2026 Indy 500 live updates: Felix Rosenqvist outduels David Malukas to win in the closest finish of the race’s 110 runnings

Here are the key statistics from Felix Rosenqvist’s win in the closest Indy 500 in history.

Click here for the box score and where everyone finished.

Click here for the lap leader summary.

Click here for the points summary.

1. Felix Rosenvist
2. David Malukas
3. Scott McLaughlin
4. Pato O’Ward
5. Marcus Armstrong
6. Rinus VeeKay
7. Alex Palou
8. Santino Ferrucci
9. Romain Grosjean
10. Takuma Sato

The scenes around the two drivers on both ends of the closest finish in Indy 500 history said it all.

In addition to being the closest finish in Indy 500 history, the race also set a record for lead changes.

Felix Rosenqvist’s winning pass of David Malukas at the Yard of Bricks was the record 70th lead change in the 110th Indy 500 — and the third-most lead changes for an IndyCar race ever. (The previous record for Indy 500 lead changes was 68 in 2013.)

Runner-up David Malukas was wiping away tears while receiving condolences from his father and Marco Andretti (who knows Indy 500 heartbreak, having lost to Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006 by a similarly close margin).

“I don’t know what else we could have done,” Malukas said. “We were the fastest car that whole race. I gave it 150 percent. I almost crashed this damn car every lap, and we still ended up with a P2. I can’t believe it. I don’t know what else I can give. I give everything to this team. We’ve had such a stellar season this whole month. They give me so much support. Everything I needed.

“Just can’t believe, it just so close. This place, man. We’re going to come back again, though. We’re going to give it 160 percent next time. Incredible race. Thank everyone to Team Penske and to Roger Penske for believing in me when no one else did.”

Felix Rosenqvist: “I don’t even know what to say. What a car. What a car. Massive thanks to the team.

“I think we were the best car today. It felt like in all situations we kind of had it in control. The last yellow didn’t help us, but it kind of worked out the right way. I just had a flat-out lap on the high line and it stuck.

“It’s the coolest way you can win the Indy 500.”

Felix Rosenqvist beat David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds, or roughly a few feet, to win the 110th Indy 500 in the closest finish of the race’s history.

It’s the Swede’s second IndyCar victory and the second IndyCar win for Meyer Shank Racing, which won the 2021 Indy 500 with Helio Castroneves in another very memorable finish.

“Thank you guys,” Rosenqvist radioed his team. “What a race. What a car.”

On the restart, Malukas passed Marcus Armstrong, Rosenqvist’s MSR teammate, and was leading coming off the final turn.

But Rosenqvist’s No. 60 Dallara-Honda had enough momentum to surge past Malukas’ No. 12 Dallara-Chevrolet.

Castroneves immediately celebrates with co-team owner Mike Shank.

“It’s unbelievable,” Shank says. “I can’t believe that race I just watched.”

Shortly after Marcus Armstrong takes the lead from Meyer Shank Racing teammate Felix Rosenqvist, the yellow flies again for Mick Schumacher brushing the wall.

There’ll be another restart with one lap to go.

The cars have been refired at 4:30 p.m. and with 10 laps remaining.

The running order for the restart will be Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O’Ward, Marcus Armstrong, David Malukas, Romain Grosjean, Alex Palou, Santino Ferrucci, Takuma Sato, Rinus VeeKay and Scott McLaughlin.

Unlike NASCAR, there is no overtime finish in the IndyCar Series, so the Indy 500 will end on Lap 200 regardless on if the yellow waves again.

Many races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway have concluded under caution. But beginning with the 2014 Indy 500, race stewards began using the red flag to try to ensure a green-flag shootout in the event of a late yellow flag.

A red flag for a fiery crash involving rookie Caio Collet will be a game-changer in the Indy 500.

Suddenly, the fuel-saving strategies of Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward are looking faulty.

Both likely will be gobbled up by the faster cars behind them on the ensuring restart, which probably will come with three or four laps remaining.

