Starting from 4th place Car 60 Felix Rosenqvist won the 110th Indianapolis 500 for his 2nd NTT INDYCAR SERIES win. This is his 1st win & 2nd Top 5 of 2026. 2nd Place Car 12 David Malukas, started from 3rd place posted his 4th Top 5 of 2026. 3rd Place Car 3 Scott McLaughlin, started from 9th place posted his 2nd Top 5 of 2026.
4th Place Car 5 Pato O’Ward, started from 6th followed by 5th place Car 66 Marcus Armstrong, started from 16th place. 6th Place Car 76 Rinus VeeKay, started from 11th place followed by 7th place Car 10 Alex Palou, started from pole. 8th Place Car 14 Santino Ferrucci, started from 5th place followed by 9th place Car 18 Romain Grosjean, started from 24th place. Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 75 Takuma Sato, started from 12th
The race had 7 Cautions for 51 laps: 1st Caution on lap 18 for Contact: Cars 11 and 31 in Turn 2. 2nd Caution on lap 27 for Contact: Car 33 in Turn 1. 3rd Caution on lap 92 for Spin: Car 26 in Turn 1 and Conditions. 4th Caution on lap 116 for Conditions. 5th Caution on lap 125 for Contact: Car 2 in Turn 4. 6th Caution on lap 192 for Contact: Car 4 in Turn 2. 7th Caution on lap 197 for Contact: Car 47 in Turn 2.
The race had 70 Lead Changes among 14 drivers. Leader Summary: Car Driver Laps Led 10 Palou, Alex 59, 9 Dixon, Scott 32, 12 Malukas, David 30, 60 Rosenqvist, Felix 25, 5 O’Ward, Pato 9, 4 Collet, Caio 9, 76 VeeKay, Rinus 8, 20 Rossi, Alexander 6, 3 McLaughlin, Scott 5, 23 Daly, Conor 4, 8 Simpson, Kyffin 4, 66 Armstrong, Marcus 3, 18 Grosjean, Romain 3, 21 Rasmussen, Christian 3. Lead Change Summary: Lap Car Leader: 1 20 Rossi, Alexander, 2 10 Palou, Alex, 5 20 Rossi, Alexander, 6 10 Palou, Alex, 7 20 Rossi, Alexander, 8 10 Palou, Alex, 9 20 Rossi, Alexander, 10 10 Palou, Alex, 12 20 Rossi, Alexander, 13 10 Palou, Alex, 17 20 Rossi, Alexander, 18 10 Palou, Alex, 20 76 VeeKay, Rinus, 26 18 Grosjean, Romain, 27 76 VeeKay, Rinus, 29 18 Grosjean, Romain, 31 4 Collet, Caio, 40 23 Daly, Conor, 41 10 Palou, Alex, 62 9 Dixon, Scott, 63 21 Rasmussen, Christian, 66 10 Palou, Alex, 69 9 Dixon, Scott, 70 10 Palou, Alex, 72 9 Dixon, Scott, 73 10 Palou, Alex, 74 9 Dixon, Scott, 75 10 Palou, Alex, 76 9 Dixon, Scott, 77 10 Palou, Alex, 78 9 Dixon, Scott, 79 10 Palou, Alex, 80 9 Dixon, Scott, 81 10 Palou, Alex, 82 9 Dixon, Scott, 83 10 Palou, Alex, 84 9 Dixon, Scott, 85 10 Palou, Alex, 86 9 Dixon, Scott, 87 10 Palou, Alex, 88 9 Dixon, Scott, 89 10 Palou, Alex, 90 9 Dixon, Scott, 91 10 Palou, Alex, 92 9 Dixon, Scott, 110 12 Malukas, David, 111 10 Palou, Alex, 112 12 Malukas, David, 113 10 Palou, Alex, 114 12 Malukas, David, 132 23 Daly, Conor, 134 3 McLaughlin, Scott, 135 10 Palou, Alex, 136 3 McLaughlin, Scott, 137 23 Daly, Conor, 138 3 McLaughlin, Scott, 140 10 Palou, Alex, 141 3 McLaughlin, Scott, 142 10 Palou, Alex, 146 12 Malukas, David, 147 10 Palou, Alex, 148 9 Dixon, Scott, 150 8 Simpson, Kyffin, 154 60 Rosenqvist, Felix, 167 12 Malukas, David, 175 10 Palou, Alex, 176 5 O’Ward, Pato, 185 60 Rosenqvist, Felix, 196 66 Armstrong, Marcus, 199 12 Malukas, David, 200 60 Rosenqvist, Felix,
Photo Courtesy of INDYCAR
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Statement:
Rosenqvist Earns Epic Victory in Closest-Ever Indianapolis 500 Finish
INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, May 24, 2026) – Felix Rosenqvist capped his magical May by edging David Malukas in a last-lap drag race to the Yard of Bricks with the highest stakes, winning the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the closest finish in the century-plus history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Rosenqvist rode the high line against the concrete wall exiting Turn 4 on Lap 200 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian and powered past the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet of David Malukas to prevail by .0233 of a second. The previous closest finish in “500” history came in 1992, when Al Unser Jr. held off a charging Scott Goodyear by .043 of a second.
