4 Takeaways From Wild, Historic Final Lap Of Felix Rosenqvist’s Indy 500 Win

Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Speedway, Ind.) — What a final lap.Thanks to a late-race wreck of Mick Schumacher, there was a one-lap dash to the finish of the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500. Felix Rosenqvist started in fourth. So sure he had a chance, but a real chance?Apparently so.Rosenqvist quickly passed Pato O’Ward for third and then battled side-by-side with teammate Marcus Armstrong for second. After clearing Armstrong on the high side, Rosenqvist was able to side drift David Malukas to the finish line, winning by the slimmest margin in Indy 500 victory, a mere 0.0233 seconds. Felix Rosenqvist crossed the bricks just ahead of David Malukas in the closest finish in Indy 500 history. “I would definitely say the balls arrived,” Rosenqvist said in his postrace news conference. “I’ve never been flat around … To do the whole lap on the outside, that was pretty cool. It’s kind of unheard of at Indy.”Here are my takeaways:1. Rosenqvist’s Bold MovesThe Meyer Shank Racing No. 60 driver, in earning just his second career win and first since 2020 (and first on an oval), made three solid moves in one lap for the victory.The first one, to pass O’Ward, did get some quick scrutiny by INDYCAR on whether he made it in compliance with restart rules and it determined no violation (and O’Ward agreed with that ruling).The second one dared his teammate Armstrong to pinch him closer to the wall (he didn’t). And the final one was perfect timing to execute the side draft, which makes the car beside you lose a little momentum.”It’s still kind of a blur, … You can’t dream that up. It’s so cool,” Rosenqvist said about the final lap, later adding, “That’s just how much you want. It’s hard to explain that feeling that you want it so much, you have so much adrenaline that you literally don’t care if you’re going to crash.”You’re just going all in. It was cool that that’s what it took to win it as well.” Felix Rosenqvist celebrates in Victory Circle after winning Sunday’s INdy 500. 2. Malukas DevastatedDavid Malukas cried following the race after the Team Penske driver saw a potential win slip away.Malukas hasn’t won an INDYCAR race and nearly won for the first time on the sport’s biggest stage.”I don’t know what else we could have done. We were the fastest car the whole race,” Malukas said in his FOX Sports interview on the telecast. “I gave it 150 percent. I almost crashed this damn car every lap. and we still ended up with a P2. I…

2026-05-25 00:29:18