With his team telling him he’s set for fuel, Felix Rosenqvist went to the whip and powered past Pato O’Ward into the lead of the Indy 500 with 15 laps remaining.

It’s the 67th lead change of the race.

Pato O’Ward is leading with 20 laps remaining, and his Arrow McLaren team is telling the Mexican driver that Felix Rosenqvist is his only concern in second place.

O’Ward and Rosenqvist are buddies from being former McLaren teammates for a few seasons.

With 30 laps remaining in the Indy 500, the top three is David Malukas, Alex Palou and Scott McLaughlin, but they all will need at least one more pit stop.

That leaves Pato O’Ward (fourth) and Felix Rosenqvist (fifth) in the catbird seat by being able to stay on track to the checkered flag.

On Lap 164, Pato O’Ward is into the pits for what likely will be his final pit stop and could be a race-winning gambit.

The Arrow McLaren driver, who has finished second twice in this race, could cycle into the lead and then benefit from cautions or a race-ending rain.

On Lap 168, David Malukas is in first ahead of Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist, but the top three have to stop again.

Scott Dixon is in lead the after 375 of 500 miles, but it comes during a pit cycle that could signify the second-to-last stops of the race.

It’s difficult to predict how things will shake out over the final 50 laps with myriad pit strategies in play.

The two most successful teams in IndyCar history are beginning to wage a furious battle in the Indy 500 with just more than 50 laps remaining.

On the 58th lead change of the race, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou snatches first on Lap 142 from Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who had taken the lead a lap earlier from Palou.

In 10 laps since the restart, there have been seven lead changes between McLaughlin, Palou, Conor Daly and David Malukas.

David Malukas, Scott McLaughlin, Alex Palou and Conor Daly all took turns at the front as the race finally goes back to green on a Lap 132 restart.

After three laps, it’s settled into Palou at the front ahead of McLaughlin by 0.0828 seconds.

There will be no third Indy 500 win for Josef Newgarden, who wrecks in Turn 4 coming to a restart on Lap 126.

It appears the No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet driver got beneath the rumble strip in Turn 4 and lost control from fourth place, making a heavy left-front impact with the SAFER barrier.

Newgarden climbed out under his own power, but the two-time IndyCar champion seemed to take a moment leaning against a safety truck. He then walked gingerly to a nearby ambulance while waving to the crowd.

Team Penske teammate David Malukas continues to lead on Lap 127 under yellow, followed by Alex Palou, Conor Daly, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist.

The yellow flag is back out on Lap 116 of 200 with David Malukas in the lead ahead of Alex Palou, Conor Daly, Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon.

Malukas is in his first season with Team Penske and has yet to win in the IndyCar Series.

The urgency has picked up with the threat of rain as Team Penske’s David Malukas takes the lead from Scott Dixon off the Lap 109 restart.

Pole-sitter Alex Palou goes back to the front on Lap 110 as Dixon falls to fifth.

On Lap 109, the rain is gone, and the green flag is out.

Emma Davies Dixon reports that “I thought I spotted lightning, if I’m being honest! I think they should clear these stands. Get everybody home, call the race.”

The wife of the six-time IndyCar champion was kidding, of course, about prematurely ending the Indy 500 while waiting for the weather to clear.

But it’s been an agonizing run for her husband, Scott, since he won the 2008 Indy 500. He had the field covered in 2022 when he committed a speeding violation on his last pit stop and lost to teammate Marcus Ericsson.

“We’ve been here so many times before,” Emma said. “I feel more calm than in the past because I know how quickly things can change. I’m just trying to enjoy the moment.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

“I just said to the team guys, ‘Look at how many times we almost got our second win.’ A good eight or nine times. If it happens today, I’m going to be so unhinged. I just want it so bad.”

If the race goes back green, Dixon might have to contend with teammate Alex Palou, who is trying to win his second consecutive Indy 500.

“If it is down to Scott and Palou, I know Scott will fight to the end,” Emma said. “It’ll be a gladiator fight. He’s so ready for it to go his way. It should have gone our way so many times, and things happen. But he will fight, fight, fight to the end.”

