The 106th Indianapolis 500 ended in incredible and dramatic fashion — a thrilling two-lap shootout with Marcus Ericsson putting on a show to hold on for the victory.
Leading up to the finish, Indy 500 rookie Jimmie Johnson crashed with about five laps left, and officials threw up the red flag, momentarily pausing the race and building suspense for the last couple laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s iconic 2.5-mile oval.
Johnson’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Ericsson, had the lead going into the restart, followed by Pato O’Ward, Tony Kanaan, Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi.
It was a wild restart, but Ericsson shot out front and aggressively weaved all over the track, as O’Ward charged after him and tried (but failed) to find the perfect spot to make a pass. But the Swedish driver showed off some incredible defensive skills as he held on tight to the lead.
And on the last lap, a yellow flag came out for a crash toward the back of the field, and Ericsson won the 2022 Indy 500 under caution. Despite that, the final laps were beyond captivating:
https://twitter.com/IndyCaronNBC/status/1531002120081707012?s=20&t=Tfns3djgGulSNjc1x_UA8g
This moment right here. 🤯
What an ending to the #Indy500. pic.twitter.com/mUzDpgYhoH
— #Indy500 on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) May 29, 2022
Ericsson became the second Swedish driver to win the race, and he snapped a 10-year Indy 500 drought for Chip Ganassi Racing. It was also Ericsson’s first win of the 2022 season and his third career
