Marcus Ericsson used patience to perfection on Sunday, winning the 106th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. The 30-year old capitalized the opportunities that he had late in the afternoon, and guided his No. 8 Honda to victory lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
This is the fifth Indy 500 victory for Chip Ganassi Racing, their first in a decade. Ericsson also becomes just the second Swedish driver to win the race, joining Kenny Brack.
Ericsson led the final 11 laps of the race, but it was much more difficult than a typical race at Indy. When his teammate Jimmie Johnson crashed in Turn 2 with just six laps remaining, officials did something rarely seen – displaying the red flag. The race was stopped in what would shape up to be a two-lap shootout for the Indy 500.
In what looked like a scene from a movie, Ericsson was able to hold off several tense challenges from Pato O’Ward. Sage Karam crashed on the final lap, securing the victory for the Ganassi driver.
“I couldn’t believe it, Ericsson exclaimed. “I felt you can never take anything for granted and obviously there was still laps to go, and I was praying so hard it was not going to be another yellow. But I knew it was probably going to be one. It was hard to sort of refocus. But I knew the car was amazing.”
“The 8 crew and Chip Ganassi Racing and Honda has done such an amazing job. So I knew the car was fast enough but it was still hard. I had to do everything there to keep them behind, but I can’t believe it. I’m so happy. My family, mom and dad and my brother, my girlfriend, my manager, they’re all here today and I won. I can’t believe it.”
The theme of the day was Ganassi, as all five team cars had an impact in this race. The biggest was the performance of six-time champion Scott Dixon, who dominated the race from the drop of the green flag. Dixon led 95 of the 200 laps and is now the all-time leader in laps led in this iconic race, passing fellow legend Al Unser.
As he…
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