Indy 500: Newgarden secures win over Ericsson after final lap dash

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden has secured his maiden Indianapolis 500 victory after a chaotic end to the race to snatch victory on the final lap.

On the final lap of the prestigious Indy 500, Newgarden was sat in second place behind Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson but on the exit of turn two the Team Penske driver managed to snatch the race lead away from Chip Ganassi’s Swede.

Despite Ericsson’s fight back through the final two turns: three and four, there was not much the Swedish driver could do as Newgarden charged towards the chequered flag to secure his first-ever Indy 500 victory.

In a passionate moment, the maiden Indy 500 winner stopped on the yard of the bricks before he climbed out, hopped the fence and celebrated his win with the spectators. He soon joined his team and partner to celebrate and head off to the podium celebrations where he was handed the winner’s wreath and milk of his choice.

Ahead of the Indy 500, Newgarden was forced to cut his way through the field to secure his hard-earned win after he started the race down in 17th place, alongside Ed Carpenter’s Conor Daly (16th) and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Ryan Hunter-Reay (18th).

In the build-up to the final lap dash, the first red flag came out after McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist tagged the wall on the exit of turn one. The McLaren slid across, and under, the circuit’s track limits before he slid back across towards the barrier. However, Andretti Autosport’s Kyle Kirkwood was not able to avoid a collision.

Kirkwood flipped over as he rolls up against the barrier and the catch fencing before his car dragged itself to a halt, on its roof.

With eight laps left on the first restarts, McLaren’s Pato O’Ward made contact with Ericsson on the inside line into turn three of which the Mexican driver found himself in the barrier – and out of the race.

At the same time, Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin rear-ended Meyer Shank Racing’s Simon Pagenaud to send the Frenchman into the barrier, and the collision was quickly followed by Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Agustin Canapino who also crashed out at the same corner.

The red flag was brought out for the final time as Ed Carpenter, of Ed Carpenter Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Graham Rahal, Marco Andretti (Andretti Herta w/ Marco & Curb-Agajanian) and A.J. Foyt Enterprises Benjamin Pedersen collided at the back of the pack.

By the time the field returned to the pit lane, only two laps remained with Ericsson out in front.

That’s it for the article: Indy 500: Newgarden secures win over Ericsson after final lap dash!

What do you think of the red flag stoppages at the end of the race? Let us know in the comments!

Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.