“Unreal; I still don’t believe it,” Rosenqvist said. “It kind of worked out the right way when I got back to third, and then I just had to flat-out lap on the high line, and it stuck,” Rosenqvist said. “It was just the coolest way you can finish and win an Indy 500.”
The breathtaking race featured an event-record 70 lead changes over its 200 scintillating laps, breaking the previous mark of 68 set in 2013. With his second career NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory, Rosenqvist became the third Swedish driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” joining Kenny Brack (1999) and Marcus Ericsson (2022).
Meyer Shank Racing also earned its second NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory – both coming in the most prestigious race in the world. Helio Castroneves captured his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in 2021 for the Ohio-based team.
The victory capped a remarkable month for Rosenqvist. He and his wife, Emille, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Stella, on May 4.
“I really miss my wife and my newborn child, Stella,” Rosenqvist said. “I wish they were here with me. This whole month, becoming a dad and winning the ‘500’ … We joked about it in the beginning: ‘Maybe you’ll win the ‘500’ and have a baby.’ It’s just unreal.”
Scott McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet, as the fabled team placed two drivers in the top three but fell just short of a record-extending 21st Indy 500 victory.
Pato O’Ward placed fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, his fifth career top-four finish in seven “500” starts without a victory. Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five in the No. 66 Acura Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian despite taking the green flag in the lead on a one-lap shootout for the victory after a late caution.
An incredible .4360 of a second separated the top-five finishers. Rosenqvist’s average speed was 162.021 mph.
The one-lap dash to the checkered flag and immortality was set up when rookie Mick Schumacher brushed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 in his No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda on Lap 197.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 199, with Armstrong leading to the flag stand with the white flag in the air and one lap remaining, with Malukas in second and Rosenqvist third. Malukas powered to the lead entering Turn 1 and started to pull away on the backstretch of the 2.5-mile oval with teammates Armstrong and Rosenqvist running side by side in a joust for second.
Rosenqvist, running the high line around the oval, nosed ahead of Armstrong in Turn 4 and set his sights on Malukas. With the checkered flag in the air ahead, Malukas drove his car toward the pit wall to try and break Rosenqvist’s aerodynamic tow. Malukas then moved toward the center of the track, and Rosenqvist quickly swung his machine back toward the top of the racetrack, just barely avoiding contact.
The two cars were side by side yards from the finish line when Rosenqvist nosed ahead and crossed the Yard of Bricks first by about a half-car length, the capacity crowd of 350,000 pulsating in delight.
It was the most important of the 629 on-track passes in the race, including 567 for position.
“I don’t know what else we could have done,” Malukas said as he choked back tears in his pit box. “We were the fastest car that whole race. I gave it 150 percent. I mean, I almost crashed this damn car every lap, and we still ended up with a P2.
“I just can’t believe it. I don’t know what else I can give. So close. This place, we’re going to come back and bring it everything. We’re going to give it 160 percent the next time.”
Said Rosenqvist: “Good job to Marcus and David at the end. They raced really cleanly. It’s because of drivers like that you get really good racing. Unbelievable.”
McLaughlin, O’Ward and Armstrong then crossed the Yard of Bricks three-wide in the sprint for third, capping a race for the ages.
The spellbinding finish was the final act of a dual-strategy drama that unfolded over the closing laps. O’Ward, Armstrong and Rosenqvist made their final pit stops on Laps 164, 165 and 166, respectively, right at the edge of the fuel window to finish the race without another stop under green-flag racing.
Meanwhile, Malukas, McLaughlin and pole sitter Alex Palou in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda were among a group of cars that were on a different sequence and had to make their final stops on Laps 175 (Malukas) and 176 (Palou and McLaughlin).