The race has been stopped on Lap 105 because of a light rain around the 2.5-mile track at 2:23 p.m.

Scott Dixon is leading at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The six-time Indy 500 champion won the 2008 Indy 500 but has had many heartbreakers at IMS since then.

He and the rest of the drivers remain in their cars in the pit lane. Dixon’s in-race interview indicates he’s ready to go back racing (even though the water pump to his helmet has failed).

If the clouds burst and end racing for the day (Indianapolis Motor Speedway has no lights), the race is official because it’s past halfway of 500 miles.

Scott Dixon leads at Lap 100, followed by Alex Palou, David Malukas, Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin.

There have been 45 lead changes, which ranks fifth all time. Most of those, though, have been with Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dixon and Palou trading the lead to conserve fuel.

For the second consecutive year, a mechanical problem will eliminate Alexander Rossi, who was a strong contender in leading early after qualifying a career-best second on the IMS oval.

Rossi was forced to park his car in the pits of Andretti Global (his former team).

The 2016 Indy 500 winner, who injured his right ankle in a Monday practice crash, makes his way down the pit lane with a pair of crutches, drawing cheers from the sellout crowd. He will finish 30th.

Will Power has spun on the exit lane from the pits after his No. 26 Dallara-Honda apparently suffered and engine problem that has dropped fluid on the track.

Under yellow on Lap 94 of 200, Scott Dixon leads Alex Palou, Felix Rosenqvist, David Malukas and Josef Newgarden.

Scott McLaughlin, Conor Daly, Pato O’Ward, Marcus Ericsson and Kyffin Simpson round out the top 10.

With threatening skies potentially a factor, the race will become official at Lap 100, the halfway point of 500 miles.

Just like the Daytona 500, it’s never too early to begin thinking about fuel conservation at the Indy 500.

The race to the Winner’s Circle often comes down to which driver spends the least amount of time in the pits.

With that in mind, it’s notable that Alex Palou and Scott Dixon have been traded the lead so often because theh Chip Ganassi Racing teammates are two of the best in IndyCar and managing fuel economy.

With 11 lead changes from the 66th to the 79th lap, they likely are working together to avoid burning up too much fuel while at the front.

The 110th Indy 500 is shaping up as a Chip Ganassi Racing battle as teammates Scott Dixon and Alex Palou have traded first place five times in eight laps after the second round of pit stops.

Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner who has had several near-misses at earning a second victory at Indianapolis, is in first on Lap 74.

The Kiwi has a fast No. 9 Dallara-Honda after failing to lead a lap last year.

As usual, everything seems right on course for defending Indy 500 winner Alex Palou.

The four-time IndyCar champion has regained the lead on Lap 66 after starting from the pole position.

Palou made his second pit stop on Lap 62, briefly handling the lead to six-time series champion and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon.

With a pit stop cycle complete, pole-sitter Alex Palou is leading the Indy 500 on Lap 50 of 200 in search of his second consecutive victory at the Brickyard.

Conor Daly is in second at the quarter-pole mark, followed by the Team Penske trio of David Malukas, Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden.

The rest of the top 10: Felix Rosenqvist, Santino Ferrucci, Scott Dixon, Kyffin Simpson and Pato O’Ward.

Katherine Legge to Fox’s Georgia Henneberry on her Lap 18 crash:

“I’m fine,” she said. “I’m just gutted more than anything. Ryan spun in front of me. I think he was battling his car for a minute. I was back there just chilling out and saving fuel.

“He spun, went down the track and started coming up the track, so I had to abort mission and try to go low and just didn’t make it basically.”

Here was Ryan Hunter-Reay’s take on what happened:

The second yellow flag occurred when Ed Carpenter got pinched by two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato into Turn 1. The contact sent Carpenter’s No. 33 Dallara-Chevrolet hard into the outside wall.

The driver-owner of Ed Carpenter Racing was hale enough to scramble out of his car and point at Sato’s car as it goes by while offering some choice words.

