Newgarden steals Indianapolis 500 win in last lap thriller

After three red flags, 200 laps and almost three hours of racing, the 2023 Indianapolis 500 went down to the penultimate corner.

Over 300,000 fans were treated to a classic finish where  two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden finally broke through to secure his maiden Indianapolis 500 in his 12th attempt.

Newgarden did it by performing a last-lap move on reigning winner Marcus Ericsson in a finish for the ages.

The race was marred by three red flags within sight of the chequered flag.

The first arrived 14 laps from the finish when the McLaren of Felix Rosenqvist crashed out of P4 at Turn 1.

He clipped Kyle Kirkwood’s Andretti in the process, which crashed and flipped into the wall at the following corner.

This created an eight-lap sprint, which did not last long as another McLaren brought out the next stoppage.

This time Pato O’Ward was the victim, slamming into the Turn 3 concrete after contact with Ericsson.

The following restart was quickly thwarted by a multi-car pile-up, which set up the dream grandstand finish.

Former Sauber Formula 1 driver Ericsson led the field from Newgarden and Santino Ferrucci as the unprecedented final lap showdown was unleashed.

Ericsson initially looked comfortable, building a small gap through Turn 1, but the Chip Ganassi Racing driver suddenly found himself on the defence.

A monster run off Turn 2 saw Newgarden charge down the back straight and his momentum meant the Swede could do little as the Penske racer charged down the inside on the entry to turn 3.

Despite Ericsson’s best efforts, Newgarden’s aggressive weaving down pit straight was enough to clinch a sensational Indianapolis 500 win by just 0.0974s.

Scott Dixon was the highest placed Kiwi in sixth with Scott McLaughlin staying out of trouble in 14th, while Australia’s Will Power finished five laps down in 23rd after scraping the wall at Turn 2.

But all eyes were on Newgarden, as he poured the entire bottle of the famous milk over his head, who was relieved to get the win he had dreamed of.

“I’m just so thankful to be here,” Newgarden said.

”I started out as a fan in the crowd, and this place is amazing, regardless of where you’re sitting. 

“Everyone kept asking why I hadn’t won this race, and they look at you like you’re a failure if you haven’t won it, but I knew I was capable. I knew I could.”

After coming agonisingly close to back-to-back Indianapolis triumphs, Ericsson was not happy by the way the race ended with the restart not occurring after a full warmup lap.

“It was an unfair and dangerous end to the race,” Ericsson said.

“I don’t think there were enough laps left to do what we did, it’s not safe to go out of the pits on cold tyres for a restart when half the field is trying to get out on track as we come to green.

“I don’t think that’s a fair or right way to end a race.

“I think I did an awesome last restart and caught Josef completely off guard and by surprise.

“I kept the lead into one, but I just couldn’t hold it after that – it wasn’t enough so it’s hard to swallow.”

2023 Indianapolis 500 results

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