind Malukas, swung his
car to the outside and pushed the car as hard as he could. The momentum --- and
the tow --- sent him past Team Penske's top finisher, relegating Malukas to
runner-up status for the second straight year.
Meyer Shank earned its second 500 win and Helio Castroneves, one of four
four-time 500 winners, celebrated his first as a team owner.
The victory margin was even closer than the 1992 race when Al Unser Jr. beat
Scott Goodyear to the finish line by 0.043 seconds. But that was little
consolation to Malukas. Even moving up to second in the points standings was
little consolation to the 24-year-old American.
"I just don't know what else we could have done," an understandably distraught
Malukas said. "We were driving 150% that whole time. We had the fastest car out
there, loved that whole race. It was ours to win and I knew that, so I just
never pushed like that my whole life."
Malukas seemed to be in position to win with four turns left.
He beat leader Marcus Armstrong off the final restart with one lap to go and
led through each of the final four corners as Rosenqvist tried to snake his way
down Indy's front straightaway and moved to the outside.
This time, Rosenqvist timed it perfectly, stayed on the high driving line and
didn't think twice about going for it. He's the third Swede to win the 500,
joining Kenny Brack in 1999 and Marcus Ericsson in 2022.
Rosenqvist even had to hold off his best friend in racing, Pato O'Ward of Arrow
McLaren. The two-time race runner-up finished fourth --- his fourth top-five
finish in four years --- behind Malukas' teammate Scott McLaughlin. Armstrong
wound up fifth.
"I haven't seen a finish like that ever," Rosenqvist said. "So initially, I was
like ?OK, I'm second' because this never happens, you never have enough time to
get that pass. But it happened and it's just incredible."
It was a wild conclusion to a strange race day that included a handful of
crashes, two red flag delays --- a 12-minute stoppage midway through the race
because of rain and the 10-minute delay after Indy rookie Caio Collet slammed
hard into the wall with eight laps to go.
But just as it appeared Rosenqvist and O'Ward might come up short again, they
got another chance when Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time world champ
Michael Schumacher, brushed the second turn wall with 3 1/2 laps left
That contact set up the final one-lap shootout and this time, Rosenqvist sensed
it was going to be different.
"I think somehow this was the first time I felt less (pressure) because I had
so much to come home to at night, and I'm like happy," Rosenqvist said before
telling reporters he had already spoken with his wife after the race. "It's
actually kind of nice when taking more pressure off of yourself in a way when
you think about the right stuff because because we all put enough pressure on
these folks. I think actually it turned out to be a good point to become a dad."
Alex Palou, the pole winner and defending Indy champ, extended his lead to 40
points after leading the most laps (59) and making the most on-track passes
(60). But he settled for seventh.
Double trouble Katherine Legge's attempt to become the first woman to complete "The Double" ended after just 17 laps when she couldn't avoid Ryan Hunter-Reay's spinning car. Legge's car skidded down the track and into the inside wall in Turn 2. The English driver was checked at the track's infield medical care center and was released. She was still planning to travel to Charlotte, North Carolia, for Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600. She's scheduled to start 37th.
Up next The series moves north for the Detroit Grand Prix next Sunday. ___ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Double trouble Katherine Legge's attempt to become the first woman to complete "The Double" ended after just 17 laps when she couldn't avoid Ryan Hunter-Reay's spinning car. Legge's car skidded down the track and into the inside wall in Turn 2. The English driver was checked at the track's infield medical care center and was released. She was still planning to travel to Charlotte, North Carolia, for Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600. She's scheduled to start 37th.
Up next The series moves north for the Detroit Grand Prix next Sunday. ___ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
