Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day for Indy Car racing at the sport’s most important event of the year. After a photo finish, a first-time winner of the event was able to chug the celebratory milk in euphoria.
Simon Pagenaud was able to take home the victory after a thrilling final lap, the first Indy 500 crown of the 35-year-old’s career.
Pagenaud, the winner of the 2016 IndyCar Series, came into the race as one of the favorites. He had an excellent shot to win after starting on the first row in Sunday’s race.
The Frenchman’s Chevrolet had just enough juice to hold off Alexander Rossi, who was hot on Pagenaud’s tail all afternoon. Despite leading 116 out of 200 laps, the Team Penske driver was overtaken with 2 laps to go by Rossi.
Nonetheless, Pagenaud was able to regain his lead and hold on to win the race, the 13th IndyCar victory of his career. Rossi finished in 2nd place, 0.21 seconds behind the race winner.
It was the second consecutive victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Frenchman, who also won the Indy GP earlier this month.
