{"id":106113,"date":"2026-05-26T12:01:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T19:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=106113"},"modified":"2026-05-28T12:44:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T19:44:20","slug":"felix-rosenqvist-wins-110th-indianapolis-500-in-races-closest-finish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/felix-rosenqvist-wins-110th-indianapolis-500-in-races-closest-finish\/","title":{"rendered":"Felix Rosenqvist Wins 110th Indianapolis 500 in Race\u2019s Closest Finish"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Felix Rosenqvist\u2019s .0233-sec margin of victory over David Malukas is the race\u2019s closest in 110 runnings – photo courtesy BorgWarner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What more could you want?<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s 110th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, held May 24 on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, had action from green to checkers. How about 70 lead changes over 200 laps of this race amongst 14 drivers? How about the closest finish ever – after 500 actual miles – of .0233 seconds? How about riding the outside line for a complete lap of this facility and not ending up marbled into the SAFER Barrier\u2019s walls? But ending up atop Victory Lane?<\/p>\n

How about Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) staying with a racer who had, until Sunday, only a single 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory at Road America in Elkhart Lake? And he got that one with Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR), one of the three INDYCAR teams that have hired Felix Rosenqvist with the intent of assisting him in becoming an INDYCAR winner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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There were 70 lead changes over 200 laps, another new record – Penske Entertainment photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Swede Felix Rosenqvist signed to drive with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2020; it would be his first stop in the series (after a 2017 test session) and only lasted a year. He then drove with Arrow McLaren, but had a nasty shunt at Detroit after leaving CGR at the close of his first season. He remained with Arrow McLaren through 2023 before leaving for Meyer Shank Racing and a return to the Honda\/Dallara\u00a0 <\/span>He wasn\u2019t able to bring home a win for Zak Brown\u2019s team, but felt readily at home with former driver Mike Shank and his partner Jim Meyer.<\/p>\n

Rosenqvist is the third Swedish driver to earn an Indianapolis 500 race win – the others are Kenny Brack in 1999 for A.J. Foyt Racing, Marcus Ericsson\u2019s win with Ganassi in 2022 and yesterday\u2019s miracle. Easily the fastest driver in last Sunday\u2019s single day of qualifying – after Saturday\u2019s activities were rained out – Rosenqvist was an easy bet for pole position, until he wasn\u2019t when Firestone Fast Six came around. That honor – and the full week of celebration that goes with pole at Indy – went to four-time reigning champion Alex Palou from Ganassi\u2019s stable. It was just another disappointment for the 34-year-old driver from Varnamo, Sweden.<\/p>\n

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Rosenqvist mugs with his Indianapolis 500 winner\u2019s ring – Penske Entertainment photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are no more disappointments for Felix Rosenqvist, after he earned the biggest race win of his life, but there are for Team Penske\u2019s David Malukas, who was racing towards his first victory at the Brickyard before Rosenqvist\u2019s outside move gave the passing racer his win – by only a Dallara nosepiece. They were both in tears – of either joy or misery. Indianapolis can do that. It furnishes the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Malukas might want to talk to another driver who got pipped right before the unfurled checkered flags: Marco Andretti, who lost to Sam Hornish Jr. 20 years ago at this race, by a margin of .0635 seconds. The previous record belonged to Al Unser Jr. when he held off Scott Goodyear in 1992, by .043 second.<\/p>\n

The final of seven caution periods on lap 197 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan\u2019s rookie Mick Schumacher, who hit the wall at the second turn set up the one-lap shoot-out for the win, the milk, the wreath and the glory. \u201cIt kind of worked out the right way, when I got back to third (behind teammate Marcus Armstrong and Malukas on the lap 199 restart),\u201d Rosenqvist explained, \u201cand then I just had to flat-out lap on the high line. And it stuck! It was just the coolest way you can finish and win an Indy 500.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Rosenqvist\u2019s newborn daughter gets her own Victory wreath – Penske Entertainment photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This particular May has been a remarkable month for the Swedish racer, who welcomed his first child, daughter Stella with wife Emilie. She was born on May 4. \u201cI really miss my wife and my newborn child, Stella,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI wish they were here with me. This whole month\u2026 becoming a dad and winning the \u2018500\u2019\u2026 we joked about it in the beginning: \u2018Maybe you\u2019ll win the 500\u2019 and have a baby?\u2019 It\u2019s just unreal.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his second-place finish in The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, David Malukas showed the INDYCAR community that he is, indeed, worthy of the No. 12 Dallara\/Chevrolet at Team Penske. Entering the race on the outside of the front row (Team Penske\u2019s 50th front-row start at Indy in the team\u2019s\u2019 60th season), 24-year-old Lithuanian American Malukas found improved handling after his first pit stop and took the lead initially on the 110th lap, just past the halfway mark of the race. He would lead 30 laps, behind only Alex Palou in the No. 10 Honda\/Dallara from Chip Ganassi Racing (59), and Palou\u2019s teammate Scott Dixon, who led 32 laps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the race\u2019s runner-up Malukas was devastated: \u201cI don\u2019t know what else we could have done. We were the fastest car that whole race,\u201d he explained. \u201cI gave it 150 percent; I almost crashed every lap and still end up with a P2. I can\u2019t believe it. I don\u2019t know what else I can give. This place, man. We\u2019re going to come back again, though. We\u2019re going to bring everything; we\u2019re going to give it 160 percent. Thank you to Roger Penske for believing in me when nobody else did. We\u2019re going to keep on going.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A tearful David Malukas finished second for Team Penske. Penske Entertainment photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Team Penske took third place as well, with Aussie Scott McLaughlin bringing the No. 3 to the stripes .4205 seconds behind his rapid teammate. Pato O\u2019Ward of Arrow McLaren was fourth for his fifth top-four finish in seven starts at the Indy 500, while Marcus Armstrong finished fifth. Incredibly, .4360-sec separated the top five finishers in this quick and fast race.<\/p>\n