Malukas took control of that chasing group, but they were more than 20 seconds behind O’Ward, Rosenqvist and Armstrong with less than 25 laps to go. Rosenqvist, with two more laps of fuel than O’Ward, was content to ride in the draft of the Mexican and save even more fuel as both lapped nearly 10 mph slower than the chasing pack to ensure they could make it to the finish.
Rosenqvist finally pounced past O’Ward for the lead on Lap 185 and was headed toward Easy Street.
The chasing trio of Malukas, McLaughlin and Palou appeared to be running out of laps to catch O’Ward, Rosenqvist and Armstrong, but the field was bunched on Lap 192 when rookie Caio Collet slammed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises, triggering the sixth of seven caution periods in the race.
Race officials immediately red-flagged the event for accident cleanup, with all cars pulling into the pits.
“It was the perfect situation for us before that,” Rosenqvist said. “We kind of had everything lined up. Pato was struggling with fuel, and we were pretty rich (on fuel) to the end. I was like: ‘This is going to be great. At some point you’re just going to pass him and hopefully cruise to the win.’ But then in the end, everything flipped upside-down.
“But you just have to reload. I was a little negative at first. I was like, ‘Of course, this happened.’ But then you just had to think forward. It actually was good when I got back to third because it felt like I was hunting instead of being hunted.”
Rosenqvist led the field to green flag on the Lap 196 restart after the 10-minute red flag period, with O’Ward second and Armstrong third. But Armstrong powered to the front in the four-wide restart with a bold outside move in Turn 1, with Malukas riding his aerodynamic coattails to second. But then Schumacher made contact with the SAFER Barrier to bring out the final caution on Lap 197, setting up the one-lap dash for glory.
NTT P1 Award winner Palou led a race-high 59 laps but finished seventh. Adding his 12 bonus points for earning the Indy 500 pole, Palou leads the series standings by 42 points over Malukas entering the next event, the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday, May 31 on the streets of Detroit.
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110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Race Results
Indianapolis Motor Speedway May 24, 2026
1. 4. Car 60 Rosenqvist, Felix D/H/F 200 Running
2. 3. Car 12 Malukas, David D/C/F 200 Running
3. 9. Car 3 McLaughlin, Scott D/C/F 200 Running
4. 6. Car 5 O’Ward, Pato D/C/F 200 Running
5. 16. Car 66 Armstrong, Marcus D/H/F 200 Running
6. 11. Car 76 VeeKay, Rinus D/C/F 200 Running
7. 1. Car 10 Palou, Alex D/H/F 200 Running
8. 5. Car 14 Ferrucci, Santino D/C/F 200 Running
9. 24. Car 18 Grosjean, Romain D/H/F 200 Running
10. 12. Car 75 Sato, Takuma D/H/F 200 Running
11. 20. Car 6 Siegel, Nolan D/C/F 200 Running
12. 8. Car 23 Daly, Conor D/C/F 200 Running
13. 17. Car 28 Ericsson, Marcus D/H/F 200 Running
14. 7. Car 8 Simpson, Kyffin D/H/F 200 Running
15. 10. Car 9 Dixon, Scott D/H/F 200 Running
16. 25. Car 27 Kirkwood, Kyle D/H/F 200 Running
17. 18. Car 7 Lundgaard, Christian D/C/F 200 Running
18. 27. Car 47 Schumacher, Mick (R) D/H/F 200 Running
19. 29. Car 19 Hauger, Dennis (R) D/H/F 199 Running
20. 28. Car 15 Rahal, Graham D/H/F 199 Running
21. 21. Car 45 Foster, Louis D/H/F 199 Running
22. 33. Car 24 Harvey, Jack D/C/F 199 Running
23. 31. Car 77 Robb, Sting Ray D/C/F 199 Running
24. 30. Car 51 Abel, Jacob (R) D/C/F 198 Running
25. 14. Car 06 Castroneves, Helio D/H/F 194 Mechanical
26. 32. Car 4 Collet, Caio (R) D/C/F 191 Contact
27. 15. Car 21 Rasmussen, Christian D/C/F 144 Mechanical
28. 23. Car 2 Newgarden, Josef D/C/F 124 Contact
29. 19. Car 26 Power, Will D/H/F 91 Mechanical
30. 2. Car 20 Rossi, Alexander D/C/F 91 Mechanical
31. 13. Car 33 Carpenter, Ed D/C/F 26 Contact
32. 22. Car 31 Hunter-Reay, Ryan D/C/F 17 Contact
33. 26. Car 11 Legge, Katherine D/C/F 17 Contact
Stats:
Time of Race: 03:05:09.6471
Avg Speed: 162.021
Lead Changes: 70
Caution Laps: 51
Fastest Lap: 225.126 mph ( 39.9777 sec) on lap 182 by 23 – Conor Daly
Fastest Leader Lap: 224.951 mph ( 40.0087 sec) on lap 157 by 60 – Felix Rosenqvist
110th Indianapolis 500 Post-Race Notes
INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, May 24, 2026) – Historical and event notes from the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
This was the first career Indianapolis 500 victory for Felix Rosenqvist in his eighth career “500” start.
