Inside The Indy 500's Dramatic, Terrifying And Impressive Side-By-Side Last Lap

In Driver's Eye with James Hinchcliffe, the six-time INDYCAR winner will bring you inside the mind of a racer while breaking down the nuts and bolts of the sport for fans.

Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow. 

I am not sure what you were expecting from this year’s Indianapolis 500, but I have to be honest: A record-breaking, hair-raising, crowd-screaming drag race to the finish was far more than I thought we had in store!

As always, the Indy 500 was not short of storylines. From weather being a constant threat all day long, to multiple red flags, to a split fuel strategy and a one-lap shootout for all the glory, the 110th Running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing had all the dramatic bases covered.

But I want to focus on something very specific. I want to talk about the last lap. 

I want to talk about how tough, dangerous and terrifying it is to run on the outside of all four corners of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, inches away from another car doing 220 miles per hour… with the added complication of your teammate being in that other car.

Enter Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong. 

Let’s start with racing side-by-side for a whole lap. It’s not uncommon on a restart, when you are still getting up to speed, to see a car hang it out through Turns 1 and 2. Then, when you get down to Turn 3, there can be a big line checking up on the low lane, and maybe you can still hold it out there.

But when both cars are in pretty clean air — the leader had a solid gap on them at this point — trying to stick it to the guy on the inside is mind-boggling. Indy is a one-groove track once you’re up to speed, but I guess no one told Felix! 

There is a reason that every driver who’s raced around the 2.5-mile speedway was applauding that last-lap move. We all know how unbelievably tough it is to do.

Not only did Rosenqvist have to trust his car and his abilities, but he also had to trust the guy he was racing.

The golden rule in motorsports is don’t hit your teammate. When you and your teammate are both in with a shout to win the biggest race on Earth, it gets complicated. 

Rosenqvist and Armstrong know the rule. But they also know an Indy 500 victory being within your grasp doesn't come around every day, and you have to give it everything. The respect that both guys showed for one another was truly spectacular to see. 

Instantaneous, heart-pounding, future-determining decisions were made several times a second at 200-plus miles an hour.

For as impressive as Felix’s last lap was, you have to give Armstrong a tremendous amount of credit for how he raced those last 2.5 miles. 

But the racing gods were in Felix’s corner. Indy, they say, chooses the winner. Felix was the chosen one. 

There was nothing Marcus could’ve done differently to come out on top. And ensuring he didn’t wreck his teammate guaranteed he wouldn't have to answer any tough questions from the bosses when he got back to the pits.

[WHO IS? Indy 500 Winner Felix Rosenqvist On Fatherhood, Being Too Nice]

SPEAKING OF NOTHING YOU COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY…

How about David Malukas? When he took the lead in the first turn of that final lap, he would’ve checked his mirrors and seen the two Meyer Shank Racing teammates chasing him. 

And that would have been exactly what he wanted to see. Cars racing side-by-side aren’t going to catch you as fast as one single car in tow.

Even with that ideal scenario, it wasn’t enough to keep Rosenqvist at bay. David did everything right — everything in his power with the situation he was in — to win that race. But when it’s not your day, there’s nothing more you can do. 

He will rewatch that last lap 100 times, trying to see if there was anything he could do differently. But for a young driver battling up front of the biggest race in the world, he kept his composure, executed to perfection, but it still wasn’t meant to be. 

Malukas should (eventually) sleep well knowing that it wasn’t his time, but a performance like that means his time is surely coming.

The bad news for Malukas is that the replay of the finish is the stuff of lore and will be highlight reel fodder for decades to come. 

We’ve never seen a last lap like that in Indy 500 history. We’ve never seen a finish that close in 110 years. 

But rather than seeing it as a painful reminder of what almost was, I hope he looks back at it as a privilege to have been part of a history-making moment at the iconic speedway.

SOUND LIKE AN INDYCAR EXPERT

The Indy 500 had three key moments that set the stage. 

The first was the strategy split on Lap 130. The teams that pit thought they could get to the end on one more stop. Those that stayed out didn’t think they could get the fuel number and wanted to run flat-out, rather than conserve. 

As the race unfolded, it seemed like those who took the Lap 130 stop made the right call, as Rosenqvist, Pato O’Ward and Armstrong were comfortably ahead of the chasing pack of drivers who took the extra stop.

BUT… that advantage was nullified when the caution, and then the red flag on Lap 192, came out for Caio Collet’s accident. That closed the chasing pack right up to the leaders and put everyone on equal footing.

Of course, the final act came when the quick caution came out for Mick Schumacher brushing the wall in Turn 1 and led to the green flag flying on the last lap. 

What looked like it was going to be a battle of the strategy brains, turned into a good old-fashioned gloves-off run to the checkered flag. That is the kind of race that drivers, and their fans, love.

LIVE FROM THE BOOTH

You may have seen the clip of my booth mates and me on that last lap, the one where I deployed all the practice I had compartmentalizing emotions in the race car to stay calm and not miss a second of the action. I hope our wide-ranging reactions showed the world how much we all love this sport and how much we love calling the show that these drivers put on for us each weekend.

I’ve got to say: It was so much fun calling this race from the booth. After a marathon month, to be treated to a once-in-a-century finish was a real honor. 

And, while I’ve got you, shout out to the whole FOX Sports production crew, who, in every position on the team, did an outstanding job bringing you all the action over a grueling Month of May schedule.

1 FOR THE ROAD

Now, while watching the closest Indy 500 finish in history, you might have missed the wild finish for third, fourth and fifth across the Yard of Bricks. Understandable, given all the breath-catching after the flag. 

But props to Scott McLaughlin for timing, to perfection, a run off of Turn 4 to go from fifth to third at the line. Just. 

And while we were talking about the smallest winning margin in history — 0.0233 seconds between first and second — just behind them, third, fourth and fifth were covered by just 0.0115 seconds! After 200 laps, 500 miles, three positions settled by inches.

Man, this race is awesome. I am ready to do it again. Is it May yet?

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