While Palou had pole position, it was second-starter Alexander Rossi, recovered from his Monday accident in practice, to take the lead on the first lap in his Chevrolet\/Dallara from Ed Carpenter Racing. Rossi would be the fourth car to exit the race with mechanical issues. The initial caution flew when Ryan Hunter-Reay spun exiting the second turn; immediately following, Katherine Legge spun to avoid and also suffered the consequences that sent her quickly to Charlotte to fulfill her double-duty. She finished 31st in NASCAR\u2019s Coca Cola 600, completing 361 laps and 12 down from winner Daniel Suarez in the rain-shortened race, the last car running with her Chevy.<\/p>\n

Rossi\u2019s team owner, Ed Carpenter was third out of the race, after sustaining contact in the first turn. Will Power\u2019s tough season continues; after joining Andretti Global this year, he was hoping to have a good \u2018500\u2019, but a Turn 1 spin on the 92nd lap brought his day to a close and brought out the third caution. Rainy conditions brought the field to a halt on the 116th lap for the fourth caution, while two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden made contact with the fourth turn to bring out caution No. 5. A.J. Foyt Racing\u2019s Caio Collet\u2019s second turn contact on the 192nd lap gave us the penultimate yellow, while the final caution flew for rookie Mick Schumacher\u2019s introduction to the second turn\u2019s SAFER barrier.<\/p>\n

There were 18 cars on the lead, 200th lap at the checkered flags, with Schumacher the final driver to complete the distance. Sixth through tenth in the standings was taken by Rinus Veejay with Juncos Hollinger Racing (Chevy), Palou\u2019s Honda, Santino Ferrucci\u2019s A.J. Foyt Chevy, Romain Grosjean for Dale Coyne Racing (Honda) and Takuma Sato in the fourth Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda. Palou and Sato were the sole previous winners in the top 10. Special mention needs to be made of 12th finisher Conor Daly, who\u2019s been racing only periodically the past few years. Driving with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, Daly was in the mix all afternoon and led four laps of the race. Helio Castroneves, who is trying to become the race\u2019s first five-time winner, brought his Meyer Shank Racing Honda home in 25th place after starting 14th. As a part-owner of MSR, he took part in Rosenqvist\u2019s celebration.<\/p>\n

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Rosenqvist posed on Monday morning with the BorgWarner trophy at the Yard of Bricks – Penske Entertainment photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES announced a new record for payouts after the race was completed, with first-time winner Rosenqvist and his Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian team earning $4.34 million from a total purse of $30,906,400. that\u2019s quite an increase from last year\u2019s total purse of $20,283,000, with 2025 winner Palou bringing home $3.8M. \u201cThe Indianapolis 500 continues to make history, in more ways than one,\u201d noted INDYCAR and IMS president J. Douglas Boles. \u201cThe Month of May featured a back-to-back grandstand sellout crowd – our largest crowd since the 100th running in 2016 – and intense on-track action with the most lead changes ever in the Indy 500. Felix Rosenqvist,\u201d he stated, \u201cadded his name to the history books in stellar fashion, with the closest finish in Indy 500 history, and now the largest purse! There\u2019s no better end to a memorable month.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mick Schumacher earned the Rookie of the Year honors, along with a $50,000 bonus, giving the driver a total take-home prize of $218,800. The balance of awards and designated special prizes were disbursed Monday evening at the annual Victory Celebration, held this year at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

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Mick Schumacher of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing earned the 500\u2019s Rookie of the Year honors – Penske Entertainment photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the race was complete, the No. 10 of Chip Ganassi Racing was cited for a pair of penalties, concerning the front wing height adjustment. Palou\u2019s team was accused of violating the following rules: (14.7.6.8) Front wing must adhere to the following Technical inspection dimensions; (14.7.6.7.1) For the purposes of technical inspection, the front wing must not measure less than 8.300 inches when set at any angle, while installed on the INDYCAR technical inspection fixture. INDYCAR officiating determined this non-compliance was the result of an assembly error and not intentional. The car has been penalized five championship driver and entrant points; the team was fined $10,000 and will not appeal.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no rest for the teams and drivers that compete in the full, 18-race 2026 campaign. They\u2019re off to Detroit for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. That race takes place this Sunday, May 31 on the streets of downtown Detroit and, like every INDYCAR race, is broadcast live on FOX, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls. It\u2019s set for a 12:30PM ET start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year\u2019s 110th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, held May 24 on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, had action from green to checkers.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":106114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,3470,3699,5029],"tags":[13299,7389,13302,2921,9765,7061,13301,10315,955,13300,8466,9155,725],"class_list":["post-106113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asphalt-oval-racing","category-news","category-other-racing","category-racing","tag-110th-indianapolis-500-mile-race","tag-alex-palou","tag-chevrolet-detroit-grand-prix-presented-by-lear","tag-chip-ganassi-racing","tag-david-malukas","tag-felix-rosenqvist","tag-honda-racing-americas","tag-hrc-usa","tag-indianapolis-motor-speedway","tag-marcus-armstrong","tag-meyer-shank-racing","tag-ntt-indycar-series","tag-team-penske"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/finish-line-courtesy-BorgWarner.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-rBv","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106113"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106146,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106113\/revisions\/106146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}