When the green flag flew of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500, fans erupted in cheers as 33 cars barreled into Turn 1.
Rookie Robert Shwartzman was on pole and led the field away as 350,000 people watched on, not to mention the millions more worldwide.
Shwartzman did not stay up front long, however, and multiple other drivers battled it out at the head of the field through a few rounds of chaotic events.
READ MORE: Indianapolis 500 – Full Race Results
As the laps wound down, Marcus Ericsson found himself at the front of the field with the three-time series champion Alex Palou breathing down his neck.
Palou made a surprise pass for the lead with 14 laps remaining, diving to the inside of the 2022 Indy 500 champion on the entry to Turn 1.
There was nothing more Ericsson could do, and Palou held the lead until lap 200 was complete to take his first Indy 500 win.
Palou stopped on the front stretch and celebrated with his crew intensely until he was finally coaxed back to his car so he could complete the traditional celebration in victory lane with a big glass of milk.
The win is Palou’s first oval victory, and it is also his fifth win of the season. The three-time champion already held a points lead that was almost two full races worth of points, and he extended that even further with the biggest win of his career.
Ericsson was disappointed with second place, understandably, and could not contain his sadness at failing to win the Indy 500 for the second time of his career.
David Malukas crossed the line in third, and was equally disappointed because he felt that his #4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevy was good enough to win.
The result was still far better than his previous two attempts in the Indy 500, and he will look to build on that experience into the future.
Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top five, with each coming into the event thinking they had a real chance at winning the series’ marquee event.
500 miles of disappointment
Unfortunately for many of the other drivers in the field, Sunday’s race was filled with disappointment.
The first driver to suffer an issue was Scott McLaughlin, who simply lost control of his #3 Team Penske Chevy during the pace laps.
His ‘Yellow Submarine’ spun into the pit wall and he had to retire on the spot. After he climbed from the car, he held his head in his hands as he crouched in the grass in disbelief.
McLaughlin offered no explanation, only that he did not do anything different while warming his tires.
On the race start, which came on lap 4 after the clean-up, Marco Andretti was squeezed by the three-wide traffic.
Andretti was sent spinning into Turn 1 and hit Marcus Armstrong in the process. He was the second driver out of the race.
Multiple pit stop issues plagued drivers in the middle portion of the race. Scott Dixon and Colton Herta each suffered brake issues that derailed their afternoons.
Alexander Rossi also had brake issues, then when his Ed Carpenter Racing crew was investigating a fire broke out at the rear of his car.
Rossi leapt from his car quickly and the safety crew extinguished the flames in a matter of moments, saving multiple people from certain injury.
Rinus VeeKay also had issues in the pits, but they were of his own making. The Dutch driver lost control trying to slow for pit lane and spun into the wall while coming towards his crew.
VeeKay’s Dale Coyne Racing crew looked on in horror as their minds shifted from changing tires and adding fuel to assessing damage in a matter of seconds.
The damage was too great to repair, and VeeKay climbed from his car as the rest of the field roared past.
From front to back
Robert Shwartzman was also a victim of pit stop issues, as he ran into multiple members of his PREMA crew while attempting to come to a stop in his box.
The collision knocked three people to the ground and broke his font suspension as he ran into the pit wall with the front of his car.
The rookie seemingly misjudged how difficult it is to slow down a staggered car that is set up for oval racing, and his entire team suffered for it.
It was a disappointing end for Shwartzman, who started on pole and was the talk of IndyCar for the past week.
Sato missed his pit box as well, showing that even veterans can have trouble when the stakes are high.
The time lost on pit lane while the RLL crew pushed Sato’s #75 into the right position before servicing the car sent him tumbling down the order. After leading 51 laps, he finished in 11th place.
Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb were near the front of the field at some point during the day, but both were collected by a spinning Kyle Larson in Turn 2 just before halfway
Larson lost control while slowing for a gaggle of cars ahead of him, which unloaded the rear of his #17 Arrow McLaren / Hendrick entry and ended the day of three drivers all at once.
There were only 23 drivers who actually finished the race, meaning the list of drivers angry with how the latest iteration of the Indianapolis 500 was quite long.
The next race on the calendar is markedly different, and the paddock will reconvene for a race around the streets of Detroit in just one week’s time.