Felix Rosenqvist won today by .0233 of a second over David Malukas, the closest finish in “500” history. The previous closest finish came in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear by .043 of a second.
Today’s race featured an event-record 70 lead changes. The previous record was 68, in 2013.
Felix Rosenqvist is the third Swedish driver to win the Indianapolis 500, joining Kenny Brack (1999) and Marcus Ericsson (2022). Brack led 66 laps in 1999, Rosenqvist 25 laps today and Ericsson 13 laps in 2022.
Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian earned its second Indianapolis 500 victory, the team’s two NTT INDYCAR SERIES victories. Helio Castroneves earned his record-tying fourth “500” win for the team in 2021.
This year’s finish marks the fifth time in “500” history that the driver leading the race lost on the last lap. In today’s race, David Malukas lost the lead on the last lap to Felix Rosenqvist. Other last-lap finishes with a lead change:
2024: Pato O’Ward lost the lead on Lap 200 to Josef Newgarden
2023: Marcus Ericsson lost the lead on Lap 200 to Josef Newgarden
2011: JR Hildebrand lost the lead to Dan Wheldon on Lap 200
2006: Marco Andretti lost the lead to Sam Hornish Jr on Lap 200
Felix Rosenqvist is 34 years old. The last 34-year-old to win the “500” was Helio Castroneves in 2009.
This is the eighth time the car that started fourth won the Indianapolis 500. The last winner from the No. 4 starting spot was Takuma Sato in 2017. The event record is 21 winners from the pole.
This is the 17th Indianapolis 500 victory for a Honda engine, second to Offenhauser’s 27 wins.
This is the first time car No. 60 has won the Indianapolis 500.
Mick Schumacher was the top-finishing rookie today, in 18th place.
Romain Grosjean advanced more positions than any other driver, finishing ninth after starting 24th.
Conor Daly recorded the fastest lap (225.126 mph) of the race on Lap 182.
In the past six Indianapolis 500 races, only 2025 winner Alex Palou and 2022 winner Marcus Ericsson were able to hold the lead over the final 10 laps.
There were three drivers who led the Indianapolis 500 for the first time: Marcus Armstrong, Caio Collet and Romain Grosjean. The record is seven, in the inaugural race in 1911.
Pato O’Ward finished fourth, his fifth top-four finish in his seven career starts. None were victories.
The 2026 Indianapolis 500 had 14 different lap leaders, tying for third-most in race history with the 2013, 2023 and 2025 races. The 2024 race holds the record at 16 different lap leaders, while the 2017 and 2018 races had 15 different lap leaders.
Helio Castroneves dropped out of the 2026 race due to mechanical issues on Lap 194. This is the third time in 26 career “500” starts he was not running at the finish. He holds the records for number of finishes on the lead lap and running at the finish.
On Lap 112, Helio Castroneves surpassed A.J. Foyt as the Indianapolis 500 all-time mileage leader and went on to complete 194 laps. Castroneves has completed 12,480 miles in the Indianapolis 500. The previous record was Foyt’s 12,272.5 miles.
Ed Carpenter completed his 23rd career “500” start without a victory, the most winless starts of any driver in event history. George Snider made 22 starts between 1965-87 without a win.
Scott Dixon led 32 laps in the 2026 Indianapolis 500, extending his career laps-led record to 709 laps. He has also led a record 17 races.
Pole sitter Alex Palou led the most laps (59) in the 2026 race. This is the 28th time the pole-sitter has been the top lap leader of the race.
In 2026, Santino Ferrucci completed the full 500-mile distance for a record eighth consecutive year, all of his career “500” starts.
Alex Palou and Scott Dixon traded the lead a record 26 times in the 2026 race. The previous record of lead changes between same two drivers was 18, between James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2016.
Next Event: Sunday, May 31 Streets of Detroit FOX 12:30 p.m.
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