It’s not the first time a driver at the Brickyard has been left feeling aggrieved by Sato, who has said he drives by the motto, “No attack, no chance.”

It’s a bad stop for Alexander Rossi, who is no stranger to problems in the pits at the Indy 500.

Last year, his car caught fire during a stop, and he had multiple disastrous stops in the 2019 Indy 500 (before finishing second).

Rossi will restart outside the top 15 as the race returns to green on Lap 27 of 200.

Rinus VeeKay and Romain Grosjean, neither of whom stopped under the yellow, are in the top two spots.

Katherine Legge’s attempt at becoming the first woman to complete the full distance of the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 will end early.

Ryan Hunter-Reay lost control in Turn 2 on Lap 19, and as the 2014 Indy 500 winner attempted to accelerate out of the spin, he clipped Legge, whose No. 11 Dallara-Chevrolet was just behind his No. 31 Dallara-Chevy.

Both drivers climbed from their cars without assistance from the safety team, and Legge unfortunately will get an early start on heading to Charlotte Motor Speedway for tonight’s Coke 600.

There have been three official lead changes in the first 10 laps of the Indy 500 between pole-sitter Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi, who is showing no ill effects from the ankle and hand injuires that he suffered in a Monday practice crash.

On Lap 10, Palou’s No. 10 Dallara-Honda is barely in the lead by 0.0028 seconds over Rossi’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet.

The drivers have swapped the lead seven times in the first 10 laps.

It waves at 12:48 p.m., three minutes behind schedule.

The start is clean as Alexander Rossi takes the lead out of the second turn on pole-sitter Alex Palou and leads the first lap.

Palou leads the second lapbut Rossi goes back to the front on Lap 5.

After the traditional “Back Home Again in Indiana” rendition by Jim Cornelison, Roger Penske has officially given the command to start engines.

“Today you’ll be part of the biggest spectacle in any part of the world on one day with this great crowd here,” the motorsports icon and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner tells the crowd.

It’s time to race!

The Indiana Fever star, sporting an Indy 500 hat and bomber jacket, naturally drew a big roar from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway crowd of at least 250,000 just before she announced, “Drivers, to your cars!”

The green flag waving on the 110th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing is about 10 minutes away.

Here’s the performance by the former “American Idol” winner:

About 20 minutes from the green flag, the prerace favorites seem to be the Team Penske duo of Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin.

Newgarden needed 12 tries to break through for his first Indy 500 win in 2023, and he then won again in 2024. His No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet was the class of the field in two Indy 500

McLaughlin started on the pole in 2024 and was expected to be a strong contender last year before crashing on the parade laps. The New Zealand native told Jeff Gluck of The Athletic that it was the “worst moment of my life” and an embarrassing episode that he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.

He was in good spirits during a prerace interview Sunday.

“I think we’re as prepared as we can be,” he said. “Solid all month. I think we’ve flown under the radar but had reasonable speed all the way through. Our best session was on Friday. We got our list done, and ready to go. I can’t wait to create a new storyline. Last year put a lot of things in perspective for me. I’ve got all the tools I need to win the race.”

Despite a grim forecast, the rain is holding off during prerace ceremonies.

Driver introductions have been completed with no major surprises (aside from the apparently accidental absence of Katherine Legge, who is on the grid for the race.).

The 33 drivers in the Indy 500 field are making their way through Gasoline Alley to the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda, which serves as the staging area for prerace ceremonies.

Driver introductions are slated to begin at 11:47 a.m.

If the weather holds up, Katherine Legge is hoping to become the sixth driver — and the first woman — to race the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.

Legge would join a storied list of drivers who have accomplished “The Double": John Andretti (1994), Tony Stewart (1999, 2001), Robby Gordon (2001-04), Kurt Busch (2014) and Kyle Larson (2024-25). Stewart, Busch and Larson are all NASCAR Cup Series champions.

Legge was in Charlotte Motor Speedway yesterday for practice and qualfying (which was canceled). “Today has been a year already,” she said.

The red carpet is open at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the celebrities are making their way past the Yard of Bricks — many of them being involved in the prerace ceremonies.

