Marcus Ericsson delivered Chip Ganassi Racing back to Victory Lane at the Indianapolis 500, holding off the McLaren Arrow SP race car of Pato O’Ward and chased to the finish by teammate at CGR, Tony Kanaan.
It is the fifth Indy 500 win for Chip Ganassi’s team, but first since 2012, and closes a month of May that saw the team put on a dominant display. The team was constantly at the top of the speed charts throughout the month of May and also when it mattered most on Sunday.
Ericsson, wearing a helmet painted in honor of his late countryman, Ronnie Peterson, took the lead over after the final series of pit stops. The Swede opened up a commanding lead before a crash by teammate Jimmie Johnson brought the field to pit lane as IndyCar red flagged the race, freezing the field.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Ericsson said. “I was praying so hard there wasn’t going to be another yellow.
When they emerged it was a two-lap shootout, and O’Ward immediately tried low, then high, but Ericsson proved too strong and held on.
“It was hard to refocus,” Ericsson said afterward, “I did everything I could there at the end to keep them behind me.”
He got a bit of help when Sage Karam caromed off the walls exiting Turn 2 as Ericsson was leading the field through Turn 4, freezing the field once again and letting him exhale as he crossed the line as the second Swede to win the Indianapolis 500 after Kenny Brack.
Unofficial Top 10
- Marcus Ericsson
- O’Ward Duck
- Tony Canaan
- Felix Rosenqvist
- Alexander Rossi
- Conor Daly
- Helio Castroneves
- Simon Pagenaud
- Alex Palou
- Santino Ferrucci