Spain’s Palou clinches win in chaotic 109th Indy 500

In a tense Indianapolis 500 matchup, Spain’s Alex Palou held off Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson.

With 14 laps left, Palou overtook Ericsson to win the 109th edition of the showpiece race before fending off the Swede’s late recovery.

Light rain caused the start to take longer and resulted in numerous yellow flags, with 14 drivers changing their hands 22 times.

Marco Andretti, the grandson of Mario Andretti, was only able to survive four laps after Ryan Hunter-Reay struck him. Kyle Larson’s attempt to finish the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day was halted by a collision.

Over the 200 laps of the legendary 2.5-mile oval track at the Indianapolis Brickyard, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Palou averaged 168.9 mph, while American David Malukas, who was in third place, came Ericsson, who won the 2022 race for Ericsson, who finished 0.682 seconds behind.

Felix Rosenqvist finished fifth, followed by Mexico’s Pato O’Ward, and Sweden’s Pato O’Ward, who finished fourth.

Two-time champion Takuma Sato held the lead for 51 laps before skidding into his pit to lose ground, while pole-sitter Robert Shwartzman’s challenge ended when he collided with his pit team, though no one was seriously hurt.