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is the grand marshal and will give the command to bring the 33 drivers to their cars.

In a prerace video from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Clark announced she was picking 2022 Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson to win again (Clark wears No. 22 for the Fever).

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti will be driving the pace car four months after coaching the Hoosiers to their first national championship. Cignetti said he hit 177 mph on the straightaway in a Saturday walkthrough.

“I like being No. 1, so I get to start in front and finish in front,” he said.

His advice to the drivers: “Keep it clean, first of all. Cut it loose, play with courage. Go get it.”

Actor Brendan Fraser, who has roots in Indiana, will be waving the green flag as the honorary starter.

One of the key storylines today will be how 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi rebounds from injuries suffered in a Monday practice crash.

The Ed Carpenter Racing driver lost control in Turn 2 after qualifying his No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet a career-best second at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Rossi is on crutches because of an injured right ankle that required a surgical procedure, as did his left middle finger. He had to pass numerous tests from IndyCar officials to ensure he still could exit the car quickly.

If things had worked out, Kyle Busch might have won the Indy 500.

The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion came close to putting together deals to run “The Double” — the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day — in 2017 and ’18 before they were nixed by his NASCAR team.

Images circulated on social media this week of the paint scheme that Busch would have sported in an Indy car.

Busch, who died suddenly Thursday from sepsis that was the result of severe pneumonia, will be honored on the No. 18 Dallara-Honda driven by Romain Grosjean today:

For the second time, defending Indy 500 winner Alex Palou will lead the field to the green flag.

Alexander Rossi, the 2016 winner, will start second in a backup car, and Pato O’Ward, a two-time runner-up, will be starting sixth in a backup after both drivers were involved in a Monday practice crash.

Click here for the starting lineup in the race.

The Indy 500 is all about traditions, particularly a structured race day schedule full of pageantry that begins with a 6 a.m. cannon blast and pyrotechnics to signify the track is open for business.

Here’s the rest of the highlights from the race day schedule:

• 7 a.m.: Gates open for the Snake Pit, an infield concert that annually draws 30,000
• 8:55 a.m.: Borg-Warner Trophy March to the Bricks begins
• 9:20 a.m.: All cars to pit lane, engine warmup begins
• 10:10 a.m.: Borg-Warner Trophy arrives at Yard of Bricks
• 10:26 a.m.: “On the Banks of the Wabash” performed by the Purdue University Band
• 10:30 a.m.: Snake Pit concert begins with a set by Crankdat
• 10:37 a.m.: Indy 500 winners lap
• 10:55 a.m.: All cars on the grid
• 10:59 a.m.: Historic cars lap
• 11:25 a.m.: Chevrolet Military Appreciation Lap
• 11:47 a.m.: Driver introductions begin
• 12:07 p.m.: U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team begins descent
• 12:07 p.m.: “God Bless America” by Indiana National Guard Quartet with Purdue Band
• 12:08 p.m.: Military March on pit lane
• 12:18 p.m.: Rifle volley and “Taps”
• 12:20 p.m.: “America the Beautiful” by Ephraim Owens
• 12:24 p.m.: National Anthem by Jordin Sparks
• 12:26 p.m.: Flyover by F-16 Jets of the 175th Fighter Wing
• 12:33 p.m.: “Drivers to Your Cars” command by Caitlin Clark
• 12:37 p.m.: “Back Home Again in Indiana” by Jim Cornelison
• 12:38 p.m.: Second flyover by F-16 Jets of the 175th Fighter Wing
• 12:38 p.m.: “Drivers, Start Your Engines” command by Roger Penske
• 12:39 p.m.: Flyover Lap by 38th Combat Aviation Brigade, Indiana Army National Guard
• 12:45 p.m.: Green Flag for the 110th Indy 500 by honorary starter Brendan Fraser
• 12:50 p.m.: Zedd begins set at the Snake Pit
• 2:20 p.m.: Wooli begins set at the Snake Pit
• 3:45 p.m.: Approximate end of race