Felix Rosenqvist wins closest Indianapolis 500 finish in history

Felix Rosenqvist won the 110th Indianapolis 500 in the narrowest finish the race has ever seen, edging David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds after a final-lap move out of Turn 4 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rosenqvist crossed the Yard of Bricks first to give Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian its second NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory, with both of the team’s wins coming in the Indianapolis 500.

The margin erased a record that had stood for more than four decades. Before Sunday, the closest finish in Indy 500 history belonged to Gordon Johncock over Rick Mears in 1982, when Johncock held on by 0.16 seconds. Rosenqvist’s pass on the closing lap turned that old benchmark into a distant second place in the record book.

The race itself built toward a one-lap shootout after a late caution and green-white finish sequence, and the final sprint delivered the drama the crowd had been waiting for. Rosenqvist surged from third to first in the closing moments, while Malukas, driving for Team Penske, was left just short at the line. The 2026 race also produced a record 70 lead changes, breaking the previous mark of 68 set in 2013 and underscoring how often the front of the field shifted before the decisive move.

The result reshaped the day’s power balance as much as it rewrote the history books. Alex Palou, the pole sitter and defending winner, finished seventh after starting from the front, while Josef Newgarden, who had won the Indianapolis 500 in 2023 and 2024, crashed out on Lap 129. Rain and cautions complicated the afternoon, but the full 200 laps were completed after the weather interruptions, setting up the final restart sequence that made the finish so compressed.

The race also carried broader storylines beyond the front-runners, including Katherine Legge’s attempt to complete the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, a challenge known as The Double. But the defining image of the 110th running remained Rosenqvist’s last-lap pass and the 0.0233-second margin that made it the closest Indianapolis 500 finish in history.